Five local students will head to Washington, D.C., this June after winning Big Country Electric Cooperative’s annual Youth Tour video contest.
Big Country EC commits to sending three students on the trip each year, but this year a neighboring co-op donated two of its Youth Tour spots that were unfilled. The winners are Tylee Jo Bevel of Stamford, Kenley Cox of Haskell, Anzlee Hale of Ira, and Taylor Moore and Tres Spencer of Roby. Their prize-winning videos can be viewed at bigcountry.coop.
Seventeen local students submitted videos on the topic of the rolling outages that rocked the state in February 2021. Many consumers don’t understand what led to that situation or how Texas’ electric grid and energy market operate. In a video capped at five minutes, students had to explain what happened and why, how the state’s electric grid and energy market work, and why it’s important for consumers to understand both.
Others who participated in the contest were Alyssa Hernandez, Lucas Ingram, Brody Letz, Michael McBroom, Eli Peacock, Luke Peacock, Madison Saucedo, Agatha Skelton, Alyssa Stocks and Cooper Wheat of Haskell; Brayson Cox of Ira; and Addison Page of Sweetwater. Congratulations to all of these students on a job well done!
Youth Tour has been an electric co-op tradition since 1965, when co-ops began sponsoring teens on the trip after inspiration from then-Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson, who encouraged youths to go to Washington to witness their American heritage and government at work and see “what the flag stands for and represents.” Educating and mentoring young people fits in with co-ops’ mission to support the communities they serve. Since the 1960s, more than 4,400 Texans and more than 50,000 young Americans have taken advantage of this special opportunity offered by electric cooperatives.
