Mountain View Electric is sponsoring its annual essay contest for high school juniors who are members of the cooperative.The winning student will receive an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. in June 2006, and the two runners up will be invited to the Colorado Electric Education Institute’s Cooperative Youth Leadership Camp in July 2006.To enter the contest, students must submit a 500-word essay on the different types of cooperatives and how each one benefits the community. Parents or legal guardians must be members of MVEA. The student must be 16 years of age by January 2006. The deadline for submission is Nov. 18.One lucky student will join a group of Colorado students and fly to Washington, D.C. where they will meet about 1,500 other high school students from the U.S. The group will visit historical sites, meet with their state legislators, cruise the Potomac and learn about their nation’s capital. Activities include banquets, dances, and many opportunities to make new friends.The Colorado Women’s Task Force sponsors the tour, and the Colorado Rural Electric Association makes the arrangements. All tour expenses are paid.Two additional students will be chosen to attend the Youth Leadership Camp in July at Glen Eden Resort in Clark, Colo., 18 miles north of Steamboat Springs. The camp, which has operated for almost 30 years, hosts about 80 high school students from Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Wyoming. The students spend a week developing leadership skills, improving personal goals and getting an inside view of the state and national legislatures through hands-on experiences. The students also organize and operate their own cooperative during the week. Swimming parties, barbeques, dances, banquets and local attractions round out the week and make it what past attendees have referenced “a trip of a lifetime.”MVEA is one of 1,000 electric cooperatives operating in the U.S. The co-ops participate in community activities, making the schools in the territory a priority. “These students are our future members, directors and employees,” said member services specialist Deborah Skillicorn. “It is important they understand the legislative process and the history and function of cooperatives in the U.S. It is also important for them to develop leadership skills that will not only help them in college, but throughout their life.” For more information, visit www.mvea.coop or call Deborah Skillicorn at 719-775-2861, 719-495-2283 or 800-388-9881.
