As you might imagine, electric cooperatives have a great story to tell.
We talk about our history, about rural neighbors who banded together to bring electricity to their homes and farms when no one else would.
We talk about the present, about the vital service we provide, and about our involvement in our communities — locally, nationally, and even internationally.
The 2016 elections demonstrated the influence of rural voters — and, therefore, let elected officials know in no uncertain terms to pay attention to the needs of rural America.
While the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association has a team of government affairs professionals lobbying Congress every day, local cooperative leaders make an annual trek to Washington, D.C., every April so those federal policymakers hear directly from folks from their district or home state.
Electric cooperatives have a long history of providing service where there was an unfilled need. It’s a story that especially resonates with Patrick Gottsch.
In the late 1990s, Gottsch, then a sales executive for a successful livestock auction, looked at cable television lineups around the country and noticed something missing: there was no rural-focused programming anywhere on the dial.
Almost daily, I find myself disappointed, even upset, with the words and actions of people in leadership positions — politicians, business executives, media talking heads — saying and doing things that range from annoying to just plain wrong. Perhaps you can empathize. But as I consider how to “fix” the problems, I soon realize how blessed we are with the system we have and with the people in our families, in our communities, at work, and behind the scenes who make everyday life great. That gratitude certainly extends to the electric cooperative community.
Ohioans face some significant choices as they enter the voting booth next month — not the least of which are whom to elect as the next governor and which candidate will best represent the state in the U.S. Senate.
Knowing the importance of electric cooperative voters in the campaigns, the major-party candidates for the two offices took some time recently to answer questions that are crucial to Ohio Cooperative Living readers.
Ohio electric cooperative leaders joined more than 2,000 of their counterparts from around the country in April to discuss legislative and regulatory concerns with members of Congress at the 2018 NRECA Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C.
The conference, held annually, allows co-op leaders to build relationships with policymakers that improve their members’ lives every day.
On Tuesday, May 8, Ohio opens the polls for registered voters to exercise the privilege of free selection in party primaries; to make your voice heard on statewide issues; and to cast your ballot regarding local matters.
In 2016, rural America played a historic part in our national election — 500,000 more rural voters went to the polls than in 2012. This year, we hope to accelerate that momentum by encouraging each of you to join 42 million electric cooperative members across the nation to remind our elected officials that rural issues matter.
The year 1868 was one of turmoil and uncertainty in this country, when the very Union itself was in crisis. One man’s act of valor — not on a battlefield, but in a legislative body — may have been the deciding factor that held the nation together.
Edmund G. Ross cast the deciding vote in the staid United States Senate to acquit the impeached President Andrew Johnson in May of 1868. The vote earned him the widespread scorn at the time. But his act of conviction — ignoring both attempted bribery and physical threats — put him on the right side of history.
Every June for the past 39 years, high school students from co-op families have attended the Electric Cooperatives Youth Tour — a weeklong leadership experience in Washington, D.C., sponsored by their co-op. Youth Tour is an experience unlike any other — full of fun, friends, and memories that last a lifetime.
