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Intro:
A production of Pioneer Utility Resources.

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

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Andy Johns:
How can a junior board program help engage youth in your
community?

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

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My name is Andy Johns, your host with Pioneer, and I'm joined on
this episode by Amanda Steeb, who is the director of marketing

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and Ccommunications at Kankakee Valley REMC in Indiana, as well
as Dave Howell, who is the facilities manager at

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Kankakee Valley REMC.

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Thank you guys both for joining me.

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Amanda Steeb:
Thank you for having us.

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Dave Howell:
Thank you.

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Andy Johns:
So we're going to talk about your Junior Board program, which I
think is a pretty cool idea and not something I've heard of very

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many other folks doing.

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I've heard, you know, a lot of folks are in the position right
now of trying to engage those younger audiences.

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But, Amanda, just tell me a little bit about the basics.

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Where did the idea come from to do a Junior Board?

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Amanda Steeb:
The idea came from actually another co-op.

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So that's the great thing about co-ops is that we all can share
ideas.

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Andy Johns:
Admire and acquire.

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Yep.

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Amanda Steeb:
Yeah. And then actually, you know, change it a little bit to work
for our area.

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So that's exactly what we did.

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So we got the idea from another co-op, brought it back.

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Dave and I talked a lot about how we could make this work for
us.

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You know, anytime we engage with youth, we always run into the 
issue of getting them to the

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co-op or getting them where we needed them to be, because these
students that are very active, they're not only

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active in the community, but they're active at school.

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So getting them after school was the challenge.

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So Dave and I thought long and hard about this.

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We met with some superintendents, and we determined that the
best way to make this program work is to get

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the buy-in from the schools and have the program during the day.

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So that's kind of what has made this program unique for us.

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And unique when we talk to other co-ops is that we get those
kids out of school.

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We get the blessing from the schools.

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These students spend the entire day with us.

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And it's been great.

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So that's how we've been able to make this work best.

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So that's kind of where the idea came from.

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Another co-op and we made it our own.

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Andy Johns:
Yeah, that's a cool idea to be able to get them out because like
you said, a lot of these same students that are really kind of

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leaders and the ones that you want, they're going to be involved
in sports and clubs and after school activities and, you know,

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church. Yeah, like you said, community, all kinds of stuff.

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So that's a great idea.

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How many schools are you guys, when you're talking about working
that out, how many schools ballpark are y'all working with to

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kind of get that approved, Dave?

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Dave Howell:
This year we've chosen 13 students from seven different schools.

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Andy Johns:
Oh, wow.

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Dave Howell:
We have 9 to 10 schools that we reach out to fill out
applications.

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But this year, seven schools were selected.

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Andy Johns:
Got it. And, Dave, what all is involved in the role of a junior
board member?

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Are they, obviously, you know, there's a lot, sounds like career
training.

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But what all kind of goes into being a junior board member?

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Dave Howell:
Yeah. So we really have a potpourri of things we discuss.

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They're with us for eight months.

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We meet one day a month for the full day.

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The first session, they're learning about themselves, self-exam.

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You know, what kind of people they are.

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Then their fellow board members can also engage and see what
kind of people that they're working with.

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They learn a lot from each other that first session of really
who they are.

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That leads us into our next session where it's governance day,
and we select

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a board president, vice president, secretary, treasurer.

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We go on then to a local county commissioner meeting.

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We set through a county commissioner meeting.

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Andy Johns:
Okay.

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Dave Howell:
And then we'll end our day with meeting with the mayor of a town
here.

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So they kind of get the whole idea of government on that first
day.

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We identify early, and they identify early, kind of who their
leaders are.

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There's a lot of shy kids.

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And that's our goal here is to bring them out of their shell.

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Andy Johns:
Sure.

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Dave Howell:
So that first session, you know, we explained that, you know, as
the president, you're going to run the meeting.

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We're going to learn Robert's Rules.

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We're going to run the meeting like it should be ran.

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And then at the end, you're going to be rewarded with coming to
our annual meeting and get to give a little speech to

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600-700 people.

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That really excites them.

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Not really.

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Andy Johns:
For some, for some probably, I would guess there'd be some that
are.

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Dave Howell:
Our goal is to just kind of bring these kids out of their shell.

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It's like 4-H here is really big.

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And when you have to do a demonstration speech in 4-H, that kind
of brings you out of their shell.

