Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

SCAEC Essay Contest

Two high school juniors from South Central Arkansas Electric Cooperative's service area have an opportunity of winning an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., next June, according to Ronald Easley, the cooperative's general manager.

Easley said the two winners of an essay contest would participate in the June 18-24 trip, which is part of the National Rural Electric Youth Tour.

To be eligible for the essay contest, students must be a cooperative member or attend a high school within the cooperative's service area.

Contest entrants will be required to submit a 250- to 500-word essay on the history and/or organization of rural electrification. Resource materials that may be helpful to contestants are available from the cooperative's office, according to Easley. Essays will be judged on the basis of knowledge of the subject, originality, composition, neatness and grammar.

Deadline for submitting essays will be March 26. This is the tenth year that South Central Arkansas Electric Cooperative has sponsored the Washington trip. Last year's winners were Erin Schwope of Nashville High School and Terry Nelson Jr. of Arkadelphia High School.

Youth tour participants will report to Arkansas Electric Cooperative headquarters in Little Rock on June 18 for orientation and a fish fry. The Arkansas group, which will include six chaperons, will travel to Washington, D.C., by plane.

In Washington, the group will be part of a group of 1,400 youths from 37 states. Activities will include a visit to the nation's capitol, the White House, numerous national monuments, the Smithsonian Institution, sites of historical interest, plus special programs developed by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), the national organization of electric cooperatives that coordinate the youth tour.

The tour began as a suggestion in 1947 from then U.S. Sen. Lyndon Johnson of Texas. He urged the electric cooperatives to take their young leaders to Washington, D.C., for a close-up look at the nation's capitol and its leaders.

Youth who are eligible for the youth tour should contact their electric cooperative for additional information.