On the Green: Northern Río Arriba Electric Cooperative Brings Together Youth and Golf By Ariana Kramer
Ashley Tafoya
F
or the past 21 years, Northern Río Arriba Electric Cooperative has sponsored a Golf Camp for middle and high-school-aged students. It was originally started by Emery Maez, former general manager of the Co-op, and has continued to the present day. The one-day camp is usually held in April at Cattails Golf Course in Alamosa, Colorado. In addition, the Co-op holds a Golf Tournament open to the public in August each year. Money raised from the Golf Tournament is used to fund two scholarships of $1,000 each, which are awarded to graduating seniors. “This is our way of giving back to the community,” says Executive Vice President and General Manager Anthony Mercure. This year, the Golf Camp and Golf Tournament were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, two high school seniors were chosen as recipients for the Northern Río Arriba Electric Cooperative’s scholarships: Ashley Tafoya and Faith Martinez. Both young women are graduates of Escalante Middle/High School in Tierra Amarilla. The school serves seventh through twelfth grades as part of the Chama Valley Independent Schools. To apply for the scholarships, Tafoya and Martinez
14 October 2020 • enchantment.coop
Faith Martinez
each wrote an essay in response to the following prompt: “We’ve grown accustomed to having electricity on demand in the world we live in, such as clicking a remote control to turn on the TV, using a computer, playing video games, or charging our cell phones. Describe the impact on your life and community in a world without electricity.” Martinez says the prompt encouraged her to start thinking about a world without electricity. She explored both the negative and positive outcomes of this in her essay. “I hadn’t really thought about it before, and then when I read the question, it all came to me. I don’t think I had ever really thought about it—I had in some ways, but not in its entirety,” says Martinez. Tafoya addressed the importance of electricity to our healthcare system. “My dad is a high voltage lineman, so I have been prompted in the past to think about how important electricity is in our lives; however, the essay did prompt me to think further into detail about the healthcare system and how electricity has grown to be a very cardinal feature in healthcare facilities,” says Tafoya.
