Cooperation Nation
Glenn English, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, spoke about the cooperative difference at NRECA’s 2012 Annual Meeting, themed “Electric Cooperatives Build a Better World.” Sources: NRECA
Members support community empowerment in global co-op celebration By Megan McKoy-Noe, CCC
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s every craftsman knows, the right tool can make or break a project. For more than 75 years the electric cooperative business model—when wielded effectively by engaged members—has served as a handy instrument to improve the quality of life in rural areas. How can a community harness a business model to enact change? Cooperatives—democratically governed businesses operating on an at-cost, not-for-profit basis—are unique. While profit-driven utilities worry about Wall Street, electric co-ops focus on Main Street. “At a time when folks are losing faith in big corporations, we have a great opportunity to showcase the many ways the local, 36 october 2012
consumer-owned and member-controlled cooperative form of business benefits communities across the country and the world,” declares NRECA CEO Glenn English. That holds true for all types of cooperatives. Agricultural co-ops, for example, fight for fair prices for farmers while marketing co-ops provide nationally known branding for products. Credit unions lend at competitive rates, and grocery co-ops give shoppers a say in what’s stocked on shelves. Member-owned cooperatives come in many shapes and sizes. But all boast a common foundation of core principles that puts people first. Cooperation thrives in Alabama, with
more than 256 co-ops serving more than 2 million members, notes the University of Wisconsin’s Center for Cooperation. Alabama’s co-op economy employs more than 10,000, and nationally more than 2.1 million jobs are supported by co-ops. The United Nations General Assembly designated 2012 as International Year of Cooperatives (IYC 2012), under the banner “Cooperative Enterprises Build a Better World.” The resolution recognizes the vital role cooperatives play in the economic and social well-being of nations around the globe and encourages countries to foster cooperative development as a way to generate local wealth, employment, and marketplace competition. www.alabamaliving.coop