2016 Youth Tour Essay Contest Four students selected for trip to Washington, D.C. E
ven though competitive essays were in no short supply, four area
students stood out from the crowd and were selected as winners of Northeast Oklahoma Electric Cooperative’s 2016 Youth Tour Essay Contest. The winning students represent the four primary counties contained within the cooperative’s service territory: Craig, Delaware, Mayes and Ottawa.
“Once again, the quality of essays submitted this year made the decision difficult from the judging standpoint,” explained NEOEC Youth Programs Coordinator Clint Branham. “In the end, students who stood out were the ones best able to satisfy specific judging criteria. They not only wrote to the topic, they also personalized their essays while captivating the reader with writing that was both interesting and technically strong.”
The essay topic for 2016 -- What is an REC? -- allowed for a broad interpretation from contributors.
“We had a lot of variety in the essays submitted,” Branham said. “We had some creative minds who took the topic and really individualized it well.”
Branham also explained that the four winners were narrowed down from a field of six finalists, each of whom was invited to interview in front of the cooperative board of trustees.
“The trustees were impressed with each of the six candidates they interviewed,” he said. “Their decision was as difficult as the essay judging itself.”
Carley Mahurin Fairland High School junior Carley
Mahurin, daughter of Randy and
Dawnie Mahurin of Fairland, was selected as the top essayist from Ottawa County. According to judging notes, Mahurin’s essay “offered the reader a unique perspective, as well as a deep appreciation, for what it means to be part of the REC family.”
Wrote Mahurin: “REC is so much more than just a cooperative that provides electricity to rural Oklahoma. It is a group of people who join together to better themselves and those around them. They are a group who care for people as if they are family. They are a group that gives back to others and supports many activities and events.”
Michelle Trapp The top essay for Craig County was
submitted by Michelle Trapp, daughter of Afton resident Dena Trapp. The Ketchum High School junior did an excellent job of researching the topic, according to judging notes.
“This entry was simple, yet strong. It was an easy read and well written, a solid effort with good research. It made the reader want more,” read the judges notes.
Good examples of Trapp’s research and writing were on display early in her essay.
“In the mid-1930s, electricity in rural communities was nearly unheard of. It was found almost exclusively in the big cities, where a larger density of people, greater available funds and closer proximity to generators allowed 90 percent of the people the luxury of electrical power in their homes and businesses. Unfortunately, the large cost of running electric lines and uncertainty in farmers’ ability to
pay made private electric companies unwilling to extend into rural regions.”
Trapp later wrote: “Rural people realized that they had the power to get electricity and, with the aid of the REA, established 417 rural electric cooperatives by 1939.”
Jaxson Oakley Delaware County’s top essay was
submitted by Grove High School junior Jaxson Oakley, son of Fairland residents Kristi Wilmoth and Craig Oakley. Jaxson’s submission was judged as the best overall essay submitted and he was awarded a check in the amount of $250 for having received the highest overall score. His essay as described in the judging notes as “very strong and well-researched. A thorough telling of the cooperative story from the beginning.”
Oakley’s entry took readers back to the origins of the cooperative business model.
“The first step in defining an REC is to examine what a cooperative is and its role in history,” wrote Oakley, detailing the story of the Fenwick Weavers Society and explaining the cooperative principals adopted by the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers.
“What makes a cooperative so special that it deserves its own UN sanctioned holiday?” Oakley asked. “It is the spirit of unity and inclusiveness that a cooperative fosters and how the co-op allows workers and consumers and farmers and everyone else to join together to fight for more opportunities. It is the assistance it gives to families in need, be it loans or extra supplies when times are tough.
ConƟ nued on page 9 October 2015 - October 2015 May 2016 - 7 7
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