(NASHVILLE) La Vergne High School student Catalina Ortiz and Rutherford County home school student Jack Sohar were in Nashville March 13-15 for the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association’s annual Youth Leadership Summit. The juniors were chosen and sponsored by Middle Tennessee Electric (MTE).
While in Nashville, delegates visited the State Capitol Building where they were welcomed by Secretary of State Tre Hargett and members of the Tennessee General Assembly. Summit attendees held a mock legislative session in the Senate Chambers, debating and voting on a bill they developed. In addition to lawmakers, students heard from leaders like Miss Tennessee’s Outstanding Teen, Jane Marie Franks and trooper Shane Moore and K-9 Officer Sumo with the Tennessee Executive Protection Detail. Ortiz and Sohar were able to meet one-on-one with Sen. Dawn White.
The Youth Leadership Summit also included a day of leadership training at the Joe C. Davis YMCA Outdoor Center and a behind-the-scenes tour of Bridgestone Arena prior to a Nashville Predators game.
Delegates to the Youth Leadership Summit are encouraged to be leaders in their hometowns and use their talents to improve rural Tennessee. “The Youth Leadership Summit gives the brightest students in rural and suburban Tennessee the opportunity to expand their leadership skills,” says Todd Blocker, Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association vice president of member relations and director of the Youth Leadership Summit. “These young people will be the next generation of leaders in Tennessee, and I commend electric co-ops for supporting this effort to prepare young people for the future.”
“It’s important to support students who will be future leaders in our communities, and Middle Tennessee Electric is proud to do that through programs like the Youth Leadership Summit,” said Jay Sanders, MTE community relations coordinator.
About MTE
Founded in 1936, MTE is the largest electric cooperative in the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) region and the second largest in the United States, serving more than 750,000 Tennesseans via 325,000+ accounts covering nearly 2,200 square miles in 11 Middle Tennessee counties, primarily Rutherford, Cannon, Williamson and Wilson. Municipalities served include Murfreesboro, Franklin, Brentwood, Smyrna, La Vergne, Lebanon, and Mt. Juliet. MTE employs 520 people in seven local offices and its Murfreesboro corporate headquarters.
MTE’s subsidiary, United Communications, is a nationally recognized broadband company with a fiber network spanning more than 1,700 route miles providing high-speed internet and other services to portions of Williamson, Rutherford, Marshall, Bedford, Franklin, Wilson, and Davidson counties.
About TECA
Electric cooperatives serve more than 3 million consumers and 72 percent of Tennessee. The Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association provides leadership, advocacy and support for Tennessee’s 23 electric cooperatives and publishes The Tennessee Magazine, the state’s most widely circulated periodical. Visit tnelectric.org or tnmagazine.org to learn more.
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