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We try to just move that along.

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But yeah, from there, we have a career day where we'll bring
in, people will teach them how to write

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resumes. We'll do mock interviews for jobs.

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They'll talk to them about social media, what they shouldn't be
putting on their social media now, and how that stays with them –

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Andy Johns:
Good lessons to learn.

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Dave Howell:
– forever.

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We'll go to Indianapolis, and we'll tour the State House one
day.

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We'll sit down with state representatives and, we'll tour the
Supreme Court.

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We have a really good relationship with our politicians in this
area.

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Andy Johns:
Sure.

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Dave Howell:
And they really got behind this youth program so that was huge.

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Well, one day, we'll go into a court.

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We will actually sit in the jury box, and we will watch pretrial
arraignments.

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We'll watch bonds being set.

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We'll watch plea deals being worked out.

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The judge will spend time with us answering questions, telling
them what they're witnessing.

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So it's just overall a little bit of everything.

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And hopefully exposing them to things that they normally
wouldn't get to see or especially up

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close like this. Maybe everyone's toured the courthouse, but
have, you know, have you really sat in a jury box and watched it

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this close? So.

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Andy Johns:
Right.

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Dave Howell:
I'll let Amanda explain the final, our community day project.

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Andy Johns:
Yeah. And before we get there, Amanda, that ties into kind of my
next question I had for you.

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Let's put a pin in the community today and come back to it.

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But, you know, with touring the Capitol, with all that, how does
this tie into some of your other youth programs?

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Because this is in addition to youth tours and scholarships and
some of the other stuff you guys are doing, not instead of,

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right?

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Amanda Steeb:
Right. Yeah. No, we've always had a, and I think all co-ops can
relate to this.

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We've always had a special spot for youth and really wanting to
engage with our youth.

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Because we really do see the youth as the next generation of,
you know, co-op members or maybe even co-op board

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members. So getting them into the co-op space early and
introducing ourselves and what we do and why we're so

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important to the community, is really important.

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So, yeah, we have the Junior Board of Directors program now.

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We still do Youth Tour.

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We do what we call Camp Kilowatt here.

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We're still in the schools teaching with Junior Achievement and
4-H.

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And I mean, the list just goes on and on of the youth programs
we do.

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So by no means did we look at the Junior Board as a, "Oh, we
have to get rid of something, or we have to fill a void." We're

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just adding on because, you know, when you think about all the
different youth programs at the co-op level, you know, we're

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touching those that are in the sixth grade, we're touching those
in their junior year of high school and their senior year, or,

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I'm sorry, your senior year of high school with Youth Tour.

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But we felt like we're missing out on that junior year.

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So we thought, this is a great way to engage with those juniors
and then also talk to them about the Operation

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Roundup scholarship that we have for their senior year and talk
about the trip to DC their senior year.

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So we just felt like there was a gap, and this closed that gap
for us.

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But I also want to just go back on when, you know, what Dave was
talking about with the "what's our goal" with this.

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And, you know, I think when we sat down and really looked deep
into, why are we doing this?

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Yes, it's great to engage with the students, but more so I think
when you just talk to not just co-ops, but businesses in

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general, students, they go to high school here, you know, they
learn all about the community here, and then they go to college.

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And then how do we get them back?

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How do we get them back to the community that has raised them?

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And we saw this as a great opportunity to expose them to a lot
of the great things in rural America.

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You don't have to go to the big cities to get opportunities.

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There are great businesses right here in your backyard that are
looking for individuals like you, leaders like you, to

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join their organization.

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So we saw this as kind of a building block to maybe the future, 
not just for the co-op, but for all businesses.

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Because our end goal is to help the community, and this does
that.

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Dave Howell:
As much as we want to make better leaders and teach these kids
and show them the opportunities, we learn a lot.

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Andy Johns:
Oh, yeah.

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Dave Howell:
We don't really do a good job, maybe in the past, of reaching
that age group because we really didn't know how to reach that

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age group. And I think they have opened our eyes to what, we
might not agree with it, but what they are interested in, and

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how do we reach them where they're at.

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And that's been huge for us.

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Andy Johns:
Yeah, I just did a presentation last week, actually, with a group
out in Idaho with some college-aged students.

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And, you know, the language isn't even always the same.

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You know, they throw out a rizz and a no cap and all that.

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Like, I don't know what that means, but my 12 year old at home
is helping translate some of that for me.

