How Can Empowered Youth Build Your Brand Story?, With Chinelle Christensen

Icebreakers, scholarships and character building — meet EmPOWER, a youth leadership program for high school juniors in South Dakota and Minnesota. Learn about Sioux Valley Energy’s long-term investment to build future leaders in its community.

Creators & Guests

Host

Megan McKoy-Noe

Brand Storyteller

What is The StoryConnect Podcast?

StoryConnect features interviews with marketers, communicators, CEOs and other leaders at cooperative and independent broadband companies, electric cooperatives and municipal power providers. The goal of the podcast is to help listeners discover ideas to shape their stories and connect with their customers. It is produced by Pioneer Utility Resources.

Intro:
A production of Pioneer Utility Resources.

StoryConnect, helping communicators discover ideas to shape
their stories and connect with their customers.

Megan McKoy-Noe:
How can empowered youth build your brand story?

That's what we'll be talking about on this episode of The
StoryConnect Podcast.

Hi, I'm your host, Megan McKoy-Noe, one of the storytellers at
Pioneer Utility Resources, and I am joined by Chinelle

Christensen, the culture and training development strategist at
Sioux Valley Energy.

Now y'all are located in South Dakota and Minnesota.

You serve about 29,000 members, and I am so excited that you are
joining us today, Chinelle.

You lead a program for the next generation of consumer-members
in your community.

And I heard you talk about this.

You've spoken at Connect and at Minnesota Rural Electric
Association's training, and I wanted you to talk about it today.

Tell us about how your EmPOWER Youth Leadership Program works.

Chinelle Christensen:
Awesome. I'm so excited to be here today.

EmpOWER Youth was created with the thought of, we want the youth
of today to

understand the cooperative difference.

You know, why we matter, why we're here, what we're doing within
our communities.

Why were we created?

It started in 2014 with this idea.

And in 2015, we actually launched our very first year.

We meet four times a year on days that are typically holidays
for students.

So for example, Veterans Day, Presidents' Day, Martin Luther
King Day, and Columbus Day.

And I know those are all in the wrong order.

But typically they're holidays for these students.

So they come from all across our service territory, and they
participate in EmPOWER Youth.

And it's a variety of leadership skills, learning what a
cooperative is, finding their strengths through strength finders,

building connections with students from across our territory.

It has evolved into this incredible program that we've had just
about 600 students go through.

And yeah, we're making quite the impact within our area.

It's pretty, an incredible thing to be a part of.

Megan McKoy-Noe:
So in 2025, you're going to be celebrating the 10th year of the
EmPOWER Youth Leadership Program.

And I'm not sure if you know this, but 2025 is also going to be
the United Nations' International Year of

Cooperatives.

Chinelle Christensen:
Well, how about that.

Megan McKoy-Noe:
I know. Isn't that nice when things work well and just pair up
like that so you can

celebrate your program and how this is helping talk about the
business model.

But it's not just about cooperatives, right?

It really is.

And a lot of folks do cooperative education, right, for their
youth as part of their Youth Tour or statewide youth leadership

programs. But I was really impressed with how this program
really has them come in on those days when they

don't have school, generally.

And it's a lot of leadership training.

So you mentioned some of that.

Why do you think it's important for students to have access to
leadership training?

Chinelle Christensen:
Well, I think that because they're our future leaders.

You know, they're our future employees.

They're our future members.

They're our future board of directors.

So it's so important to tap into them as they're getting ready,
looking at their future career.

They're looking at those colleges that they're going to be going
to.

Where am I going to be in the next five years?

And if we can help them establish the leadership skills that
they're going to need, help them identify the career path that

they want to go on, why not?

They're going to come back someday and say, "I went through this
program with Sioux Valley, and that's a great place.

I want to work there." And so we're developing our future
leaders.

Megan McKoy-Noe:
Now, you said that 600 students and future leaders have gone
through the EmPOWER Leadership Program over the

last, now, nine years.

How many students apply for this?

Are they rising sophomores?

Juniors? Talk me to me a little bit more about that.

Chinelle Christensen:
So we offer it to juniors in high school.

