Director's corner

By Tom Graham, District 9 Director, CCD, BLC, DGC

Harvest season is winding down and the holiday season is quickly approaching. It is a priority for my family and our cooperative family that we do not take each other for granted. That includes so many partners around us. We are thankful for our members and the larger communities that our cooperative serves. While bringing you safe and reliable energy is our top priority, commitment to our community follows by a close second.

Cooperative Principle #7

Cooperative Principle #7: Concern for Community focuses on the cooperative’s work toward sustainable development of their communities through policies supported by the membership. Energy Cooperative works to improve our communities in various ways. Through grants, scholarships and events, we understand the impact of our efforts on the communities we serve and remain committed to these initiatives.

The Operation Round Up Foundation

The Operation Round Up Foundation is one of our best examples of Cooperative Principle #7. Over the foundation's lifetime, thanks to our members’ dedication to local communities, the Board has awarded nearly $4 million in grant dollars. The grants included a variety of communities, organizations and projects that impact their community far beyond our funding efforts. The Board has funded grants for worthy not-for-profits like St. Vincent Haven, Salvation Army, Hospice, various fire departments, schools and so many more. We are honored to donate Operation Round Up funds on behalf of our membership.

Ambassador Program

Another initiative we recently kicked off was the Energy Cooperative Ambassador Program. This program stems from our Concern for Community and focuses on educating local members in our community who have been recruited as ambassadors to learn about their cooperative. We want our members to have the opportunity to gain experience, engage and become advocates for their cooperative.

Scholarships

The Operation Round Up Foundation and Energy Cooperative both award scholarships each year. These scholarships allocate thousands of dollars to positively impact the youth of our local communities. We will share more information on this process soon. Please encourage graduating students you know to apply in early 2023.