By Morgan Walton
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the ICUA Youth Rally, 6 local teens represented Clearwater Power in the weeklong leadership camp created to prepare, inspire, and empower the next generation for life.
This leadership conference, hosted at Northwest Nazarene University, welcomed delegates from eight Western and Northwestern states to experience a variety of classes, workshops, and fun events meant to equip them with life skills and memories that leave an impact.
Each of the six delegates from Clearwater Power will be awarded a scholarship, including: Morgan Boyer of Lenore, MaKadee Larson of Weippe, Ivy Cowley of Kendrick, Paige Deyo of Orofino, Adison Standridge of Orofino, and Laramie Finnel of Gifford.
This camp and the corresponding scholarships will encourage them to continue on their path to successful and exciting futures. Cate Gloeckner of Moscow served as returning director and was awarded a similar scholarship last year.
“I couldn’t have asked for a more engaging and respectful group of delegates,” said Jeff Marshall, Director of Member Relations for Clearwater Power.
“It’s great to see so many young people who are ready to engage and who are curious about how our world works, including the essential infrastructure that powers our communities and supports our daily lives.”
During the week, these delegates encountered unique motivational stories that left lasting impressions on everyone in attendance. Speakers included Josh Sweeney, a Paralympian gold medalist and Afghanistan veteran who explained how visualization of goals can lead to an unstoppable life.
The Sauer family shared a powerful testimony about screen addiction and distracted driving. And the Jae Foundation encouraged teens to perform “boot-checks” on each other to remind us all that we’re not alone, especially when we’re struggling.
Sitting in a college classroom listening to a person or a team specifically hired for your “education” may sound boring to some, but these delegates were filled with emotion and spirit from the first word spoken and left with the inspiration and charge to make a change.
Every day was spent interacting with new people and learning new things.
Attendees watched a high-voltage safety demo, learned about how electricity works, how different forms of energy can be harnessed to generate electricity, and careers involved in electric utilities.
The camp teaches the history and reason behind electric co-ops and informs youth about important life skills, including personal finance, first aid, the legislative process, and most importantly, line dancing! The biggest takeaway from the week really is the connections made.
Putting teenagers in a highly interactive environment with each other for a short week in close quarters is bound to fill them with lifelong memories and even longer friendships.
Whether it was exploring the state capitol side by side, staying up late during movie night, or staying up even later with a randomly assigned roommate sharing stories, every second of the trip is spent forming relationships with new people whose shared experience is being from small towns.
Delegates participated in activities designed to strengthen team-building and leadership skills. Each game is designed to help people bring their specific gifts to the table. Some are more academic, some are more physical, some require courage, some require talent, but all are meant to help foster leadership, teamwork, and the cooperative spirit.
These ventures include academic games, an obstacle course, and a talent show, which not only displays the uniqueness, creativity, and talent carried by each individual, but the audience also shared their own bout of energy and life.
This specific event, held one night only, is one of the best ways to represent what these youths and the camp stand to do: empower, encourage, inspire, and be entirely unique. Each of these activities helps provide the next generation of leaders with the interpersonal skills needed to succeed in life.
The 2026 ICUA Youth Rally concluded with a long bus ride back to reality while minds were filled with new experiences, cherished memories, and new knowledge paired with laughter and snacks… and maybe a few naps along the way.