OPALCO Youth Earn Top Honors at Leadership Camp

— from Suzanne Olson —

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Five Nourdine Jensen Cooperative Youth Scholars selected by OPALCO attended the 2014 Idaho Consumer-Owned Utility Association (ICUA) Co-op Youth Rally at the College of Idaho this summer. Each made their mark on the regional youth leadership camp and each made the Co-op proud.

The students selected as OPALCO’s 2014 Nourdine Jensen Cooperative Youth Scholarship award winners were Gabi Carver-Hackett, William Coe, Peter Kamin and Willow Paige – all of Orcas Island. Maya Burt-Kidwell (Orcas) returned as a Youth Director at the Rally.

In addition to the $500 scholarship awards received from OPALCO, Peter Kamin was awarded the top ICUA scholarship of $500 and William Coe was awarded a $300 ICUA scholarship. Maya Burt-Kidwell earned the top second-year ICUA scholarship ($600). William was elected by his peers at the Rally to return as a Youth Director in 2014, which includes a trip to Boise in March to plan the Rally.

The students participated in forums with regional leaders from the power industry, learned the basics of electricity and how co-ops work from the grassroots up, worked through a simulation of the challenges of serving (and trying to get re-elected) as a freshman Congressman – and then put their knowledge to work in team building exercises and games. The classroom time was balanced with fun summer camp activities such as bowling, roller-skating, social dances and a day at a water park.

The students will give a presentation of their experiences at the October 16th meeting of the Board of Directors in Eastsound beginning at 8:30 a.m. Members are welcome to attend OPALCO board meetings – and photos are posted on Facebook (Orcas Power & Light Cooperative).
High-school students of OPALCO member-owner families who are currently sophomores and juniors can apply for the 2015 Nourdine Jensen Cooperative Youth Scholarship awards beginning in February. Application materials are online at opalco.com. Please contact Suzanne Olson (solson@opalco.com) for more information.

For the latest information about OPALCO, go to: www.opalco.com; sign up for our email newsletter (www.opalco.com/about/email-signup/); and follow us on Facebook (Orcas Power & Light Cooperative) and Twitter (@orcaspower). OPALCO is our member-owned cooperative, powering about 11,000 members on 20 islands in San Juan County since 1937.