Rob Richard WECA President and CEO
The start of a new school year is exciting for everyone involved. Students are moving up a grade, trying new subjects that interest them, maturing (hopefully), and making new friends. Teachers, administrators, and staff all start fresh, with new faces and new opportunities in front of them.
My family is also experiencing something new this school year. We are hosting a 15-year-old foreign exchange student from Madrid, Spain. Seven years ago, we hosted a young man, Trym, from Norway for three weeks as part of the 4-H international program. It was a wonderful experience for us, and my son gained a new friend for life. We’re still in touch today and even got a chance to meet up with Trym in Brussels this past June. However, three weeks is not the same as 10 months, and the girl-to-boy ratio in the household is now 3:1. This doesn’t bode well for me. In all seriousness, we’re extremely excited to welcome Maria into the family and want to make her experience in Wisconsin one she will cherish for a lifetime.
Speaking of cherishing experiences, the Wisconsin Electric Cooperative Association (WECA) once again provided promising students two educational opportunities like no other this past summer. WECA’s seven-member Youth Board took part in the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s (NRECA) Youth Tour in Washington, D.C. Joined by roughly 2,000 kids from all over the country, this week-long event in June allowed the kids to meet with Wisconsin’s congressional delegation, tour the Capitol and other major sites, learn about the cooperative business model, and hear from experts on how to be leaders back home in their own communities.
Every year at Youth Tour, the group selects one person on the youth board to represent them as the Wisconsin state representative. Vernon Electric Cooperative’s Braxtyn Marx, a Westby Area High School senior, was chosen to represent them at NRECA’s PowerXchange Conference next February in San Diego, Calif. Marx stated that he’s excited by the idea because “it’s a great opportunity to expand my wings by developing public speaking, leadership, and communication skills; skills that will accelerate and support my journey into college, and my professional career.”
A month after Youth Tour, nearly 60 youth members from 20 electric cooperatives in the state had the good fortune of participating in WECA’s Youth Leadership Conference (YLC) on the campus of UW-Stout in Menomonie in July. This annual event, now in its 63rd year, is our premier summer youth educational training program led by Tina Walden, WECA’s director of youth education. The three-day conference features leadership and communication development, team-building activities, greater understanding of the cooperative business model and governance, safety awareness, and many other topics.
With the help of a generous grant from Dairyland Power Cooperative, Walden expanded the YLC program to reach three FFA members and three 4-H members, who learned more about the cooperative business model and how electric cooperatives serve their communities beyond just providing electricity. Walden recently reflected on these two programs by saying, “These events give students the opportunity to connect with peers from across Wisconsin and the nation, develop leadership skills, and experience the cooperative difference firsthand.” She firmly believes “participants leave with greater confidence, lasting relationships, and a deeper understanding of how cooperatives strengthen communities, preparing them to become engaged citizens, future leaders, and advocates for the cooperative way of doing business.”
I truly enjoy devoting at least one column a year to showcasing these kids and everything they experience with these two programs. As a shy, rural kid who got the chance to participate in Badger Boys State many decades ago, I know these experiences can be transformational. I’m so incredibly proud of our electric cooperatives’ sponsorship and financial support for this programming. They are making a very good investment to better these kids’ lives and their communities. And when given the chance, these kids are stepping up to the challenges and seizing the opportunities in front of them. I would expect no less from our cooperative youth.