Director's Corner

By Dustin Buckingham, District 7 Director, CCD, BLC, DGS

After a long winter, I cannot help but look forward to spring. Spring reminds me of better weather and our cooperative elections. We are governed by nine directors and each of them represent a portion of our system. Each year, three cooperative directors are elected for a three-year term.

DEMOCRATIC MEMBER CONTROL

As a cooperative, we abide by the Seven Cooperative Principles. Cooperative Principle #2 is Democratic Member Control. This means all our members get to vote on the three directors they feel will best represent them, even if they live in a different district of the cooperative. The candidates, however, must live in the district they are running to represent. As in most elections, the candidates are nominated to run. If the candidate meets the qualifications to run in our by-laws, they meet with the nominating committee. Once the nominating committee approves a candidate, they will be placed on the ballot in the district where they reside.

Democratic member control separates cooperatives from Investor-Owned Utilities (IOU). The Public Utility Commission of Ohio (PUCO) governs IOUs, working to ensure fair practices for their customers since they have no voice in that system. Cooperatives have members, not customers, and the members keep local control through the democratic process. In practice, cooperatives follow many PUCO guidelines to support industry uniformity, but they do not govern us. Democratic Member Control means our board is accountable to the members they represent. This means we focus our core values and priorities on member service.

BOARD OF DIRECTOR'S TRAINING

The Energy Cooperative Board of Directors is made up of people from our local communities. They are accessible and visible in their districts. Once a person is elected to the Board of Directors, they are expected to take training classes through the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). The training helps directors better understand and address cooperatives’ issues.

NRECA offers three levels of training. Credentialed Cooperative Director (CCD), Board Leadership Certificate (BLC) and Director Gold Certificates (DGC). NRECA has some of the best content and instructors for Board training in the nation.

Becoming a Director for a cooperative requires an investment of time for monthly meetings, training and conferences. However, it is an honor to represent our community. On behalf of your Board of Directors, I encourage you to stay active in our democratic process.