AHS Senior Jacob Brooks (fourth from left) pauses for a photo with Blue Ridge representatives and members of his family during an August reception at Blue Ridge Electric. Pictured are (from left) Jane Forehand, manager of training and development for the North Carolina Association of Electric Cooperatives, Grey Scheer, Blue Ridge Electric's director of community relations; brother Josh Brooks, Brooks, mother Sandra Brooks, girlfriend Rachel Smith and father Shelton Brooks. Photo by Laura Thornburg

Brooks honored at Blue Ridge Electric reception

Alleghany High School Senior Jacob Brooks was recently deemed the national spokesperson for the Youth Leadership Council of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. In recognition of the accomplishment, a reception was held late last month in the youth's honor at Blue Ridge Electric in Sparta, where Brooks received $1,000 in scholarship monies.

After introducing Blue Ridge Electric board members, Grey Scheer, who serves as the director of community relations, introduced Brooks along with members of his family, including parents Sandra and Shelton Brooks, brother Joshua and girlfriend Rachel Smith.

Offering background on how Brooks became a national spokesperson for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), Scheer explained that through holding an essay contest each year, the organization sends up to as many as four students to Washington to represent the youth of the co-op. There, the students get to learn about politics and the nation's capitol, as well as do some sightseeing.

He noted in earlier years, the essay contest topics asked students to imagine a week without electricity or to write an essay defining the pros and cons of nuclear energy. Scheer remarked,

"We decided to change that process and we asked the students who were applying to write a letter to any elected official. It could be local city council, it could be government or it could be the president, about anything they're passionate about. That's telling us these students could write, are articulate, they were passionate about something and they wanted their voices to be heard.

When Jacob submitted his, it was two pages about the county school system situation and that really told me that he could write.…We never met before, so we set up interviews and it was quick in that process that (we recognized) he was an articulate young man and knew he would do well on this trip…" Meanwhile, he noted a second Alleghany student, fellow Senior Chelsea Jones, also attended the D.C. trip that was held in late July.

Brooks, Jones and about 40 others took part in the youth leadership council competition that first brought the group together in Raleigh, where they were asked to make a presentation in front of the other students.

With the recognition bestowed upon him by his peers while in Raleigh, Brooks presented a modified version of the same speech to his constituents in Washington.

"Those students are judging those students on who's the best presenter, who was the best leader of that group," stated Scheer. "None of the adults in the group get to make any say so in that and they picked Jacob to be the winner. That's the first time that Blue Ridge or North Carolina has ever had a national winner."