2009 NICE Conference
Overview and Welcome
Joe Jackson, Planning Team Chair
NICE Conference 2009
Tennessee Council of Cooperatives
The Tennessee Council of Cooperatives along with our 93 member cooperatives, is excited to host the 2009 National Institute on Cooperative Education (NICE) Youth Conference.
NICE is an exciting educational opportunity where student work in teams to gain knowledge on cooperative business principles, develop valuable leadership skills, get to know their peers from across the U.S. and have a lot of fun. In the student-run cooperative component of the conference, each team forms its own cooperative, electing a general manager and buying items at wholesale from the cooperative distribution warehouse to resell to its members or market to nonmembers (participant from other teams and/or leaders and chaperones). Attendees also participate in a case study competition where each team summarizes two cooperative cases, stating the problems, developing alternatives to solve them, choosing a course of action and laying out an implementation plan for that action. In the business simulation activity, students act as if they are the management team for their co-op, competing for market share and net worth by making decisions about pricing, inventory, personnel, advertising and borrowing. And each state also nominates one male and one female candidate to be selected Outstanding Youth Scholars based on written applications focusing on exhibited leadership skills and cooperative knowledge and interviews before a panel of judges. A fun-filled and information-packed five-day event, NICE is the largest youth conference in the country that is dedicated to educating its attendees about the cooperative form of business.
The 2009 conference will be located on the campus of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and this year’s theme is “the fUTure is NICE.” Conference housing will be on campus in Morrill Hall with some activities on the Agricultural Campus and at various campus recreation facilities.
All conference information is Web-based and accessible through the home page of the Tennessee Council of Cooperatives at http://tennesseecouncilofcoops.org/.
Conference Date: The Conference begins on Saturday, July 25, and ends at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 29. All adult chaperones and student workers must attend the “adult and student leaders orientation” at 6:30 p.m. that evening. All conference participants (youth scholars, adults and youth leaders) must participate in the opening session and supper beginning at 6:30 pm on July 25.
State Coordinator/Summary Sheet: Each state sending students and adults to the conference must have a state coordinator who facilitates all registration forms and payment for its delegation. The state coordinator is often the state’s council of cooperatives representative/director that is familiar with NICE and in charge of recruiting and selecting students and adults to attend the conference. The state coordinator is responsible for completing the “State Summary Sheet” and submitting it to the host state. Each state summary sheet and all individual registration forms are due to the host state by June 26, 2009 (we suggest that all individual registration forms be returned to the state coordinator by June 15).
Registration Form: Each person attending the conference must complete each section of the Conference Registration Form. The state coordinator will be contacted by the host state prior to the conference if any information is missing from a registration form. Each state summary sheet and all individual registration forms are due to the host state by June 26, 2009.
Adult Volunteers: Each state sending delegates to the 2009 conference is asked to send at least two adult chaperones to assist with the conference. Additional adult volunteers are certainly welcomed, but a minimum of two from each state is needed. Please see additional information regarding “Chaperone/Adult Volunteer Responsibilities.”
Registration Fees: The registration fee for each 2009 conference participant is $315, which includes all conference materials, 4 nights lodging in Morrell Hall, an afternoon at Dollywood in the Great Smoky Mountains and all meals during the conference. This fee is required for all attendees (youth and adults). A summary of fees must be completed by the state coordinator on the state summary sheet.
Student Delegates: Student delegates at the conference are referred to as “Youth Scholars.” Please read about the Youth Scholar Program Objectives and the Youth Scholar Responsibilities.
Rooms: All room assignments will be made by the host state. All conference accommodations will be provided in University of Tennessee Housing (Morrill Hall) which provides two sleeping rooms connected by a bathroom with two occupants per room (total of four people per bathroom suite). All adult volunteers will be occupying a private room that is part of a two-room suite connected by a bathroom (two adults per bathroom). Each person staying in University Housing will be provided with bed sheets, one pillow, one pillow case, one towel and one washcloth. Towels and washcloths may be exchanged at the front desk of the residence hall during the week if necessary. In the event that any linen items or any university property is damaged or not returned, the responsible individuals and their host state will be liable for damages. Everyone attending the 2009 NICE conference is encouraged to bring their own blanket or sleeping bag.
Outstanding Youth Scholar Contest: During the conference, youth scholars will have the opportunity to compete for the “Outstanding Youth Scholar” award. Each state represented at the conference will nominate one male and one female from their state to compete for the award and one male and one female will be selected from the entire conference. The male and female Outstanding Youth Scholars chosen for 2009 will return to the 2010 NICE conference as guests of the host state. Additional information on the “Outstanding Youth Scholar” contest and a copy of the Outstanding Youth Scholar Application Form is available on-line. Application forms for the Outstanding Youth Scholar competition must be submitted on-site at the conference.
Local Cooperative Visit: Prior to the conference, each youth scholar is encouraged to visit a local cooperative to become familiar with how cooperatives are organized and how they operate, thus helping prepare them for the conference experience. To assist in this visit, youth scholars are asked to complete the “Cooperative Visit Report.”
Talent Show: There will be a Talent Show as part of the conference banquet on Tuesday night. Each state delegation is encouraged to have at least on act in the Talent Show. Additional information regarding the show is available.
Selecting Youth to Attend NICE: The methods in which states select youth scholars to attend NICE varies greatly from one state to another. For additional information on how to select youth to attend the conference from your state, feel free to contact any of the following state coordinators for ideas and discussion:
- Jenny Gentry — North Carolina
- Joe Jackson — Tennessee
- Dixie Reaves — Virginia
- Lionel Williamson — Kentucky
Additional Information: Each person planning to attend the conference should be familiar with the complete list of “Additional Conference Details/Reminders” that has been developed. This list includes information on dress code for the week, the conference talent show, bedding, use of cell phones, what NOT to bring and other important information.
Contacts:
For additional information regarding the 2009 NICE Conference, please contact:
Joe Jackson
Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association
710 Spence Lane
Nashville, TN 37217
Phone: 615-367-9284 (office)
Phone: 615-330-0643 (cell)
Fax: 615-367-2495
Email: jjackson@tnelectric.org
For information regarding conference registration, please contact:
Renee Creswell, UT Conferences
Attention: NICE 2009, P.O. Box 2648, Knoxville, TN 37901
Phone (865) 974-0280
Fax (865) 974-0264
Email: conferences@utk.edu
We look forward to hosting this conference. Remember. . . 
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