Brody Miller, a McCracken County High School senior, is Kentucky’s 2025 delegate to the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) Youth Leadership Council. Miller, a Paducah native, spoke about his experience in an address to more than 300 electric cooperative leaders during the Kentucky Electric Cooperatives 79th Annual Meeting in Louisville.
Each year, one student from each delegation on the NRECA Electric Cooperative Youth Tour is selected to represent his or her state on the Youth Leadership Council, a national program that builds leadership and public speaking skills while deepening students’ understanding of the energy industry and the cooperative business model.
Kentucky Electric Cooperatives has coordinated the Youth Tour since 1972, providing rising high school seniors the opportunity to gain a personal understanding of American history and their role as citizens and members of electric cooperatives. The students tour monuments and historic sites and meet with members and staff of Kentucky’s congressional delegation. In 2025, Miller and more than 60 other Kentucky high school students also visited the White House.
Sponsored by Jackson Purchase Energy Cooperative, Miller has taken the initiative to meet with leaders from his co-op to learn firsthand about the seven cooperative principles and how electricity powers homes, schools and businesses in his community.
In his remarks, Miller shared how the Youth Tour gave him the confidence to pursue his goals without fear of judgment.
“Have you ever been so afraid of being different, or of being made fun of, that you didn’t do something important to you? That was me until Youth Tour,” Miller said. “It set me free to be the me I’m meant to be.”
Since his Youth Tour experience, Miller has volunteered at the Boys and Girls Club, met with local leaders about economic development and engaged in discussions about artificial intelligence and clean energy.
“I may only be an 18-year-old high school kid, but I’m no longer afraid to raise my hand, ask the hard questions, and chase the big dreams,” Miller said. “Youth Tour taught me this: Fear is temporary; regret is forever.”
Mallory Wafzig, Kentucky Electric Cooperatives manager of cooperative outreach, praised Miller’s message. “Brody is a shining example of how Youth Tour changes lives,” she said. “He represents the best of our next generation of leaders, and his passion for co-ops, community and innovation is inspiring to us all.”
Miller plans to study opportunities in the energy sector while staying involved with electric cooperatives.
“The best way to predict the future,” he concluded, “is to help create it.”