So like this time of year, I start going out to all the schools,
and I visit with the sophomore class that will be a junior next

school year. And I give them a little snip of what EmPOWER is,
what they would expect from it, their opportunities within the

program. Like we giveaway scholarships.

They have an opportunity to go on Youth Tour, opportunity to go
on Youth Excursion.

You know, just outside of what the program offers itself.

And so I go to our 23 districts, that's what we have within our
service territory.

They do not have to be a member.

They just have to attend a school within our district.

So that was something that we went back and forth a lot on, on
do we offer it to just members children?

Well, eventually you may run out of students because people
aren't necessarily moving out of rural, you know, areas.

If they're landowners or farmers within those areas, their
children may move on, but there's not a lot of newer children

within those areas.

And so we really thought, why wouldn't we offer this to
everybody within those districts?

Because they may be a member someday.

Or they may be our employee or board of director.

And so it's been open to any student that attends a school
district within our service territory.

And we've taken a lot of time to develop relationships with the
schools to say, "Hey, we want to come in.

We want to talk to these students.

This is what we're doing," and they are always open armed.

Welcome us in. Give me dedicated time to spend with the students
to promote the program.

We do limit to 40 in the program.

We had one year, we had like 86.

And while that sounds great in numbers, it was a lot.

Megan McKoy-Noe:
86 applications or kids in the program?

Chinelle Christensen:
86 in the program.

Yep, 86 in the program, and it was a lot.

On number wise, it looks great, right?

Like a lot of kids were in the program that year.

But from a logistics standpoint, we had to rent a lot of
facilities because we hold it in house.

We have community rooms that are big enough for us.

We weren't big enough anymore.

And, right now, when they come into the program, they may be the
only one from their school.

So they have to build relationships with other students.

When they were coming in in that larger group, they were just
sticking with the people that they knew.

And so we kind of lost some of what we wanted from the program.

So I actually went back to our leadership and said, "I'd really
like to recommend that we cap it at 40," and that's what we've

done going forward.

Applications vary.

You know, we had an odd year, a couple years of Covid there
where we really had to rebrand and get creative on our marketing

and launching the program because we had lost all that momentum
of previous students when we brought it back.

And so we generally get anywhere, you know, 50 on up, you know,
for

applications depending on the year, which is great.

Megan McKoy-Noe:
Yeah.

Chinelle Christensen:
We're recognized now that colleges, other programs recognize
EmPOWER Youth as a

positive thing on their resumes, on their applications for other
scholarships or to even get admitted into college.

I get asked a lot for letters of reference for those types of
things, and so it's pretty cool to see how it's evolved, you

know, from a program where they come, you know, four times a
year to now it's making an impact on them as they make future

choices for themselves.

Megan McKoy-Noe:
I love that.

You mentioned that you had to get creative with marketing, and I
think a lot of folks with youth programs are facing that same

challenge, especially after the pandemic had some fun with
blocking folks from getting into

the schools and making those relationships.

So you did lose some of your biggest champions for that part of
your story when everyone graduated.

So I heard you talk about this a few weeks ago when we were
together.

I believe you said you used Snapchat advertising, and that was
one of the main ways.

Yeah. What else worked really well for rebranding?

Chinelle Christensen:
We, at that time, changed our EmPOWER logo completely.

We wanted to come out with a new bang, like, "Hey, we're still
the same great program, but we have a new

look, you know, added flair." And while we changed the logo, we
developed a couple different videos to go with it from

material from previous sessions.

And we would tweak them depending on our audience.

So if it was on Facebook, we made sure it was tailored, you
know, to the a little bit older generation, the parents, maybe

the older sibling.

If it was on Instagram, you may hit the generation that you
want, but you still may hit their older sibling or older cousin

or relative.

And then on Snapchat you're limited to a certain amount of time.

And so we had to get really creative on what we wanted played on
there and the demographic that it was going to hit.

We still used, you know, the newsletter that goes out to the
grandparent because, you know, they're going to tell their

grandma, their granddaughter or grandson to apply for the
program.

We still sent fliers to the school, but then we also included
these videos for them to play on their boards that are in the

hallways. We asked their sophomore teachers to play it to their
classroom.

