Sponsored by GreyStone Power Corporation, Doris Ijeoma of Douglasville joined an elite group of 40 students attending the Georgia Cooperative Council’s Youth Leadership Conference at the Georgia FFA/FCCLA Center in Covington. The purpose of the conference is to build and enhance her leadership skills and learn of the role cooperatives play in the communities they serve. The leadership event is also designed to promote teamwork through a series of exercises, training and presentations.
According to Department Manager of Public Relations and Communications Vicki Harshbarger with GreyStone, it is important that students understand the basics of cooperatives and the principles on which they were founded. “These students may become trailblazers in their own right, so we feel a responsibility to teach them about organizations that play a pivotal role in helping their towns and cities grow and prosper, and co-ops are a perfect example,” Harshbarger says.
During the conference, students engaged in activities designed to challenge, teach and entertain, including a field trip to Snapping Shoals EMC in Covington and Godfrey Dairy Farm in Madison. The Congressional Insight Game, a fast-paced workshop presented by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), educated students on the skills needed to be an effective member of Congress—managing staff, responding to media inquiries, monitoring legislation, and attending round-the-clock meetings with constituents, lobbyists and colleagues, among other essentials.
According to Frances Edmunds, chairman of the Georgia Co-op Council Board of Directors and Marketing Specialist at Southwest Georgia Farm Credit, attendees learn first-hand about cooperatives and their unique characteristics compared to other business structures.
“Co-ops are owned and controlled by the people who use their products and/or services,” says Edmunds. “We know that these students are on a journey to become our future leaders, so it is important that they understand how co-ops operate and especially the impact co-ops have on their local communities and across the country.”
The impact of the five-day event can be summed up best by comments from two of this year’s participants, Lana Goitia of Lawrenceville and Alena Smith of Hawkinsville. Goitia says, “Over the past week, I have learned and grown so much. I cannot wait to get home and put these skills to work!” Smith adds, “Being here has taught me so much about team effort, relating to people different than me and understanding why my family is involved in cooperatives like my EMC.”
According to Harshbarger, these remarks reflect the desired outcome of the Youth Leadership Conference: students will have a greater understanding of the cooperative business model, an appreciation for the challenges put before elected officials and a greater sense of how they can personally work with others to accomplish a common goal.
An additional focus of the Conference includes a discussion of the diversity of industries represented by co-ops. According to Harshbarger, cooperatives come in different shapes and sizes and include a broad collection of industries such as agriculture, health care, electric, housing, food, finance, education and technology.
To hear different perspectives from different co-ops, the group heard presentations from Craig Scroggs, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture; Steve Uram, NRECA; Jack McMullan, Farm Credit Associations; Mark Camp, Southern States; Mark Coiner, Dairy Farmers of America; Mark Nofi, GEMC Federal Credit Union; and Gale Cutler, Georgia’s EMCs.
To be eligible to attend the Youth Leadership Conference, students must exhibit leadership potential, complete at least their freshman year of high school, apply as a first-time attendee and attend as a guest of their local cooperative.
Electric Membership Cooperatives (EMCs) sending students this year included Altamaha, Canoochee, Diverse Power, GreyStone Power, Irwin, Middle Georgia, Ocmulgee, Planters, Rayle, Snapping Shoals, Tri-County, Upson and Walton.
GreyStone Power serves more than 106,500 members in portions of eight counties, including Paulding, Douglas, Fulton, Cobb, Carroll, Bartow, Fayette and Coweta counties. Learn more at www.greystonepower.com.
