On Sunday morning, Mancos High School student Anna Cox got in a car bound for Steamboat Springs. She was one of three Montezuma County students selected by Empire Electric Association to attend the 2015 Cooperative Youth Leadership Camp, which runs July 11-16July 11th to the 16th.

Last November, each applicant received a packet application. The application asked a variety of questions regarding themselves, their interests, and their hobbies. They were required to write an essay on leadership and have a letter of recommendation. The winning applicants were notified in February.

This week, Cox will experience an all expense paid trip funded by the Empire Electric's Board of Directors. The camp takes place at a resort by the Elk River. More than 100 students from Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Wyoming attend the camp each year. The students will tour Trapper Coal Mine and the Craig Station Power plant, which is the largest electric generating station in Colorado. They will go rafting and take part in many other activities geared towards improving each individual's personal goals. They will learn about the rural electric cooperative program, state and national legislatures, energy prices, and power generation.

Cox is an honor roll student, member of the Mancos High School National Honor Society, a volleyball athlete, and an active member of 4-H-look for her at the county fair later this month. She was also a part of the Terminate Trivial Testing campaign last year.

Empire Electric's Board of Directors offer two youth trips every year, one to Steamboat Springs and one to Washington D.C. Applications for 2016 trips open to high school juniors in November. They drive the chosen applicants up and back from the camp, and provide lunch for the drives. Thank you to Empire Electric for this opportunity.