When I couldn't get into those rooms, I got really creative with
what types of incentives can I offer to previous EmPOWER

alumni? Even though they were in their college years, how can I
incentivize them to encourage students to apply?

Because they still had connections back to their, you know,
their high schools that they graduated with?

And to my surprise, it worked.

And I was a little nervous.

And I would tell anybody that, you know, we were basically
starting new, and we wanted to make sure that we were reaching

our target audiences, and we didn't know if it would work or
not.

And when my first application came in and it said they saw it on
Snapchat, I was like, "Hallelujah, it worked!"

Because a lot of the generation uses Snapchat to communicate.

And you can set, you know, a geographical area to target that y
ou want that ad to be played to just that

area and just this age.

And it worked.

And so we continue to use that today, and I'm back in the
schools now.

You know, now that we're a few years past Covid, I've been able
to get back in the schools.

And that still works really well because you're right there.

You have your captive audience.

They see you.

And then I bring along EmPOWER students from that year, bring
them along, tell them about your experience through the program

because they're your biggest champion.

You know, they've gone through it.

They know how they feel about it.

Of course, I'm going to say it's a great program, but to hear it
from their peers makes a big difference.

Megan McKoy-Noe:
Well. And I think one of the things that's unique about your
program is the way that you funnel all of your scholarships

through the program and your Youth Tour applications.

They have to be involved with EmPOWER, right?

Chinelle Christensen:
Yep.

Megan McKoy-Noe:
Tell me a little bit about how the program has changed your
scholarship and youth opportunity efforts.

Chinelle Christensen:
Yeah. So Youth Tour, for example, if they want to apply for Youth
Tour, they have to be in the EmPOWER program.

It's an exclusive opportunity for our EmPOWER students to be
able to go on Youth Tour.

And so right now I'm actually reviewing the applications through
the program that came in.

And then I have other employees grade their essays and stuff
because I know these students.

And so I want to have that non-biased, you know, look at those
applications, I black out the names, and I just put a number on

each one and send it off to the employees that have, that are
going to be grading those essays.

And then I've had them interview with previous Youth Tour
winners and members from our board, usually 1 or 2

members from our board. And there's a few questions on, you
know, why are you interested in going to Washington, D.C.?

What are you hoping to learn while you're there?

For them to have a different experience, and that's part of that
process, too.

The other part of them being selected for Youth Tour is how have
they volunteered through the years that

they've been in EmPOWER?

So they can earn points for being involved in their communities,
for volunteering for certain things, and they submit

those throughout the year.

And that all goes into their final overall score to aid them to
earn that opportunity for Youth

Tour. Our scholarship system is set up very similar.

They submit an essay, and then they also earn points for
attending their Empower sessions, for attending their district

meeting within their area.

And if they came to the annual meeting at the beginning of the
year, and then their volunteer points all total a total score

for them. When they earn those scholarships, we actually
recognize them at our annual meeting.

So they get in front of our membership, and they're recognized
for these scholarships that they've earned through EmPOWER.

I think it's incredibly important for our membership to see what
we're doing with the youth, and that we're making an impact on

them, that these are future leaders and what our program has
evolved to over the years.

And that has been an excellent change.

You know, their parents come, people that may not have ever come
to an annual meeting before.

We're getting younger generations there.

It's a different crowd than maybe we've had in the past.

And so we're really creating more touch points toO to say, "Hey,
this is what an annual meeting is, and what we do, and why it's

good to come. And we're going to recognize your student for the
scholarship that they earned through the year."

Megan McKoy-Noe:
Do any of the students speak at your annual meeting?

Chinelle Christensen:
We haven't done that yet.

I don't know if that's something we'll offer in the future or
not.

It has been talked about, you know, what level does that look
like?

Megan McKoy-Noe:
Yeah.

Chinelle Christensen:
And so right now, last year, we tried a new format for our annual
meeting where we actually had three locations for our annual

meeting and live broadcasted the main location to two other
spots.

And so, yeah, we've been trying all different things.

We're actually going to be doing that again this year.

So we have like one main location that gets broadcasted out to
two other locations.

So, we're always up for something new.

