Andrea Melton:
Welcome to Live Wire, a podcast powered by Kosciusko REMC. We are a member owned and locally operated cooperative that supplies electricity to portions of Kosciusko, Fulton, Wabash, and Whitley Counties here in Northern Indiana. Live Wire is a program where we come together to discuss co-op matters, energy, community topics, and to communicate with KREMC members. I'm your host, Andrea Melton.
Welcome back to Live Wire. Thank you so much for joining us again as we move into part two of a conversation about what it means to be a co-op member. When we left off, we had just mentioned the Indiana Connection Magazine, which is mailed monthly to our members. It's one of the really neat perks or benefits of being a member of our co-op. When it comes to communication and information, you can also find our blog under the news tab on our website, KREMC.com. We publish weekly blog articles there, and recently we began a new round of articles about some of our most recent Operation Roundup recipients.
Now, I had talked at length about Operation Roundup a few weeks ago in our episode highlighting Ryan's Case for Smiles, so we won't go into detail about that program today, but you can follow the blog series as well as our social media to learn more about the incredible impact that members are making in our community with the Operation Roundup program.
For now, let's continue our conversation today on what it means to be a KREMC member with Stephanie Scott, our Vice President of Member Services. Thanks for joining us again, Steph.

Stephanie Scott:
Hi.

Andrea Melton:
I'm so glad you're back with us. We were talking and realized we had much more to talk about, so excited to have you back here with me today. Let's move forward and share some information about a program that you and I recently worked together on updating called Co-op Connections. As a new KREMC member, it is one of my favorite programs, Steph.

Stephanie Scott:
Co-op Connections is a discount card program where members of the cooperative get discounts at businesses right here in our community and national discounts as well. We have a mobile app that you can download, and there's the digital card that's shown at local businesses and around the country that offer discounts.
Not only do you get the benefit of the discounts that Kosciusko REMC has put together, but also the ones that all the other co-ops across the country have secured as well. So it's just another way that cooperatives work together.

Andrea Melton:
I think that's really cool about the Co-op Connections program. We have some great local businesses that offer discounts on there. I know Mad Anthony's is on there and The Spectacle Shoppe and others. There are also national discounts through that program.

Stephanie Scott:
Yeah, it's really cool because if you're traveling, you can put something on there to say that you're going to a certain place or a certain city or whatever, and I think you can even put map or something on there and say that you're going to a certain location and it can find discounts to wherever you're headed.

Andrea Melton:
Yeah, that's so neat. And it used to be a physical card, which probably there's some folks out there who still have that old Co-op Connections card, but we are really focusing more so on the digital card app now, which is very convenient. If you have that app on your phone, pull it up and get your discount, show it wherever you are. But the businesses do still honor those physical cards too.

Stephanie Scott:
The way to know if a business accepts the card is they'll have a sticker in their window that says they are a participating Co-op Connections business. That's how they know if they're participating business locally.

Andrea Melton:
Perfect. So keep an eye out for the sticker. And if you are a local business and would be interested in learning more about the Co-op Connections program, reach out and get ahold of us because we are adding new businesses daily. Steph, let's take some time to discuss our youth programs at KREMC. It's truly extraordinary the opportunities that are available for our local youth to pursue. We recently talked at length with McKale Hagg here on Live Wire. McKale was our recent Youth Tour participant.
Every year, KREMC sponsors up to two rising high school seniors, so between junior and senior year to go on the Youth Tour to Washington DC with other students from around the state and country. The kids visit historical monuments and museums and they meet on Capitol Hill with congressional delegates. Steph, can you tell us how interested students can apply for that opportunity later this year?

Stephanie Scott:
Youth Tour is such an amazing opportunity for students. Now while applications for the 2024 not currently being accepted, when they open up, students can apply on our website, kremc.com, under the community section, under youth programs. Each year in June when the trip opens or when the trip happens, and I've seen several students that have participated in this program and they've gone on to do great things as adults. So it's such a great program.

Andrea Melton:
It really is, and it was so neat to talk with McKale about that program. He's obviously a very intelligent and articulate young man and had a great experience there. Really neat program that we offer. Another great program for kids a bit younger is Camp Kilowatt. Camp Kilowatt is a fun and unique summer camp experience for students who are going into their seventh grade year, and I know it takes place at Camp Tecumseh in Brookston, Indiana. Can you tell us a little bit more about Camp Kilowatt, Steph?

Stephanie Scott:
Well, I never went to summer camp as a kid, but I think this one would've been really fun. I'm kind of an energy nerd at this point after working here for 15 years, but-

Andrea Melton:
It happens.

