YOUTH & LEADERSHIP
By Brianna Wall
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OEC awarded all-expenses-paid trips to eight extremely talented high school juniors during the 2019 Youth Tour Banquet held March 28. The top four finishers — Caleb Coodey, a homeschool student from South Oklahoma City, Jackson Caves from AmberPocasset High School, Madison Smith from Blanchard High School and Alexea Burroughs from Norman's Community Christian School — won a seven-day trip to Washington, D.C. on Oklahoma's Youth Tour. The other finalists — Tylor Brown from Minco High School, Madison Buchanan from Community Christian School, Paige Langford from Newcastle High School and Conrad Moffatt from Lexington High School — won trips to Camp RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards). Both trips will occur this summer. This year’s contest prompt was reflective of OEC’s mission to improve our members’ quality of life through the safe delivery of highly reliable, reasonably priced electric service, innovative energy programs and exceptional member service. OEC provides electricity to its members, but that is not what makes us a co-op. A cooperative is a self-help organization founded to satisfy the unmet needs of the members it serves. Youth Tour contest applicants were asked to apply the cooperative business model to an unmet need or problem in their community and write a business proposal. Finalists created PowerPoint presentations and “pitched” their co-op business idea in front of OEC trustees, senior staff, representatives from their schools, their families and three independent judges.
Oklahoma Electric Co-op News • May 2019