Megan McKoy-Noe:
I love that about what y'all are doing at Sioux Valley.

And I'm just curious, how many total scholarships do you give
away every year?

Chinelle Christensen:
It varies.

I try to not give anything out, like under $500.

And the reason why is college is so expensive, you can't even
hardly buy books for $500.

And so I wanted them to at least have enough money to buy books,
you know, with the scholarship that we give them.

So depending on how many applications that we have come in and
how they score is generally how we divide out the money.

We give away a few thousand dollar ones, some $750 and then
$500.

The one thing I forgot to mention is if they were elected onto
the EmPOWER Youth Advisory Board, that earns them an

automatic scholarship for being a part of that board, because
then they walk alongside me and help plan that year.

They offer ideas for team builders.

They run the team builders for those sessions.

They're actively involved in the promotion of the program for
that next year.

Kind of we try to model it similar to a cooperative with our
board, only, you know, they're more involved with the

day-to-day with EmPOWER.

But it gives them an opportunity to be a leader in a role, and
they're elected by their their EmPOWER students that are in the

room with them.

Megan McKoy-Noe:
Oh, I like that. And then they're involved when they are a senior
in high school, right?

Chinelle Christensen:
Yep.

Megan McKoy-Noe:
And how many how many people are on that committee?

Chinelle Christensen:
Five. Yep.

Megan McKoy-Noe:
Five. Okay.

Chinelle Christensen:
Yep. So, like, we just had a session here a couple of weeks ago,
our last one for the year.

And so then they [get] up, they get a one minute "why you should
vote for me" type whatever.

I've had students rap.

I've had students sing.

I've had him be a comedian.

It's been across the board of what they do.

And then they vote. We hand out ballots.

They vote on their, you know, their five.

And then we announce them that day, take a new group picture for
the the new advisory board, and then they're the ones for that

next year.

Megan McKoy-Noe:
So then they can get a scholarship for their participation this
year, and then add on a scholarship through the advisory

committee service next year.

I like that. I like building in advocates for your program and
people that help you run the program, and it gives them some

extra leadership skills as well, which is really nice.

Chinelle Christensen:
It's worked really nice.

Megan McKoy-Noe:
I mean, I feel like I could talk to you about this all day.

Chinelle Christensen:
I agree.

Megan McKoy-Noe:
I will say that – it's exciting – just finding ways to really tap
into the younger generation and do

some rewarding work with them as well, and help make their lives
better.

Now you have offered all of the branding, which I love the
brand, the new brand that you came out with for

EmPOWER and support materials for that.

You have that available for folks if they want to see it, if
they want to use some of it.

We will have that link at pioneer.coop/podcasts in the episode
with Chinelle.

So we'll have a link there so people can continue the
conversation with you and learning from you.

But I have just one last question before I let you go.

Do you have any tips for utility pioneers who want to really
forge long lasting relationships with the next generation of

consumer members?

Chinelle Christensen:
I would tell you to not be afraid to try it.

Don't be afraid to try something new.

Don't be afraid just because it might not be your expertise in
the technology or that world that they're living in.

Don't be afraid to try.

There's always somebody that can help you along the way to say,
"Oh, this is how you use that app." Or, "this is the best way to

communicate with them." Or whatever it may be, don't be afraid
to try it.

You know, we went through that where it was like, what are we
going to do?

We could have just rolled over and washed our hands with it, but
it was to say, "No, let's try it.

If it doesn't work, we're never going to know if it didn't work
unless we try it." And it is so important, from my

perspective, to really take the time to invest in the youth,
because they are our future, and we want them to be

connected to us so that they come back someday and say, "That's
a great place to be a part of."

Megan McKoy-Noe:
I love that.

Well, thank you for sharing your story with utility pioneers and
inspiring all of us to try some new

things to build a more educated and excited member base.

She is Chinelle Christensen from Sioux Valley Energy, and I'm
your host, Megan McKoy-Noe at Pioneer Utility Resources.

And until we talk again, keep telling your story.

Outro:
StoryConnect is produced by Pioneer Utility Resources, a
communications cooperative that is built to share your story.

StoryConnect is engineered by Lucas Smith of Lucky Sound Studio.