Delegates attend Youth Tour Leadership Summit

NEW ROADS - Six delegates from Pointe Coupee Electric’s service territory recently participated in the annual Youth Tour Leadership Summit in Baton Rouge.

The two-day conference was held as part of the annual Rural Electric Washington Youth Tour program. The six high school students were winners of PCEMC’s Youth Tour essay competition administered by the Association of Louisiana Electric Cooperatives (ALEC) and will participate in an all-expense-paid trip to Washington in June.

They joined 22 other students representing various electric cooperatives around the state for the Summit. The group will gather again in Baton Rouge this summer and travel to Washington by motor coach.

Sponsored by PCEMC were Augustgus Bates and Nealie Moore of Port Allen and Anna Daigrepont of Ventress. Sponsored by NRG/Louisiana Generating were Alexis Saizan and E’Lexus Hatten of Erwinville and Mary Solomon of New Roads.

During the Leadership Summit, the students visited the State Capitol and met with their elected senators and representatives. They also took a guided tour of the Big Cajun II coal-fired power generation plant near New Roads, engaged in team-building exercises and learned more about the rural electric cooperative movement.

Sandy Stockwell, director of statewide services at ALEC, is the program coordinator. She said the group is looking forward to a fun and productive trip to Washington in the summer.

“This is a really good group of students who are eager to learn about how our government works, how the rural electric cooperative movement began and how it’s still relevant today,” Stockwell said.

PCEMC General Manager J.H. “Jodie” Cotten said, “These are our future leaders and we’re committed to contributing to their growth and development through this very worthwhile program. Congratulations to these students on their accomplishments and we hope they have a great experience on this trip of a lifetime. It’s something they’ll remember forever.”

Louisiana Generating President Jennifer Vosburg added that the power generation company is committed to supporting education and enhancing the quality of life for all in Pointe Coupee and surrounding parishes.

“We’re proud to be a part of this program,” said Vosburg, who made a brief presentation to the students on environmental legislative policy during the Summit. “One day these young people are going to be the ones making important decisions that will shape the direction of our country and it’s critical that we continue to make these kinds of opportunities available.”