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But I think I cut you off a little bit.

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Amanda, talk to me about the community day a little bit, because
that sounds like that's kind of the next step in the in the

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program.

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Amanda Steeb:
It is. So, you talked earlier about we do a scholarship that's at
the very end.

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So that's kind of their prize for completing the program.

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But because a lot of this program is geared around community,
and we thought it would be important that the

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students have a capstone project.

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And that capstone project is, is that from their first day to
their last day, they're working together as a team.

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So as part of that teamwork, they have to figure out what is a
community service project that they can do together to

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give back to the community.

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You know, we all take, take and take from the community, but
they need to, we all need to learn to give back, and this is a

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great way for them to give back.

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So the last two years our Junior Boards have given back to
animal shelters and

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community buildings.

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They gave back to a homeless shelter.

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And they do that not only with the work of completing a project,
but they've also given back financially too.

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So something that we do for our program that's been very
different from others is our students have to report to us

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monthly on what outside community service that they have done.

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And then we put a financial, we put a dollar amount to that, and
the co-op kind of gives to their bank.

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So for every hour of community service that they do on their
own, we give a financial give on that.

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And then we use that money for the community service projects.

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So, it's really, it's a great time to watch these kids grow,
from the point of not knowing each other,

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to now working together to complete a project and do all the the
legwork to get that project done.

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So, I mean, we've watched a lot of growth happen, just in the
two years that we've done this.

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And so it's really rewarding for them, but also for us.

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Andy Johns:
Perfect. Yeah.

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Let's talk a little bit about the criteria.

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And this sounds more like an Amanda question, but Dave feel free
to jump in.

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So what are you guys looking for?

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You mentioned a junior.

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Is it okay if these kids are some of the same kids that that
you've seen in some of the other programs, or, you know, they're

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able to do the Youth Tour the next year when they're a senior?

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Amanda Steeb:
Absolutely.

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Andy Johns:
Any of that kind of thing.

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And then how do you how do you guys go about finding the right
candidates for the Junior Board?

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Amanda Steeb:
So we have a – they have to fill out an application.

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So, no, if you participate in Junior Board, that doesn't
preclude you from doing other things.

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You can be part of any other program that we offer.

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So they fill out an application.

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We asked them, you know, what are some of the things that
they're involved – in school, out of school.

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And we also ask them just a couple questions, just to kind of
get to know them a little bit.

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But also find out kind of their leadership style.

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What, how are they leading in school?

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And those are the essay questions that we grade.

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To again, make sure we're getting that that right person for the
organization, or for the group.

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And then this year we actually did where they could do a video.

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Submit a video to us.

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And that has been really great because there is no better way to
get to know somebody than on a video.

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Andy Johns:
That's true.

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Amanda Steeb:
Yeah. Between the the written application and the video, we then
do a point system and

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based on the points, the top 13, those with the highest points, 
are selected.

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So we were extremely fortunate this year.

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We had over 32 applications, which is big for only a program
being in its third year.

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And then we decided the first two years, we took ten students.

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And because of the continued growth of this program, we decided
to go ahead and take 13 this year.

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So this will be our largest group.

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And we had a mandatory parent meeting, where we kind of set
forth the rules, the expectations, so mom and dad could hear it

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too. And we're really excited about this year.

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I think it's going to be a great, great year, not only with the
students that we've selected, but also the tons of

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exciting things we have planned for them.

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Andy Johns:
And you guys aren't necessarily geographically weighting it where
it has to be one per school.

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It could be, you know, if all the right candidates are from all
in one school, you guys are open to to kind of whatever there,

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right?

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Dave Howell:
Yeah. We don't really look at the schools when we're going
through the applications for that reason.

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And, of course, the schools that are, we have schools within
three miles of our office.

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We have two different schools.

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So the application, number of applicants is much higher from
them two schools.

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But no, we don't look at the schools.

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We look at the resumes that they've submitted, and that's what
we go by.

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We've never, when we started this, we weren't exactly looking
for the valedictorians of the world because we

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feel like they were going to be just fine.

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So we were looking for the people who were maybe needed that
little push.

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But it turned out we've got valedictorians every year, and we
also get a good mix of

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students who told us that they, you know, they're wanting to
step outside their comfort zone, and it's really a good mix

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of kids.

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Andy Johns:
Yeah. Good for them.

