Students Make Lasting Connections at Cooperative Leadership Camp

Pee Dee Electric lineworkers Kenny Simmons (left) and Garrett Butler with campers. Photo courtesy of Pee Dee Electric.

In June, the Cooperative Council of North Carolina (CCNC) hosted the five-day overnight Cooperative Leadership Camp at Camp Monroe in Laurel Hill. Campers worked (and played) hard all week to learn the importance and benefits of the cooperative movement with hands-on workshops led by cooperative businesses across the state focusing on the Cooperative Principles.

Sectors represented at the camp included electric co-ops, telecommunications, food, marketing, insurance, credit unions, worker-owner and agriculture. Those that hosted workshops at this year’s Cooperative Leadership Camp included Pee Dee Electric, AgCarolina Farm Credit, Tilde Language Justice Cooperative, Star Communications and Coastal Federal Credit Union.

The camp allows student attendees the opportunity to work together to create a successful cooperative business, including forming a board, holding a member meeting and producing a commemorative T-shirt. Campers also made connections with peers and co-op mentors while engaging in fun camp activities, including zip-lining, kayaking, swimming, paddleboarding and high-ropes climbing.

“One of the greatest things I love about camp is seeing all of the different students come together and work together. We’re honored to help mold future leaders through hosting the Cooperative Leadership Camp for more than seven generations.”

“I have learned to listen and learn from others’ ideas so I can collaborate with other people easier,” said camper Emma Rodriguez, sponsored by Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative.

“The Cooperative Council of NC is so thankful to this year’s sponsor co-ops, without which the camp would not be possible,” said CCNC Executive Director Sara Coats. “One of the greatest things I love about camp is seeing all of the different students come together and work together. We’re honored to help mold future leaders through hosting the Cooperative Leadership Camp for more than seven generations.”

Marshall Cherry, president and CEO of Roanoke Cooperative, attended the camp in 1987 as a rising high school senior, and sees it as a valuable opportunity to both learn about the cooperative business model and make lasting connections with peers from different parts of the state.

“It was quite an experience. Some of the things I picked up there, being a native North Carolinian, included learning so much about the diversity of cultures right here in our very own state,” Cherry said. “By the time the week ended, I did not want to leave. I had made some friends for life.”

To learn more about the camp, visit ccnc.coop where you will find a video to hear from CEOs, cooperative leaders, and other supporters as they discuss the lasting impact camp has had on them and others.