Deedra Shaner participating in electric cooperative leadership program

Deedra Shaner, associate safety and training coordinator for Hoosier Energy, has been selected as a participant in the Rural Electric Leaders-In-Training Exchange, or RELITE, program. This nationally recognized leadership development program, coordinated by the Indiana Statewide Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives, includes participants from electric cooperatives throughout Indiana.

Shaner works at the Merom Generating Station.

The extensive two-year program is designed "to create a broadened environment of networking and community experience that will develop electric utility employees into knowledgeable, committed and effective leaders for their companies and their communities.”

Shaner and 16 other participants in her class will attend nine professional development days from April through October. The RELITE program focuses on leadership skills, team building, facilitation skills, public speaking, interpersonal communications, personal mission, and accountability.

In part two of the RELITE program, which begins in early 2008, Shaner’s role will change from participant to facilitator. She and other 2007 graduates will act as program planners and facilitators, putting their own mark on the next year’s program. This part of the program design ensures that, as graduates apply their recently acquired leadership skills, future RELITE training will be constantly adjusted to meet changing needs.

Since the program began in 1994, more than 200 Indiana electric cooperative employees have graduated from the program.