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Good for them. Dave talked me through the timeline.

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So you said it's one meeting per month for eight months.

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So are you guys looking for these candidates over the summer or
spring of their sophomore year?

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Or kind of talk me through the timeline on when it starts, when
y'all start getting ready for it?

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Dave Howell:
Yeah, that's kind of been a struggle from the get go also because
we don't really know when to reach out to these kids.

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Because we start in October is our first session.

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So schools coming back the end of August.

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So do we ask for these kids back in April when they're thinking
about nothing but getting out of school and not thinking about

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Junior Board? Or do we, do we try to cram them in at, you know,
when they register for school, and then they got a

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month to think about it?

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We've gone with that route, and we've got a, we're very pleased
with the number of applicants.

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Andy Johns:
Sounds like it.

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Dave Howell:
So I think that's the route we'll take in the future as we get
them right before they go back to register for

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school. Then the kids are talking about it.

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We give them maybe a month, and then we select and then meet
with our parents.

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The parents was huge this year.

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I feel we haven't done that the last two.

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A lot of times the kids don't take the information back to the
parents.

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We learned that in a hurry.

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And now the parents were very receptive and appreciative of
sitting down and letting them know the

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expectations also.

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Andy Johns:
That makes perfect sense.

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I have a 12 year old, like I said, so that makes perfect sense
to me that kids would not bring home all of the information.

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Amanda and you guys are a good example of it because obviously
you got two folks involved from different departments right here

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on the phone call, on the podcast recording.

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How do you go about, or how did y'all go about, getting buy-in?

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Because I'm sure, you know, something like this doesn't just
happen when one person decides to do it.

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How did you go about getting buy-in from other departments, from
leadership, possibly from the Senior Board?

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The actual board, I don't know if they would want to be called
the Senior Board.

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But how do you go about getting, when you're starting something
like this, how do you go about getting buy-in from different

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departments?

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Amanda Steeb:
So I would say that we were very fortunate.

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Our board of directors and our CEO, they have always seen the
youth as

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very important to always be engaged with.

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So I would say that for us, that was the easy part, was getting
them involved.

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And, you know, they want them in their board room to watch an
actual board meeting happen.

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So they are always getting updates and asking about our Junior
Board Program.

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So I would say that was easy.

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We try to engage other departments in with our Junior Board,
which I think helps with the buy-in process.

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We'll bring them in to talk about Career Day, you know, what
careers you could have with the co-op.

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Because I guess that's the piece we kind of missed here is that,
you know, although it's a co-op that's doing this program, we do

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make sure that one area of discussion at some point is about
co-op careers.

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Obviously, at the end of the day, we would love to see some of
these people come back ten years from now and have a, like I

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said, either a board position or an actual employee.

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So we do a whole segment on co-ops.

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And what is a co-op?

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How can you be involved with the co-op?

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On and on. So yeah, we engage all departments with this program.

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And I think that that's an important piece because, you know,
it's one thing to get the buy-in from the schools and the parents

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and the students. But then you got to get buy-in back at home
too.

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And this is what we call home.

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Andy Johns:
Perfect. Dave, I'll start with you, and then I'll hop back over
to Amanda.

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Just my last kind of two questions here.

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What surprised you?

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Obviously you have this plan for what this is going to be like.

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Did anything along the way these first couple of years surprise
you?

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We'll start with Dave, and then I'll hop over to Amanda.

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Dave Howell:
I don't think anything really surprised me.

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I think what surprised me probably the most was how I felt at
the end of each session.

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Very rewarding, very rewarding to see these kids grow.

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Very rewarding for, you know, them to reach out to us after
school, after they graduated, they reach

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back. We have them fill out at the end of the year.

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We list all of our sessions, and we have them kind of put them
in order of their importance to them or what they found

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interesting. Because we we try to explain to them that, you
know, this is only going to work if you are involved in this, and

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we want this to get better year after year after year.

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So what can we do better?

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And we really haven't, after two sessions, had much change
because they

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pretty much, what we've laid out for them, they've been
extremely pleased with.

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And they all feel like they would do it again in a heartbeat.

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The application process has a list of how did you hear about us?

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Their peers that were went through it last year are talking
about this program.

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So I'm just really pleased with the way it's turned out.

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Andy Johns:
Sounds like it. Amanda, did anything unexpected for you, any
unexpected results for you throughout the first couple of years?

