Glasgow High School Student Wins Essay Contest

Each year, the Montana Electric Cooperatives’ Association (MECA) holds an essay contest to select one student to be sponsored by MECA on the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) Youth Tour.

The winner this year is Amelia Gilchrist, a junior at Glasgow High School, whose parents are members of NorVal Electric Cooperative.

This year’s essay topic was: All cooperatives share a concern for their communities. Write about how your local cooperative supports your community or detail new ways they could get involved.

Below is Amelia’s winning essay with minor edits to match RM style.

NorVal Electric: Leading our community toward a brighter future
ESSAY BY Amelia Gilchrist | MECA STATEWIDE YOUTH TOUR WINNER

NorVal Electric Cooperative is a company that is fully invested in the surrounding communities. From Scobey to Wolf Point, and Opheim to Glasgow, this co-op not only keeps the lights on but also helps those in need all across eastern Montana.

This support is especially important in our rural and underserved community. NorVal contributes over $3.5 million annually to the local economy. This helps fund the numerous philanthropic and community projects that enhance our small town and the surrounding areas.

NorVal Electric is a business that supports our rural population through numerous activities, such as donations to nonprofits, offering scholarship opportunities to local high school students, and encouraging its employees to volunteer as coaches and mentors in the surrounding area. Our community wouldn’t be the same without NorVal Electric Cooperative.

Recently, NorVal has both donated to and participated in our local Festival of Trees, which is where different groups, businesses or people in our community decorate Christmas trees to be auctioned to the highest bidder. This money is donated to the Valley County non-profit HOPE (Help Others Pay Expenses) Project, which supports citizens of Valley County who are struggling with medical bills. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the average hospital stay in 2019 was over $14,000, while according to CensusReporter.org, the annual per capita income in Glasgow is only $34,439, with 13 percent of individuals being below the poverty line. Considering these two facts, medical bills could easily result in crushing debt or even bankruptcy.

One community member has said, “Your thoughtfulness means so much more than words can say. Thank you seems so inadequate for all the help you have given us. Thank you so much,” concerning how the HOPE project affected their life. This assistance wouldn’t be possible without support from individuals and organizations such as NorVal Electric.

When the government shutdown threatened the most vulnerable people in our community with the loss of SNAP benefits, NorVal answered the call for assistance. NorVal collected food donations for the Valley Community Emergency Food Bank, offering credits to those who donated canned food. This generosity is nothing new as NorVal has a long history of supporting the local food bank, helping to provide nourishment to those who need it most.

NorVal keeps an eye toward the future. Every year, the humble co-op offers several scholarships for local member high school graduates. These scholarships are especially important as the cost of attending college or a technical/vocational school is only increasing. According to US News, the average college sticker price in 2025 rose over the past year by 3.3 percent for private institutions and in-state public college students, and by 3.7 percent for out-of-state public college students. The average four-year degree costs $19,068 annually, which is a lot to ask, especially for students below the poverty line in Valley County. Without the help of scholarships like these, many students in our community wouldn’t be able to attend these programs.

NorVal’s dedicated employees are involved in the community just as much as the co-op itself. Employees such as Eric Feit, Cody Odom, Jayson Nelson, Kyle Barras and Tracy Henry coach athletic activities and mentor students. These people have had a great impact on our community. NorVal’s workforce is committed to volunteering and influencing our youth in positive ways, while educating them on the importance of teamwork and sportsmanship, and assisting them in building their skills.

One idea that NorVal could consider implementing in our rural community would be a mentorship program for those looking to enter the trades, specifically a lineman training program. This program would aim to mentor high school students interested in the trades on what linemen do and how they could pursue these career opportunities. In addition to teaching about the trade itself, this project could include safety demonstrations, trade school application seminars and what it’s like to work for NorVal. This program would potentially influence students to attend trade school, then return to work for the co-op.

From supporting non-profit organizations to providing scholarships and mentors to the local populace, NorVal Electric Cooperative is truly a business that loves its community. By helping the local area, NorVal has become a pillar of our region that we would collapse without.

The continued presence of our local co-op serves as an important indication of just how essential community bonds are to the welfare of rural areas. As Northeastern Montana faces the future, we can be confident that NorVal Electric Cooperative will continue to stand by our side and aid our community through whatever comes our way.