Youth Tour Members Groomed for Key Role
By Todd Cunningham

Electric co-ops have made an essential contribution to their consumer-members and communities since the mid-1930s, and will continue to do so, 1,491 young people representing 47 states were told as they gathered for this year’s Electric Cooperative Youth Tour.

The youth, with 275 chaperones, came to the nation’s capital to learn more about the history of the electric co-op movement, and to gain on-the-scene insight into key issues through personal visits with their congressional delegations.

Tour participants gathered June 11 for a National Youth Day rally that celebrated the theme, “Commitment to Community.”

An historical perspective on the electric co-op movement was provided through a portrayal of U.S. Sen. George W. Norris, R-Neb.—a leading figure behind creation of the Rural Electrification Administration and the Tennessee Valley Authority—by former Nebraska State Sen. Dave Landis. He pointed out, “Rural electric cooperatives saved lives and improved lives” by bringing electricity to the nation’s rural areas, where there was no profit and therefore no incentive for private power companies to do so.

Landis asked Youth Tour participants to “return the favor to the institution that protected your grandparents, parents, and you.”

NRECA CEO Glenn English offered a similar message. While electric co-ops keep the lights on, he said, these organizations more importantly “help your relatives, friends, neighbors—the people you grew up with—improve their lives.”

As tour participants traveled to Capitol Hill to talk with lawmakers, English advised, “Keep in mind that you are doing so as part of an organization that is truly unique”—cooperatives that represent the community and meet the needs of the people who own them.

Looking ahead, NRECA’s CEO suggested that the young people consider electric co-ops as a possibility for building a career of service as long-time co-op employees near retirement.

Working for an electric cooperative is not just about money, English said. “It’s about far more…it’s about doing good deeds for your community, doing the right thing for people you know, making your community a stronger, better place to live.”

Keynote speaker Mike Schlappi, a four-time Paralympics medalist in basketball, urged the young people to make a commitment to persevere through the challenges life offers.

Schlappi—wheelchair-assisted since his mid-teens after being accidentally shot by a friend— vowed not to give up on himself, and became a world-class athlete of a different sort than he had originally envisioned.

He offered his audience three words to live by: “Take personal responsibility.” Those words empower you to succeed, or fail, on your own terms.

“Just because you can’t stand up doesn’t mean you can’t stand out,” the keynoter concluded.

Scott Goehring, speaking on behalf of the 2006–2007 Youth Leadership Council, looked at co-ops both forward and backward. Goehring, sponsored by Dixie Electric Cooperative, Union Springs, Ala., praised the industry’s original leaders for embodying the spirit of the nation’s early political leaders by electrifying rural America and remaining steadfast when confronted by seemingly insurmountable opposition.

Looking ahead, Goehring said that by following the model laid out by predecessors, tomorrow’s co-op leaders “can not only take the road less traveled, but if we need to, blaze a trail where there is no path.”