by David Callis, Executive Vice President and General Manager for the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association
From an early age, we’re taught to speak for ourselves. It’s part of the process of growing up and developing our own identity. “Please, may I have some more?” eventually gets you more food. Pointing out that your malicious sibling broke the lamp may keep you out of trouble.
You gain confidence and a sense of self-worth.
Mark Twain put it this way: “Each of you, for himself, by himself and on his own responsibility, must speak. And it is a solemn and weighty responsibility, and not lightly to be flung aside at the bullying of pulpit, press, government, or the empty catchphrases of politicians. … You cannot shirk this and be a man.”
When we speak for the electric cooperatives of Tennessee, we do so out of a sense of duty and responsibility. We also do this because we are the electric cooperatives. Our directors and officers are members of the cooperatives. So, we are the members that we represent. We know what our communities need, and we know what is harmful to our communities. We work hard to get the facts right.
And we speak up for ourselves.
Co-ops are ingrained into the communities we serve. When people rely on you, it’s important that you do your work honestly and with unquestioned integrity. Your community’s reputation is on the line — as is ours. We take that charge seriously. It’s important to us that we get the facts correct when we speak.
You’ll always see our names on the byline of any story.
Doing so eliminates confusion. When the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association addresses an issue, either in the media, legislature or community meetings, you can take confidence knowing that we’re being honest and forthright — in the light of day, in the glare of the spotlight.
A number of “news” sources these days allow anonymous posting of comments. In fact, it’s become a vocation for a certain segment of our society. No identification, minimal fact-checking and, all too often, no honesty.
It’s also difficult at times to tell where some news stories originate. Some entities use willing third parties — obscure entities with important-sounding names and clever acronyms — to push their agenda. To use Spiro Agnew’s term, these “nattering nabobs of negativity” exist mainly to promote someone else’s scheme without attaching their names. The days of needing a news bureau and skilled pressmen are gone; all that’s needed now is a cool-sounding name, a website and flashy graphics.
All too often, those entities specialize in duplicitous, fact-deprived stories, usually aimed at maligning someone else’s good name. Not patently false, but rarely identifiable as the truth. And far, far away from being fair and honest.
The goal is twofold: It purposefully creates confusion about an issue and hides the identity of the entity that’s up to no good. Online, drive-by character assassination. The journalistic version of a schoolyard bully.
That’s not how we operate — we never have, and we never will. Whether it’s in the pages of The Tennessee Magazine; on tnelectric.org, Facebook or Twitter; or in the halls of the legislature, when we speak for you, it will be bold, direct and honest.
“It is a solemn and weighty responsibility, and not lightly to be flung aside.” It’s a responsibility from which we’ve never shirked.
Cooperative Purpose
Cooperative Purpose by Megan McCoy-Noe, NRECA
[button link=”http://tnelectric.org/presentations/2013MMSC_purpose.pdf”]View presentation[/button]
Key Messaging 201
Messaging 201 by Javier Solano, McNeely, Piggott and Fox
[button link=”http://tnelectric.org/presentations/2013MMSC_MPF101.pdf”]View presentation[/button]
Key Messaging 101
Messaging 101 by Javier Solano, McNeely, Piggott and Fox
[button link=”http://tnelectric.org/presentations/2013MMSC_MPF101.pdf”]View presentation[/button]
Digital District Office
Digital District Office by Brad Gibson, MTEMC
[button link=”http://tnelectric.org/presentations/2013MMSC_digitaldistrict.pdf”]View presentation[/button]
Cooperative.com resources
May 2013
[button link=”http://tnelectric.org/tearsheets/May13_tearsheets_web.pdf”]View tearsheets →[/button]
April 2013
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March 2013
[button link=”http://tnelectric.org/tearsheets/Mar13_tearsheets_web.pdf”]View tearsheets →[/button]
January 2013
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Federally Owned – Ratepayer Built
by David Callis, Executive Vice President and General Manager for the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association
When you’re immortalized in song, you can reasonably assume that you’ve made it. When a government agency is immortalized in song, well, that’s profound.
The group Alabama did just that for the Tennessee Valley Authority with their 1988 hit, “Song of the South.” One verse reads, “Well Momma got sick and Daddy got down. The county got the farm and they moved to town. Papa got a job with the TVA. He bought a washing machine, then a Chevrolet.”
Simplistic as it is, the song sums up the agency’s transformative power on the Valley. TVA, one of several Depression-era stimulus projects, revitalized our entire region, controlling flooding and bringing low-cost power and wealth through jobs and investment.
