10 youth delegates sponsored by Wood County Electric Cooperative Inc. (WCEC) recently attended the 2015 East Texas Rural Electric Youth Seminar (ETREYS) held on the campus of East Texas Baptist University in Marshall. These youth joined approximately 120 other participants, each sponsored by one of nine East Texas electric cooperatives, to participate in the ETREYS program. ETREYS is a leadership camp designed to foster positive ideals, enhance leadership skills, and to teach the cooperative philosophy.
The camp schedule consisted of many teambuilding exercises, as well as presentations by outstanding speakers, including retired professional New York Giants football player Keith Davis; former University of Texas at El Paso and XFactor contestant Isaac Tauaefa; Phillip Morgan, Director of Fine Arts at WACO ISD; and comedian and youth speaker Shannon Pickard.
The delegates that represented WCEC for ETREYS 2015 were: Noah Day, Alba; Brandon DeJong, Winnsboro; Melena Elias, Mineola; Mischel Fry, Quitman; Hailey Holland, Lindale; Cameron McCrary, Yantis; Raelyn Peek, Quitman; Kourtland Sinches, Mineola; Kaitlyn Sullivan, Harmony; Hylke Talsma, Mt Vernon. Katlin Davis returned from the 2014 year as the Youth Director to lead WCEC’s 2015 delegates to the seminar.
At the seminar, Mischel Fry was awarded the ETREYS Founders scholarship valued at $2,500, Noah Day was awarded the Juan D. Nichols scholarship valued at $750 and Melena Elias earned a $500 scholarship. Chosen by her camp peers, Kaitlyn Sullivan was selected as WCEC’s Youth Director and will return to help lead the 2016 camp.
WCEC CEO/General Manager Debbie Robinson said, “Every year I’m amazed at the talented crop of regional kids that attend this leadership camp. It is our hope that ETREYS has given them valuable tools to help them along their chosen paths We look forward to watching them as they progress through their academic accomplishments and careers.”
Wood County Electric Cooperative, Inc. is a not-for-profit electric cooperative with the mission of providing member-customers reliable electric service at a reasonable rate. WCEC serves over 34,000 meters in parts of nine counties throughout northeast Texas, including Camp, Franklin, Hopkins, Rains, Smith, Titus, Upshur, Van Zandt, and Wood.