Leadership, motivation and learning brought 11 schools from Rural Electric Cooperative’s service area together for REC’s 18th annual Youth Leadership Summit. 

“REC is passionate about our youth and helping to develop their skill set,” said Megan Lawrence, Manager of Member Services and Marketing. “REC and the Board of Trustees understand the importance our youth play in our communities and fostering their leadership development will only assist them later in life.”

Rhett Laubach, owner of Your Next Speaker, in Edmond, Oklahoma spent the day working with 64 students about leadership and preparing for the future. The students interacted with each other throughout the day and gained useful tips on how they can obtain their dream job. Laubach has taught leadership skills for over 25 years to audiences across the United States, the Bahamas and Canada.

This year, students from Alex, Bray-Doyle, Cement, Dibble, Elmore City-Pernell, Lindsay, Paoli, Pauls Valley, Purcell, Wayne and Wynnewood participated in the Youth Leadership Summit. In addition to a full day of mental, emotional, social and physical activity, REC gave five scholarships. The winners of the scholarships were selected based on their participation throughout the day, their application they submitted and recommendations from their sponsors.

REC gave five, $500 scholarships to the students in attendance. This year’s Youth Leadership Summit scholarship winners were Hannah Kilbourn from Bray-Doyle, Kylee Hager from Dibble, Collin Bryant from Lindsay, Carter Goldston from Purcell and Zoe Spray from Wayne. 

“REC is honored to provide opportunities for our youth to expand their leadership skills," Lawrence adds. "We are thankful for schools in our service territory allowing their students to participate in this event and all of our youth programs."