Several local students have a greater understanding of the cooperative way of business through their attendance at the 19th Annual Georgia Cooperative Council Youth Leadership Conference.

Brittany Bethea and Will Powers of Watkinsville, Lana Heidel and Tandra Landers of Monroe, Michael Doran of Rutledge and Josh Drummond of Loganville attended the conference held July 14-16 at the Georgia FFA-FCCLA Center in Covington.

Walton Electric Membership Corporation made the students' attendance possible.

The objective of the conference is to educate students about cooperatives. Additionally, participants take part in a number of group exercises designed to build leadership skills and promote teamwork.

Using a computer simulation, teams managed virtual farm supply co-ops, competing against each other to become the most successful. Workshops included activities in which participants assessed their personality and explored ways to work more effectively with others.

Students also attended encounter sessions where several cooperatives, including the trade association for Georgia's EMCs, gave an overview of their organization and explained how co-op principles and values guide business operations. Included was a lecture on the purpose of agricultural commodity commissions.

The Georgia Cooperative Council is a statewide non-profit association whose objective is to promote, foster and encourage all types of cooperative associations in the state.

Walton EMC is a consumer-owned cooperative providing electricity and related services to 103,000 members in ten Northeast Georgia counties. Collectively, Georgia's 42 EMCs serve 3.7 million people, nearly half of Georgia's population, across 73% of the state's land area.

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