When I moved to the Yukon at age 26, I thought it was the most awful place I had ever been. It was small, remote, quiet, and bleak. But I was giving it a year to pay off my student loan and I was determined to meet my goal.
One day, I wandered into the bookstore on Main Street in Whitehorse and, while I was rummaging through the local book selections, deciding now that I was north of 60 I probably should do some research on where I was (probably should have done that before I arrived, but whatever), I picked up Life Lived Like a Story: Life Stories of Three Yukon Native Elders by Julie Cruikshank. Julie changed my life. I never met her, but what she wrote about was so amazing, so different than anything I knew at that point, that on some level I decided to change my goals and to live my life like a story.
And so it went, I never walked a normal path, and the Yukon gave me some of the best moments of my life over a 25-year period. Thank you, Julie.
Now in keeping with living my life like a story, my team and I are busy right now planning the opening of the Rosita Uranium Central Processing Plant for enCore Energy Corp, America’s Clean Energy Company™ – the first uranium producer in South Texas in 10 years and the 3rd producer of uranium in the United States. I handle all communications for enCore and have pushed everyone to ensure we celebrate our achievements. And so, like the dog that caught the bumper, here I am… and my team along with me.
The Grand Opening of the Rosita Plant is on Tuesday, February 6th, 2024. Governor Rick Perry, the 47th Governor of Texas and former United States Secretary of Energy, will join senior management, federal, state and local elected officials, community members and investors to celebrate another critical source of energy for Texas and the United States.
South Texas is rich in uranium resources, the necessary fuel for nuclear energy, and enCore will be celebrating this significant economic benefit providing employment and business development to the local communities in the Corpus Christi area, Texas and the United States. Nuclear energy is the only zero carbon energy source and accounts for 20% of the energy for the United States electric supply. In 1980, the United States was 100% energy-independent for nuclear energy and produced over 40,000,000 pounds of uranium. In 2023, the United States produced less than 1% of its uranium required for nuclear energy, with more than 50% of its supply dependent upon Russia- placing the country in a vulnerable position. enCore Energy is working to replace foreign sources of uranium and is 100% committed to domestic uranium production through environmentally-friendly methods. How could you not be excited to coordinate this event and celebrate the amazing people who made everything possible, only 20 months after acquiring the plant!
So, stay tuned- I will give you an update but for now, the craziness of event planning is underway and it’s amazing how many times I look back and draw on the projects of my past to plan this event. Looking back also reminds me of great memories and achievements in the Yukon, and how first impressions are often very wrong. Very wrong.
