A proud history and solid commitment to future service are among the themes in a new NRECA video available for co-ops to use.
“America’s Electric Cooperatives: Energy is Us” debuted at this year’s NRECA’s annual meeting. The video spotlights some of the folks across Co-op Nation. It reinforces NRECA’s guiding principles that co-ops serve their members and make their lives better.
At Aulander, North Carolina-based Roanoke Electric Cooperative, that means providing more than just electricity.
“We’re making sure that members have access to broadband,” said Curtis Wynn, the co-op’s CEO and NRECA vice president.
“Our focus is community and building that community,” Mike Partin, president and CEO of Sequachee Valley Electric Cooperative in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, said in the video. “We provide safe, affordable and reliable electricity to those that we serve.”
The staffs and directors of more than 900 co-ops constantly look for new ways to meet the needs of the communities they serve, a point brought home by Melissa Segrest, manager of marketing and communications for Brenham, Texas-based Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative.
“They’re our neighbors and our friends,” said Segrest.
In a cooperative you’re still a very key part of everything, said Meera Kohler, president and CEO ofAnchorage-based Alaska Village Electric Cooperative and NRECA Alaska director. “You get that feeling when your cooperative is responsive to you on every front.”
Co-ops are also meeting the need for reliable information on energy efficiency with an expanding focus on building science.
But even as they add services for electric vehicles and member-owned renewable electricity, commitment to the core mission remains the same. As Michael Griffith, a Sequachee Electric Cooperative journeyman lineman, points out, when you restore power to someone’s home, it’s a heartwarming feeling.
“It makes you feel very important to your community.”
Derrill Holly is a staff writer at NRECA.