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Amanda Steeb:
I don't know if I'd call it unexpected.

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I would say I wasn't prepared for a lot of the planning that you
have to do so early to set up all of these

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sessions. You know, that's a lot of work.

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And knowing that there's other co-ops that are listening, I
think that's the one thing that I would put out there is that it

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is, as fast as it ends in, you know, May, June, for us, we're
already planning the next year.

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You know, it's getting those speakers because, you know, the one
thing that I've said from day one is that if these students are

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going to spend their day with us, we have to be on our game.

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We have to make sure that what we're having presented to them is
of top value, because otherwise the program won't be a

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success going forward.

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So, I would say that was one thing that I wasn't prepared for
that we're getting better at.

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We're learning to be better planners.

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But the other thing, I guess I would add is that I didn't plan
for it to get the traction that it got so quickly.

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And not just by the students, but by the legislators and, you
know, our statewide organization and, I

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mean, we have heard from co-ops in different states that have
heard about our program and want to learn more about it.

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And, you know, what are we doing?

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What can we share with them?

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You know, and that's the glory of being part of a co-op, right?

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I mean, we all share.

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So what we find to be successful, we are willing to give to that
next co-op so that they can continue the success of it.

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You know, I think we all have that duty to give back to the
community and help grow our youth.

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And so, if you know, we got our start from another co-op, so
we're happy to help others too.

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Dave Howell:
Another challenge is we're from northwest Indiana.

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We don't know the weather from day to day.

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Our winters can be brutal.

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So when you have these things planned, you know, months ahead of
time, and then the night before we get a blizzard.

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Now, is it not just affecting us, too, and our 13 students.

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You know, maybe we were going to the Capitol building that day,
and now we have to reschedule.

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And the legislators are only there a certain amount of time.

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And that has been probably a headache because the weather has
not cooperated with us a couple of times.

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But we've rescheduled.

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We've made all of our sessions, so it all works out in the end.

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Andy Johns:
Yep. Perfect.

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Amanda, you were touching on a couple of things that lead to my
last question, which is normally the way that we wrap up these

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podcasts, which is just what advice do you have?

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And we'll start with you, and then hop over to Dave.

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What advice do you have for that other, you know, co-op or
utilities out there thinking about doing something like this?

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Where would you tell them to start?

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What advice would you have if they're thinking about doing
something like this?

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Amanda Steeb:
I would say my first advice would be, don't be afraid to start
something new ground up at your co-op.

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You know, sometimes it's just easier not to go there.

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You know, it seems like a lot of work, but don't be afraid to
start it.

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The reward is definitely worth all the work.

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And I'll also add in there that the best way to get this started
is to talk to your schools, talk to your

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superintendents. They are your best resource for finding out
what students want, what students need, and what works

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best for them. So I think that's why we have been so successful,
is that we have had the backing of all the schools.

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So start there and especially with your co-op leadership too.

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Andy Johns:
Dave, what advice do you have for somebody who listens to this
and think, "Hey, that's a good idea.

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I think I'm going to try that."

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Dave Howell:
Yeah, I definitely agree with what Amanda said.

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And then also, you know, the having it during the school day was
huge.

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As we visited other programs and learned about other programs,
you know, they sometimes struggle with attendance because these

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kids are busy. And we're finding out that even though we're
doing it during during the day, these are busy kids.

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So that's huge.

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And you want to get to a kid, you got to have good food.

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You got to provide them with good lunch.

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We take them, if we don't have it catered in that day here, you
know, we take them out when we're on the road and t

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hat seems to get to a kid in a hurry, so.

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Andy Johns:
Well, that gets to some grown-ups too.

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I can certainly understand that.

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Perfect. Well, thank you all so much for taking the time to (a) 
talk with me.

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But then (b) just for the work that you guys are putting in
because like you said, this sounds like a pretty heavy lift to

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get it done, but certainly a worthwhile effort.

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So Amanda and Dave, thank you all.

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Amanda Steeb:
Thank you.

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Dave Howell:
Thank you.

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00:26:18,020 --> 00:26:20,210
Andy Johns:
She is Amanda Steeb, the director of marketing and
communications.

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He is Dave Howell, the facilities manager.

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Both of them are with Kankakee Valley REMC in Indiana.

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I'm your host, Andy Johns with Pioneer.

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And until we talk again, keep telling your story.

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