YOUTH TOUR

KAY ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE YOUTH TOUR CONTEST

Kay Electric is giving two area high school juniors the opportunity to win an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. in its annual Youth Tour Contest.
The Rural Electric Youth Tour program has brought over 1,500 high school students to Washington, D.C. every June, since the early 1960s. To date, nearly 50,000 students have represented electric cooperatives across America through this unique program.
To participate, students must
write a 500-word essay. This year’s topic:
A cooperative is a not for profit business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit. Co-ops are democratically controlled by members voluntarily united to meet a common economic, social and/or cultural need such as the need for electric or telephone service in rural areas. Other examples include food, housing and childcare co-ops. Identify a need in your community or school that would lend itself to the formation of a cooperative. Why do you think the need is not currently being met? Why is the need important to your community? Explain how you would go about attracting members to join your cooperative. In other words, sell us on your proposed cooperative.
 KEC will select eight finalists to attend a banquet in March. The finalists will present their essays in speech form and answer questions from a panel of judges. The top two presenters will represent KEC on Youth Tour in Washington D.C. on June 14-20; second-place winners will receive a trip to Steamboat Springs, Colo., third- and fourth-place winners will receive cash prizes.
Students must be a high school junior attending a school in KEC’s service territory to be eligible to compete. You do not have to be a member of KEC.
Essays are due by Friday, March 1, 2013. For more information visit KEC’s website, www.kayelectric.coop, or contact Austin Partida at 580-363-1260 or toll-free at 1-800-535-1079.

KAY ELECTRIC’S YOUTH TOUR COORDINATOR WILL BE VISITING AREA SCHOOLS PROMOTING BOTH YOUTH TOUR AND ENERGY CAMP. IN ADDITION, INFORMATION WILL BE POSTED ON KEC’S WEBSITE, WWW.KAYELECTRIC.COOP, AND FACEBOOK PAGE.