Stephanie Scott:
... if I were to go to summer camp, I'd definitely think Camp Kilowatt would be the one for me. You get to go horseback riding and rock climbing, and they have a live line safety demonstration, bucket truck rides, and they learn all about electricity. It's a three-day camp in June, and KREMC sponsors the kids that get to attend. So kind of like Youth Tour, applications are not currently being accepted for the 2024 program, but they can be found on our website in early 2024.

Andrea Melton:
Awesome. Thank you so much for that info. That does sound like a fun camp. I've seen some photographs from the camp. An amazing opportunity, so definitely keep your eyes and ears open and peeled for more information about when those applications open up. And then we also have two great scholarship programs, the John H. Anglin Scholarship and the 4H scholarships. Can you share a little bit about those scholarship programs with us?

Stephanie Scott:
Sure. Many people don't realize this, but the John H. Anglin Scholarship was named after an old president of our board. He was the president of our board when I started the cooperative in 2008, and the scholarship was founded in honor of him and his contribution to the cooperative prior to his passing in 2012. The scholarships are for members pursuing higher education. We give out ten $1,000 scholarships at our annual meeting each year. The 4H scholarships are for students participating in a 4H project, and we give out ten $350 scholarships at our annual meeting each year.

Andrea Melton:
Both of those are really great programs, and I know I had the opportunity to speak with recipients of those scholarships recently as I write the blog articles and different things for KREMC. The kids are just so fun to talk to and they do such neat things through the 4H program. And then the students who are pursuing higher education who received that John H. Anglin scholarship, just really fascinating to get to know them as individuals and see the different paths they're taking.
It's a really impactful program, both of these, for sure. And finally, the Cooperative Calendar of Student Art Contest is another one that is closed right now, but here in a few months, we'll be accepting entries from kids for the 2025 calendar. And that's more through IEC, Indiana Electric Cooperatives than KREMC specifically. But can you share a little bit more about the art contest, the calendar, Steph?

Stephanie Scott:
Sure. If you've ever picked up one of the Cooperative Calendars here at the office, you're aware of the talent the students who enter this art contest really have. We've even had a few local students who have had artwork featured in the calendar. And each year, Indiana Electric Cooperatives, as you mentioned, that's our statewide organization of electric cooperatives, they have this calendar contest and it's open to students kindergarten to 12th grade. There's a winner for each grade, and the artwork is featured the calendar, and it's seen by thousands of cooperative members around the state.
There are some really talented students, and it's just amazing to see what some of these students have been able to do over the years.

Andrea Melton:
Absolutely. I've checked out some of these past calendars, and it is amazing what kids are capable of and what artistic talent is present in our youth. Definitely keep an ear out for those entries opening up for the 2025 calendar.
And now I'll talk about one more program that actually is currently accepting applications, and that is the Youth Power and Hope Awards. This program is presented by Indiana Connection Magazine and the Indiana Electric Cooperatives, and this is a program to honor community service minded students in fifth through eighth grade who are active leaders in their community. The winners of this award receive $500, and they are featured in the Indiana Connection Magazine. So the Indiana Electric Cooperatives and Indiana Connection Magazine are currently accepting applications for this program.
If you know a student who comes to mind who would be fitting for such an award, get them the information. Tell them to check out our website or give us a call. The deadline this year for the Youth Power and Hope Awards applications is October 2nd, so they still have some time to get that application in. Another great program from your Indiana Electric Cooperatives.
So Steph, over the course of the last two episodes, the last episode and today, we've been detailing what it means to be a co-op member. And looking back, we've covered billing and payments. We talked about outages, our home energy advisor, that amazing tool, the rebates available to our members. We talked about our board of directors and our co-op's democratic process, our communications, including Indiana Connection and our weekly blog, the Co-op Connections program, and then several youth programs and opportunities we talked about today. It's clear that there is a lot of meaning in co-op membership.

Stephanie Scott:
Yes, there are so many things to know about being a member of this cooperative. I hope this series helps enlighten others about some of the programs we offer, some of the perks of being a member and what we are doing as a cooperative to work to save our members money by offering rebates, low electric rates and discounts through our discount card program. It's really awesome to be a member of Kosciusko REMC basically.

Andrea Melton:
It really is. I couldn't agree with you more. I'm learning more and more every day that I'm here with the co-op working and also as a member, and it's a very cool thing. So thank you so much for taking the time to sit and talk with me, not once, but twice about Kosciusko REMC, our amazing membership, and what it all means.

Stephanie Scott:
Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Andrea Melton:
Bye, Steph.
You've been listening to Live Wire, the official podcast of Kosciusko REMC. To learn more about KREMC, visit our website KREMC.com and follow us on social media. Thanks for listening.