MLEC announces scholarship recipients Lewis County Students selected as Short Story Contest Winners

Houston County High School Junior Charlsie Strech is the five-county winner in Meriwether Lewis Electric Cooperative's annual writing contest. She will receive a $1000 scholarship from MLEC, the Larry Stringer Memorial Scholarship for $2000 and could win additional funding through the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association's statewide contest.

Additionally, a boy and girl winner from seven high schools also received $1000 scholarships from MLEC. They include:

East Hickman High School: Caroline Luna and Eric Pantoja

Hickman County High School: Lilli Istre and Jake Tidwell

Houston County High School: Carlsie Strech ($3000 Overall Winner) and Braden Roberson

Lewis County High School: Jaxon Fite and Jayden Moore

McEwen High School: Jacob Brown and Kylie Elliott

Perry County High School: Kari Byrd and Zach Riley

Waverly Central High School: Bailey Hickman and Jaden Lambdin

Each school's overall winning student also has the opportunity to serve as an MLEC delegate on the 2024 Washington Youth Tour in June. Students who accepted the expense-paid trip to Washington D.C. are Istre, Strech, Fite, Byrd, Brown and Hickman. An alternate delegate, Sage Clendenion, will represent East Hickman High School. MLEC Communications Coordinator Benjamin Armstrong and Marketing Coordinator Memori Depriest will serve as chaperones.

"The Washington Youth Tour invests in the future leaders of our local communities," says MLEC President and CEO Keith Carnahan. "We are excited to further their education and bring a new group to our Nation's Capital to learn more about electric cooperatives and our country's history."

The theme for this year's annual contest was "Electric Cooperatives Connect." High school juniors were asked to write about how electric cooperatives improve