March 29, 2024

Kozak earns spot on National Youth Leadership Council

Blake Kozak, the 2015 Clarke Electric Cooperative (CEC) Youth Tour winner, was chosen to represent the state of Iowa on the National Youth Leadership Council.

Kozak was selected during the Youth Tour trip to Washington, D.C., in June. Jason Gibbs, CEC manager of member services, joined Kozak as a chaperone to the 40 students selected from Iowa’s electric cooperatives to attend the national tour.

During Youth Tour, one student from each state is selected to come back to Washington in July for a leadership workshop which focuses on the electric cooperative industry.

The YLC conference builds leadership and public speaking skills, and enhances the delegates’ knowledge of the energy industry and the cooperative form of business.

Kozak has been invited to make a presentation at both the statewide (December) and CEC (Sept. 14) annual meetings and will attend the National Rural Electric Cooperative 2015 Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

He will also receive a $1,000 scholarship from the Electric Cooperatives Pioneer Trust.

Kozak, who is from St. Charles, will be a senior at Interstate-35 High School this fall and participates in football, track, National Honor Society, student council, speech, mock trial, and 4-H.

Electric co-ops from nearly every state choose participants to receive the all-expense-paid trip. As the future of tomorrow’s co-ops, these youths have a close-up look at American government as they meet with their elected officials on Capitol Hill, train in leadership and form a network with their peers from across the nation.

Previous Youth Tour participants have become university presidents, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies and members of Congress.

In fact, Apple CEO Tim Cook credited the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour with his first trip to Washington in his commencement speech to graduates of The George Washington University this year. Throughout the past 51 years, nearly 50,000 students have visited Washington through the Youth Tour.

Clarke Electric carries on the 51-year tradition of investing in future leaders. The goals is to give them a better understanding of government and the cooperative business model.