On the Wire March Issue

COLEMAN TO REPRESENT WCEC IN WASHINGTON

Spring Coleman, age 16 and a junior at Mineola High School, has taken first place in Wood County Electric Cooperative's (WCEC) Youth Tour essay contest. As the contest winner, she will represent WCEC at the weeklong Government in Action Youth Tour in Washington, D.C., in June.

To win, Spring submitted an essay titled, My Co-op, My Local Human Connection. In it she described how, beyond electricity delivery, WCEC impacts and improves lives in the region it serves. She outlined several ways including the cooperative's FFA support, scholarship programs, and the sponsorship of students to a leadership camp.

As a junior and honor roll student at Mineola High School (MHS), Spring enjoys playing the saxophone in the band and is a varsity cheerleader. She is also class representative on the student council. When she is not busy with school activities, Spring spends her time working at the local skating rink. She also enjoys reading and writing poetry. She has published 3 poems, one in a national contest which she received an Honorable Mention. She is also an active member of Smith Chapel United Methodist Church.

Spring is the daughter of WCEC members Monte and Summer Colemen. Of this recent achievement Summer said, "We are so proud of Spring. She worked very hard on her essay and I could not be more pleased for her. We can't wait for her to experience our nation's capitol and I look forward to hearing all about it."

Spring will travel to Washington, D.C. with approximately125 other Youth Tour winners from other Texas cooperatives, where they will meet others from across the nation. She will meet congressional representatives and visit historic memorials and cultural centers.

WCEC CEO/General Manager Debbie Robinson said, "The Youth Tour is a signature program of electric cooperatives. Past attendees have called it the trip of a lifetime. As such, we are extremely proud of this program and all of the youth that have represented our cooperative as delegates. Over the years, we've watched past attendee's blossom as part of this wonderful experience, and I look forward to seeing Spring enjoy the same."

WCEC is offering ten $2,000 Power My World Scholarships. Applications will be accepted until April 6th from local high school students interested in receiving college scholarship money. Interested individuals can find more information and print the application here.

Also, a $5,000 Power My World Electrical Engineering Scholarship is available for college juniors that have been accepted and are enrolled into an accredited electrical engineering program. The deadline for applications is April 6th. Interested individuals can find information regarding eligibility and applications at here.

Lastly, we have begun accepting applications for the East Texas Rural Electric Youth Seminar (ETREYS). This FREE opportunity is for high school sophomores and juniors to attend an all expense paid week long leadership camp at East Texas Baptist University in Marshall, TX, June 27th - July 1st. Applications can be downloaded here.

Safety Tips

Don't toy with your safety!

When you are outdoors, keep a safe distance from power lines, substations, and other equipment that is used to send electricity to your home.

Flying remote controlled toys are a great way to have fun, but accidentally making contact with a power line or other electrical equipment can be dangerous and in some cases even deadly.

* Never fly kites, drones, and/or remote controlled

toys near power lines.

* Stay away from power lines, meters, transformers, and electrical boxes.

* Never climb trees near power lines.

* If you get something stuck in a power line, call WCEC at 903-763-2203 to

remove it.

* And always assume a downed power line is electrified, keep a safe distance of at

least 33 feet. The ground and objects around it can also be electrified.

For more safety tips visit our Safety & Consumer Tips

Energy Efficiency Tips

Consider purchasing rechargeable batteries - and an ENERGY STAR charger for them - which are more cost effective than disposable batteries. In the U.S. alone, adopting more energy-efficient battery chargers could save families more than $170 million annually.

For more energy efficiency tips visit our Energy Savings Center.

We have added Twitter to our mix!

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Wood County Electric Cooperative | [email protected] | http://www.wcec.org