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Thirty-one projects completed during Tennessee Electric Co-op Day of Service

NASHVILLE –Electric co-op employees from across the state got their hands dirty and brows sweaty today during the eighth Tennessee Electric Co-op Day of Service event. Thirty-one separate community service projects were completed with 630 electric co-op employees volunteering approximately 1,300 hours to their communities.

“We are incredibly grateful to all the volunteers who dedicated their time and effort to make this year’s Tennessee Electric Co-op Day of Service a success,” said Trent Scott, vice president of communications for the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association and coordinator of the Day of Service event. “Your commitment to serving our communities exemplifies the spirit of cooperation and community support that electric co-ops stand for.”

This year’s projects included food and clothing drives, building a playground and cleaning up storm damage.

“Electric cooperatives have a unique relationship with the communities they serve. Unlike other utilities, co-ops are owned by the people they serve, which means we are deeply invested in the well-being and prosperity of our local areas. The people of Tennessee’s electric co-ops are committed to not just providing reliable electricity, but also to enhancing the quality of life for their neighbors. Their passion for making a positive impact is contagious.”

Sponsors of the 2024 Day of Service were TVA, Bass, Berry and Sims, Central Service Association, Ervin Cable Construction, Silicon Ranch, Tennessee 811 and The Tennessee Magazine.

Since its inception, the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Day of Service has made a significant impact across the state. Over the past eight years, the program has completed 210 projects with the help of 4,164 volunteers who have collectively contributed 10,000 hours of service. These efforts have not only improved local communities but also strengthened the bond between electric cooperatives and the people they serve.

Co-ops participating in the 2024 Day of Service and the projects they completed:

  • Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation – Helped YAIPAK in Clarksville assist a veteran moving into permanent housing and organize warehouse
  • Fayetteville Public Utilities – Assembled beds for Sleep in Heavenly Peace
  • Forked Deer Electric Cooperative – Assembled Veteran Appreciation Bags
  • Gibson Electric Co-ops – Decorated Rutherford elementary and middle school teachers lounges
  • Meriwether Lewis Electric Cooperative  – Hosted American Red Cross blood drive and completed litter pickup project and food drives
  • Middle Tennessee Electric – Constructed wheelchair ramps in the Hard Bargain neighborhood, provided a community tailgate event at a high school football game, participated in a touch-a-truck event in Murfreesboro and a STEM Festival and provided lunch for teachers
  • Pickwick Electric Cooperative – Assembled and delivered bags for nursing home patients
  • Powell Valley Electric Cooperative – Hosted first responder luncheons
  • Sequachee Valley Electric Cooperative – Built beds for Sleep in Heavenly Peace, assisted RAM setup a mobile clinic in Marion County and cleaned up a cemetery
  • Southwest Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation – Coordinated supply drives for Carl Perkins Centers in Chester, Haywood, Madison and Tipton counties
  • Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association – Assisted with setup for the NAIA Tennessee Pow Wow
  • Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation – Decorated the Smith County sign, served meals  and conducted a supply drive for the Cookeville Rescue Mission, revitalized landscaping at Jackson Co. Middle and High schools and assisted with a recreation center cleanup in Rickman
  • Volunteer Energy Cooperative – Donated supplies to The Caring Place, Meigs Ministries and teddy bears to the Highway 58 Fire Department
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Hurricane Helene Recovery Efforts

Hurricane Helene made landfall along the Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday, Sept. 26. With winds reaching 140 miles per hour late that evening, the damage was catastrophic. The storm continued north weakening to a post tropical cyclone over Tennessee the next day, stalling over the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina and dumping upwards of 30 inches of rain on some communities. The storm created severe flooding, hundreds of fatalities and billions of dollars in property damage across Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Despite the extensive damage created by Hurricane Helene, electric co-ops are doing what they do best – helping their own.

“Tennessee co-ops are rolling up their sleeves and helping when it’s needed most, both with our own here in the state and with sister co-ops in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina,” said Mike Knotts, CEO of TECA. “We could not be more proud of the lineworkers who are making this happen.”

Some of the hardest hit co-ops in the Volunteer State were Powell Valley Electric Cooperative in New Tazewell and Mountain Electric Cooperative in Mountain City.

Powell Valley Electric Cooperative had 735 individual outages following the storm, 95 broken poles and more than 11,000 consumers without power, but with the help of the co-op family, all power has been restored. The co-op received mutual aid from co-ops, contractors and tree trimmers.

“Fortunately, nearly 40 linemen from our sister cooperatives in Virginia—Northern Neck, NOVEC, Choptank, and Mecklenburg—answered the call, working alongside our crews to restore service. The coordinated efforts between the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association and the Virginia, Maryland and Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives were key in quickly finding help for us, ensuring that we received the necessary support to speed up the restoration process,” said Brad Coppock, PVEC’s general manager. “The principle of cooperation among cooperatives truly shines during times like these, and PVEC is deeply grateful for the assistance from both TECA and our fellow co-ops in Virginia and Maryland.”

Reconstruction efforts continue into the second week at Mountain Electric Cooperative. After the storm, 25,000 consumers–well over half of the co-op’s system–were without power.

