2026 Energy Camp Contest
WHAT – Applicants will submit an essay between 50-100 words on this topic: I would like to represent Cotton Electric at Energy Camp because:
WHO – The contest is open to incoming and current eighth graders in the Cotton Electric service area. The students and their families do not have to be Cotton Electric members.
WHEN – The deadline to submit an essay and completed application is March 26, 2026 at 3 p.m.
HOW – The contest is broken into two rounds and starts with the essay contest. Students may submit an essay of between 50-100 words to Cotton Electric.
Writers of the top 10 essays move to the second round, a live video interview, via Microsoft Teams. The question-and-answer interview between students and independent judges will be arranged by Cotton Electric.
The top four will be awarded an all-expense paid trip to Energy Camp held at Canyon Camp in Red Rock Canyon.
Important Dates
Jan. 30, 2026 Contest opens for entries
Mar. 26, 2026 Essay deadline - Essays must be submitted online by 3 p.m.
Apr. 9, 2026 Live video interviews with the Top 10
Apr. 24, 2026 Camper information is due
May 26, 2026 Leave for Energy Camp
May 28, 2026 Return from Energy Camp
2026 ENERGY CAMP ESSAY CONTEST
CALL FOR ENTRIES
All incoming and current eighth-graders attending schools within the Cotton Electric Cooperative service territory are invited to enter the 2026 Cotton Electric Energy Camp contest. The essay contest has two rounds and the top four entries will be awarded the following:
All-Expense paid trip to Energy Camp.
Entry forms and contest information is available at www.cottonelectric.com/energycamp.
The contest is open to all incoming and current eighth-graders attending or residing within the district of the schools listed below, including home-schooled students.
The schools are:
Big Pasture, Cache, Central High, Chattanooga, Comanche, Duncan, Elgin, Empire, Geronimo, Grandfield, Indiahoma, Lawton Eisenhower, Lawton High, Lawton MacArthur, Marlow, Ryan, Sterling, Temple, Velma-Alma, Walters and Waurika
Some schools listed may include students whose parents receive electric service from another electric cooperative. If their electric cooperative does not participate in Energy Camp, such students will be allowed to enter Cotton Electric Cooperative’s contest. If their cooperative sponsors a Energy Camp contest, those students have an option to choose between the two cooperatives. Students will be ineligible if they enter more than one essay or more than one contest.
CONTEST DETAILS
The contest is broken into two rounds and starts with the essay contest. Students may submit an essay of approximately 50-100 words to Cotton Electric.
Writers of the Top 10 essays move to the second round, a live video interview. The question-and-answer video call between students and independent judges will be arranged by Cotton Electric.
The Top 4 will be awarded an all-expense paid trip to Energy Camp held at Canyon Camp in Red Rock Canyon.
Important Dates
Jan. 30, 2026 Contest opens for entries
Mar. 26, 2026 Essay deadline - Essays must be submitted online by 3 p.m.
Apr. 9, 2026 Live video interviews with the Top 10
Apr. 24, 2026 Camper information is due
May 26, 2026 Leave for Energy Camp
May 28, 2026 Return from Energy Camp
CONTEST RULES
- Topic for 2026 Essay is: I would like to represent Cotton Electric at Energy Camp because:
- Fill out all required fields and upload an essay of no fewer than 50 and no more than 100 words on the above topic at www.CottonElectric.com/energycamp.
- Deadline for uploading completed essays is 3 p.m. Mar. 26, 2026.
- BE ORIGINAL!
- Essays will be judged by the following criteria: Composition, 40%; Originality, 30%; Neatness, 10%; Grammar, 10%; and Spelling & Punctuation, 10%.
- Independent judge(s) will score the essays and narrow the pool of candidates to 10.
- In the second round of competition, the Top 10 essayists will be invited to participate in a Teams interview to discuss the essay and general cooperative knowledge with independent judges. The judges will select four winners.
- The top four students will be awarded an all-expense paid trip to Energy Camp 2026.
- Judges’ decisions throughout the process are final.
Students selected and sponsored by Cotton Electric Cooperative are expected to participate in required preparatory activities related to Energy Camp and the full duration of the student program, including travel to and from Energy Camp. The student experience has a program value of $500 per participant. While cancellations are unfortunate, cancellations received/processed 60-days prior to the day of registration are appreciated and needed to allow cooperatives to find alternate student participants.
Families of selected students who cancel less than 60-days prior to the day of registration, may be responsible for reimbursing the sponsoring cooperative up to 50% of the program value. No shows and families of selected students failing to notify their sponsoring cooperative of non-participation, may be held responsible for reimbursing 100% of the program value.
These links will take you to pages on our website or they will open PDFs. Applicants are encouraged to review these resources to prepare for the interview portion of the contest.
For more information regarding the essay contest, call Cotton Electric at 580-875-3351 or email zyoung@cottonelectric.com.