Electricity can be extraordinary and dangerous. As adults, we understand that. For children, it’s hard to look past the convenience of flipping a switch and understand that it can have fatal consequences if misused.
Every May, we visit local schools to share our Electrical Education for Kids (EEK) program with their current class of 1st graders. May is National Electrical Safety Month, making it the perfect time of year to discuss this potentially lifesaving education.
The EEK program was created in the late 90s by our former Director of Marketing and Customer Services, Cindy Denney (she retired in 2020 after 25 years of service to Jay County REMC). After seeing a need for electrical education for children, Denney made her own curriculum and concept for this special program. Her innovative idea was so groundbreaking that she was presented with the 1998 NRECA Community Service Network Building for the Future Award, which honors the most outstanding community-based project involving rural America’s youth. This recognition inspires us to continue innovating and improving the program.
Though the program has been tweaked slightly throughout the years, the central focus remains unchanged. Electricity is both life-altering and life-threatening. We want the students to know that even though electricity makes their world go round, it can also stop it on a dime.
The educational portion of the program begins by introducing the classes to Jay County REMC. We talk about our name, what each letter means, and what cooperatives are. It is important to us to highlight our membership and the fact that we are owned and operated by our members. We follow this concept by discussing what electricity does for us, from charging our devices to heating our lunch in the microwave.
Our linemen explain some of the concepts they often use, such as measurement and mapping, and the technology they use every day. They even review their Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and pick a special volunteer in each class to try the REMC gloves, boots, sleeves, hard hats, and safety glasses.
During the linemen portion of our address, we explain where electricity comes from and what to do if they experience a downed power line. We are committed to teaching children and adults that an energized power line looks precisely like a non-energized one. Our uniform for the EEK program is a safety green shirt with the words “Stay Away from Power Lines” on the back.
After the educational portion of our presentation, we assemble the students outside and take them for bucket truck rides. This thrilling experience, undoubtedly their favorite part of the day, gives them a unique perspective and a special view of what the linemen see every day.
Our commitment grows every year to ensure that we help our community understand just how extraordinary electricity is.