“Hurricane Helene impacted Mountain Electric Cooperative with severe damage to our electrical grid,” said Rodney Metcalf, general manager of MEC. “There were thousands of trees, poles and electrical lines damaged. The grid in several areas will need to be completely rebuilt. Many of our employees have sustained damage to their own homes and are unable to do any repairs because they are working to serve others in the community above themselves. Please keep our community and our employees in your prayers for safety.”

MEC’s outage numbers are down to around 2,000, and lineworkers from MEC, joined by crews from Tennessee Valley Electric Cooperative and Fayetteville Public Utilities, continue working 15 hour days to assist those in need. With the help of its community, FPU was able to send nearly 75,000 pounds of supplies to those impacted by the hurricane and plan to send another load in the coming days.

“TECA is always ready to answer the call for mutual aid,” said Todd Blocker, TECA’s vice president of member services and coordinator for mutual aid in the state. “Hurricane Helene certainly caused devastation and destruction for some of Tennessee’s electric cooperatives, but it has been encouraging to see other co-ops from across the state rush to assist.”

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TECA hosts Inaugural IT and Cybersecurity Workshop

The Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association hosted its first IT and Cybersecurity Workshop on Thursday, Sept. 12. With the help of the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, 15 electric cooperatives were able to learn about information technology and cybersecurity from industry-leading experts and one another.

“With the ever growing needs our co-ops face today, we knew this information and this type of workshop was needed,” said Tina Smith, executive assistant for TECA. “We are thrilled it all came together like it did and that we had so many of our members join us at this inaugural event.”

Attendees heard from TVA’s cybersecurity team about their cybersecurity measures as well as from TVA’s director of foundational systems on how to build a utility grade network. CISA’s cybersecurity supervisor shared tips on how to prevent cyberattacks and hacks. Ryan King, TECA’s vice president of government affairs, also provided an update on recent legislation designed to protect electric co-ops.

“I found TECA’s IT and Cybersecurity Workshop in Nashville very relevant to what is going on today in our industry,” said Jeffrey Gunter, Holston Electric Cooperative’s director of network administration and network engineering.

The day concluded with a roundtable discussion where participants were able to share tips and tricks for what has worked for them in the cybersecurity world. Most importantly, 27 cooperative professionals were able to ask each other questions.

“The Q&A session at the end was awesome to hear what others in the valley are doing to combat cyber threats and keep their networks safe.  In-person information and experience sharing is so valuable to co-ops,” Gunter said.

“We already have some ideas in the works for the next workshop and hope more co-ops are able to join us for that event,” Smith said.

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Research Highlights The Tennessee Magazine’s Status as an Effective, Trusted Source for Co-op Information

Earlier this year several electric co-ops volunteered to participate in a readership study of The Tennessee Magazine. Preliminary results are in, and the findings show high levels of readership, trust and appreciation for the publication.

MRI Simmons, a leading provider of consumer profiling, media planning and activation tools, surveyed members of eight electric co-ops in Tennessee, and more than 6,300 co-op members took the time to respond to the study. Given the high number of responses, the study provided the team with highly accurate data, including a confidence level of 95% and a margin of error of just 1%.

“This new research data validates what we already knew in our hearts – that co-op members not only read, but trust what they read in The Tennessee Magazine,” Mike Knotts, TECA’s CEO, says. “With a delivered cost less than the price of a stamp, I can say with confidence that there is no better, more effective and more appreciated tool available to communicate with electric co-op members in Tennessee.”

Key Findings

The research shows the magazine is widely read and that readers invest significant time with each issue.

  • 80% of participants read three out of the last four issues.
  • 66% of participants read four out of the last four issues.
  • 51% of participants spend more than 30 minutes reading each issue.

The research reveals a preference for print among The Tennessee Magazine audience.

  • When asked how respondents prefer to receive information from their electric co-op, The Tennessee Magazine was the most commonly selected choice. Other options included email, bill inserts, social media and websites.
  • 9 out of 10 respondents prefer to continue receiving the magazine in the printed format.

The research found high levels of trust in The Tennessee Magazine at a time when trust in the media is at an all-time low.

  • 96% of participants responded that they trust what they read in the magazine and feel that The Tennessee Magazine is a name they can trust.

The research shows that The Tennessee Magazine helps electric co-ops build affinity among their members.

  • 96% of readers know that the magazine is provided by their local electric co-op.
  • 9 out of 10 readers feel that the magazine helps them better appreciate their electric co-op.

“The Tennessee Magazine is a high quality publication that provides an affordable way for local electric cooperatives to communicate important information to our member-owners,” said Dan Rodamaker, president and CEO of Gibson Electric Membership Corporation and TECA board president. “The pages that surround our section include beautiful photography and interesting stories about people and places in our state.”

The Tennessee Magazine team also questioned readers about the content that appears in the magazine. “Stories about Tennessee places” ranked number one, followed by “Tennessee history”, “food/recipes” and “stories about Tennessee people”.

“We are thankful for everyone who took the time to participate in this study,” Chris Kirk, editor of The Tennessee Magazine, says. “This research and data help us better understand what our readers want to know and read, and ultimately it will help shape the content that appears in the magazine each month. We are focused on making the magazine the most effective communications tool for electric co-ops, and the findings of this research are very encouraging.”

 

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