Area Students Enjoy Lessons in Leadership

Wood County Electric Cooperative, Inc. (WCEC) sponsored 10 youth delegates for the 2011 East Texas Rural Electric Youth Seminar (ETREYS) held at Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, TX, June 27 to July 1. The youth delegates joined approximately 120 other participants, each sponsored by one of 9 East Texas electric cooperatives, to participate in the ETREYS program. ETREYS is designed to promote positive ideals, offer lessons in leadership, and teach the cooperative philosophy.

The schedule consisted of many teambuilding exercises, as well as presentations by several outstanding speakers, including Keith Davis, former NFL championship football player; Tommy Engelke, a longtime cooperative advocate; and Buddy Ritter, a motivational speaker, among others.

The delegates that represented WCEC for ETREYS 2011 were Mark Carrasco, Yantis; Colby Finch, Quitman; Alston Johnson, Quitman; Lindsey Kellam, Van; Megan Kelly, Mt. Vernon; Stephanie Parris, Winnsboro; Taelor Rawson, Yantis; Jesus Sandoval, Yantis; Brianna Willis, Quitman; and Winter Wilson, Alba. The group was led by returning student and Youth Director, Jonathan Ladd, Mt. Vernon. The delegates were chaperoned by husband and wife team, Jay and Laura Murdock, Winnsboro; and Kylie O’Neal, Quitman. Jay is a Power Quality Technician at WCEC, and Kylie is a Business Communications Specialist. All delegates represented the cooperative exceptionally well, with both Alston and Lindsey each bringing home valuable college scholarships.

WCEC CEO/General Manager Debbie Robinson said, “Our ETREYS delegates are some of the most outstanding kids in our region. It is such a pleasure to be able to offer them an opportunity to shine even more. I know they will carry the lessons they learned at ETREYS forward.“

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 33,000 meters in parts of nine counties throughout northeast Texas, including Camp, Franklin, Hopkins, Rains, Smith, Titus, Upshur, Van Zandt, and Wood.