Over the decades, TVA also transformed itself. No longer a beneficiary of federal funding, TVA is fully financed through power sales. Valley residents know the value of TVA to the region. It has turned the corner from being a Democratic Depression-era program to become an integral part of our political, economic and utility infrastructure.
Over the decades, TVA programs have touched every aspect of life in the Tennessee Valley — from farm production to uranium enrichment. TVA powered the engine that enabled the U.S. to end World War II. The same agency has provided countless summers of fishing and boating for multiple generations of families.
In the 2014 budget of the U.S. government, President Barack Obama advocates the administration’s intent “to undertake a strategic review of options for addressing TVA’s financial situation, including the possible divestiture of TVA, in part or as a whole.”
We’ve been down this road before with advocates of privatization calling for the dismantling of TVA and selling it to the highest bidder. To be fair, past efforts have come from both sides of the aisle, from both the Executive Branch and the Legislative Branch. Even though we “liked Ike,” President Dwight Eisenhower once referred to TVA as an example of “creeping socialism” and told friends in private, “I’d like to sell the whole thing.” TVA privatization even figured into the 1976 Tennessee Republican presidential primary between Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford.
Selling TVA to the highest bidder seems like a quick fix for those outside the Valley or to those who are unable or unwilling to look at the facts. Transforming a publicly owned utility that sells electricity at cost into a for-profit entity isn’t a good solution for Tennessee ratepayers.
TVA has dealt with challenges before: recovering from an overexpansion of a nuclear program in the 1980s and weathering the deregulation and restructuring of the electric utility industry of the 1990s and the Kingston ash spill a few years ago. The agency has streamlined operations over the years: The number of employees has declined, and TVA is managed by a part-time board that is more diverse than ever. TVA may have issues to deal with, but we’ll deal with them together — they affect all of us.
Though the federal government owns TVA, the ratepayers in the Tennessee Valley provided the funds that constructed the generation assets and world-class transmission system. The ratepayers have paid back the original loans from the U.S. Treasury — with interest. If there is a divestiture of TVA, it should be a transfer to those ratepayers. It’s ours; we built it.
Simply put, TVA may be federally owned, but it is ratepayer-built.
Federal Policy Updates
Mike Knotts, director of government affairs
While the Tennessee Legislature is in session, I focus much of my time on the goings-on at the Capitol in Nashville. While it’s nice to spend more time at home this time of year, there are some important developments in Washington, D.C., that impact your cooperative.
Power Marketing Administrations
In the August 2012 edition of this magazine, I discussed the threat to the future of the Power Marketing Administrations (PMAs). The PMAs, owned by the federal government, are a byproduct of the public service that a dam built to control flooding provides to all citizens. The water that flows through the dam can be used to turn a turbine and generate electricity. That electricity is then sold to utilities at a price that is only high enough to cover the extra costs of producing it. That cheap power helps keep overall electric bills low and is a real success story in developing multipurpose infrastructure that benefits all our citizens.
Last year then-Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu proposed a program that would radically change the focus of the PMAs from producing low-cost, reliable and renewable electricity. His proposal added a smorgasbord of requirements unrelated to the sale of that power — things that were only vaguely connected to water spilling through a dam. It was a bad idea, and most of Tennessee’s members of Congress voiced their concerns.
Today, Secretary Chu has resigned, and President Barack Obama has nominated Dr. Ernest Moniz to replace him. During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy Committee, Dr. Moniz stated that the “first priority” of the PMAs is providing lowest-cost power. When Sen. Mike Lee of Utah pressed further and asked whether Dr. Moniz would advocate policies that could significantly raise PMA rates, Dr. Moniz said, “No … I don’t believe we would if it’s something that the PMAs and their customers don’t agree with.”
This is good news for us, and you can be sure we will make sure Dr. Moniz remembers his words.
Rural Utility Service
Another program that has been a true success story over the years is the Rural Utilities Service (RUS). In the 1930s, electric cooperatives were born as a part of the first true “public-private partnership” devised by the government. Recognizing that rural electrification was essential to the future of the country and that existing power companies were refusing to extend electric service to the vast majority of rural America, the federal government decided to encourage the development of locally controlled, member-owned electric cooperatives as a solution to the problem. This encouragement came in the way of low-interest loans that helped these new co-ops install the poles and wires that literally lit up the countryside. The cooperatives paid back the funds — with interest — which made additional money available to fund loans to other cooperatives.
Part of the Department of Agriculture, RUS continues this program today. Because this model has been so successful, the RUS loan program now generates excess money for the Treasury and is helpful in reducing our national budget deficit.
