Ameren Missouri partnered with the St. Louis Rams and the Greater St. Louis Area Council, Boy Scouts of America to hold an innovative two-day energy camp on October 3-4, 2015. The Ameren Missouri Energy Camp included nearly 100 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Boy Scouts who started the day at Rams Park, before visiting the O'Fallon Renewable Energy Center later in the day to learn about a variety of clean energy sources and general electricity facts, and camp out overnight.
"As a former scout I know how important it is to create opportunities where our young students can learn and develop into well-rounded individuals," said Scott Wibbenmeyer, Ameren Missouri Project Engineer. "The Ameren Missouri Energy Camp was an innovative and fun opportunity to educate our scouts of the importance of all types of energy, whether it is in the form of physical fitness energy or clean sustainable energy that powers our daily lives."
The partnership was created to educate and challenge the scouts to learn more about sustainable energy, electricity and health & fitness. Among the activities scouts participated in was a Play 60 fitness program lead by University of Missouri standout and 2015 St. Louis Rams Draft pick, Bud Sasser.
In addition, the scouts enjoyed appearances from health & fitness experts, who discussed the benefits of leading a healthy and physically fit life. After completing the Play 60 portion of the camp, scouts departed for Ameren Missouri's O'Fallon Renewable Energy Center, where they learned about clean energy, built solar cars and toured the solar facility. Scouts set-up tents and spent the night at the O'Fallon Renewable Energy Center before camp concluded on Sunday morning.
”We were excited to join with team partner and clean energy leader Ameren Missouri to help create a unique experience for nearly 100 of today’s boy scouts and tomorrow’s leaders,” said Michael O’Keefe, vice president of sales, St. Louis Rams. “For these Boy Scouts, the opportunity to visit an NFL practice facility and learn about the importance of living a physically fit lifestyle from someone like Bud Sasser – who many of them cheered for during his college days at Mizzou – will be something they remember for a very long time.”
The Greater St. Louis Area Council invited scouts that are active in the STEM program, to a two-day camp, which served as an opportunity to work on the requirements for their Electricity, Energy and Sustainability Merit Badges. A specially-designed event patch was created and included the Boy Scouts of America, Ameren Missouri and St. Louis Rams logos.
“STEM education is such an important part of our community,” said Tom Kroenung, STEM Director for the Greater St. Louis Area Council. “The opportunity to partner with Ameren Missouri and the Rams will be a great experience for our Scouts. We are grateful for the support of these local companies and their commitment to working with and educating youth.”
The Ameren Missouri Energy Camp is one of the many community engagement initiatives that hundreds of Ameren Missouri volunteers donate their time to every year. This weekend, a variety of Ameren Missouri volunteers from different departments will lend their expertise and time towards teaching the scouts about clean energy, in addition to creating a safe environment for them to learn and enjoy their experience.
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Ameren Missouri has been providing electric and gas service for more than 100 years, and the company's electric rates are among the lowest in the nation. Ameren Missouri's mission is to power the quality of life for its 1.2 million electric and 127,000 natural gas customers in central and eastern Missouri. The company's service area covers 64 counties and more than 500 communities, including the greater St. Louis area. For more information please visit AmerenMissouri.com or follow Ameren Missouri on Facebook or Twitter.