Unfortunately, President Obama does not want to leave well enough alone. In his recently released budget, the president proposes to limit the uses of this loan fund in such a way that would render it almost useless. His budget in 2012 proposed nearly the same language, but Congress had sense enough to ignore it.
With the rest of the federal government hemorrhaging cash, this is not the time to tinker with a program that has been overwhelmingly successful. Lowering the deficit and keeping electric bills low are mutually beneficial goals that we all can support. I’m optimistic that Congress will again ignore this bad idea.
Tennessee Valley Authority
As you may have read on page 4 of The Tennessee Magazine, the president also made a surprise suggestion in his budget document. He suggests a possible sale of the Tennessee Valley Authority. While David Callis sums up the issue nicely in his column, I would also add a slightly more technical point:
The budget proposed to launch a study of the possible divestiture of TVA “in part or as a whole.” The problem for the president? What he proposed is against the law. The Urgent Appropriations Act of 1986 included language that requires the express consent of Congress to undertake such an action.
Hopefully, this proposal will end up like the other ill-conceived plans to privatize TVA — in a trash can at the White House.
Scams hit co-op members
April has seen an increase in attempts to scam electric co-op members. Two recent incidents involved individuals claiming to work for electric cooperatives. Using that trust, the thieves then stole money and property from the members.
Electric co-ops remind members that their employees or contractors will always have identification, drive marked vehicles and will never ask members for private information.
Co-op members are encouraged to contact their local co-op if they notice any suspicious activity or if they wish to confirm the identity of anyone claiming to be a representative of their electric co-op.
National Lineman Appreciation Day
[Nashville] – Tennessee’s electric cooperatives join the U.S. Senate in recognizing April 18, 2013, as National Lineman Appreciation Day. The Senate passed a resolution Wednesday honoring lineworkers for their efforts at keeping power flowing.
In Tennessee there are more than 400 co-op linemen who work in the field restoring power during outages and maintaining distribution lines and equipment. Across the nation, more than 19,000 men and women maintain 2.5 million miles of line for electric co-ops, public power districts, and public utility districts.
“The caliber of our line employees is top notch,” says David Callis, executive vice president and general manager of the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association. “Each and every member of our line crews should be commended for their hard work in delivering safe and reliable power to our members.”
A bill introduced by U.S. Sens. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) “recognizing linemen, the profession of linemen, the contributions of these brave men and women who protect public safety” was passed by unanimous consent. The resolution resolves that these workers…
“It’s time lineworkers were recognized like this,” Callis says. “It’s a great acknowledgment.”
The Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association provides legislative and communication support for Tennessee’s 23 electric cooperatives and publishes The Tennessee Magazine, the state’s most widely circulated periodical. Visit tnelectric.org to learn more.
Jackson receives service award
Mr. Joe Jackson, retired Director of Youth and Member Relations with the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association has been recognized with the Distinguished Service Award from the Rural Electricity Resource Council (RERC). Jackson’s dedicated years of service and career-long efforts in electricity education were highlighted by his supporters in the nomination materials. The award presentation was made to Jackson on March 20th at the RERC’s national conference in Louisville, KY.
The RERC sponsors the award to recognize outstanding individuals for their energy-related accomplishments and educational leadership. “This national recognition is presented to those select individuals whose personal and professional contributions serve as an example to others,” says RERC Executive Manager Richard Hiatt. “Since the first award was presented in 1977, individuals like Joe Jackson have been honored for their demonstrated commitment to helping others,” said Hiatt.
Letters from peers and affiliated organizations praised Jackson’s work with a wide audience of adults and youth. This endorsement from others and Jackson’s personal style were summarized well on the plaque inscription, “We praise you for your dedication and positive attitude, which has motivated your supporters to nominate you for this award”.
The Rural Electricity Resource Council is a nonprofit national association of electric co-ops and companies. RERC’s role is to promote electricity’s value and safe use in all rural applications.
Legislative Conference brings co-ops to Nashville
More than 180 directors and employees from Tennessee’s electric cooperatives were in Nashville April 1 and 2 for the 2013 Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association Legislative Conference. Attendees met with their legislators on Capitol Hill to help them better understand electric cooperatives and the issues that impact them.
U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn also addressed the group, discussing in detail how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is overstepping its boundaries and stifling job creation. “The EPA audits businesses looking for ways to fine them,” said Blackburn. “Their attitude is not helpful, and that is not what the Federal government is supposed to do.”
Tennessee’s electric cooperatives maintain an active presence in Nashville and Washington, D.C., to be certain that the interests of co-op members are protected. “Electric cooperatives are not-for-profit, member-owned and -regulated and accountable to their communities. These are important distinctions that legislators must understand,” says David Callis, general manager of the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association. “The decisions made by legislators can have enormous effects on our members’ electric bills, so our job is to inform and educate them on the impacts of proposed legislation.”
Most issues affecting co-ops this year revolve around local control. “We believe that our members are best served when local decisions are made by local board members elected to run the cooperative,” says Mike Knotts, director of government affairs with TECA. “We are concerned when legislation limits a board’s ability to act in the best interests of its members.”
“Educated and informed legislators are a key component of low-cost, reliable power in Tennessee,” says Knotts. “Co-op members make a powerful impression when they come to meet with their legislators.”
More than 90 legislative visits were made during the conference, and 63 house and senate members attended the co-ops’ legislative reception.
Speak for Yourself
by David Callis, Executive Vice President and General Manager for the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association
From an early age, we’re taught to speak for ourselves. It’s part of the process of growing up and developing our own identity. “Please, may I have some more?” eventually gets you more food. Pointing out that your malicious sibling broke the lamp may keep you out of trouble.
You gain confidence and a sense of self-worth.
Mark Twain put it this way: “Each of you, for himself, by himself and on his own responsibility, must speak. And it is a solemn and weighty responsibility, and not lightly to be flung aside at the bullying of pulpit, press, government, or the empty catchphrases of politicians. … You cannot shirk this and be a man.”
When we speak for the electric cooperatives of Tennessee, we do so out of a sense of duty and responsibility. We also do this because we are the electric cooperatives. Our directors and officers are members of the cooperatives. So, we are the members that we represent. We know what our communities need, and we know what is harmful to our communities. We work hard to get the facts right.
And we speak up for ourselves.
Co-ops are ingrained into the communities we serve. When people rely on you, it’s important that you do your work honestly and with unquestioned integrity. Your community’s reputation is on the line — as is ours. We take that charge seriously. It’s important to us that we get the facts correct when we speak.
You’ll always see our names on the byline of any story.
Doing so eliminates confusion. When the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association addresses an issue, either in the media, legislature or community meetings, you can take confidence knowing that we’re being honest and forthright — in the light of day, in the glare of the spotlight.
A number of “news” sources these days allow anonymous posting of comments. In fact, it’s become a vocation for a certain segment of our society. No identification, minimal fact-checking and, all too often, no honesty.
It’s also difficult at times to tell where some news stories originate. Some entities use willing third parties — obscure entities with important-sounding names and clever acronyms — to push their agenda. To use Spiro Agnew’s term, these “nattering nabobs of negativity” exist mainly to promote someone else’s scheme without attaching their names. The days of needing a news bureau and skilled pressmen are gone; all that’s needed now is a cool-sounding name, a website and flashy graphics.
All too often, those entities specialize in duplicitous, fact-deprived stories, usually aimed at maligning someone else’s good name. Not patently false, but rarely identifiable as the truth. And far, far away from being fair and honest.
The goal is twofold: It purposefully creates confusion about an issue and hides the identity of the entity that’s up to no good. Online, drive-by character assassination. The journalistic version of a schoolyard bully.
That’s not how we operate — we never have, and we never will. Whether it’s in the pages of The Tennessee Magazine; on tnelectric.org, Facebook or Twitter; or in the halls of the legislature, when we speak for you, it will be bold, direct and honest.
“It is a solemn and weighty responsibility, and not lightly to be flung aside.” It’s a responsibility from which we’ve never shirked.
Time is Precious
Mike Knotts, director of government affairs
Not too long ago, somebody repeated an interesting saying to me. I doubt it was an original thought; rather, it has been repeated over and over again and probably attributed to 20 different people. So I won’t try to correctly attribute the original author, but the meaning is excellent just the same.
“Time is the only thing you spend that you can never get back.”
I have been reminded of this indisputable fact over and over recently. Writing this very column is one example, as the staff of The Tennessee Magazine was kind to patiently await my submission as it was submitted dangerously close to the print deadline. If you’ve never had a regular deadline for a work product, the clock does start to tick a little bit louder and a lot faster the closer you get to “zero hour.” My pastor friends say that is especially true for Sunday mornings. Unfortunately, I usually need to hear that clock ticking louder and faster before I get serious about finishing my work.
But we all face pressures of some kind to complete a task because, for the most part, life does operate on a schedule. Each and every day the mailman has to finish his rounds. Mom or dad have to prepare meals for the kids. The store must open and close its doors. Many of our pleasures and hobbies even come with a time limit. So it’s natural for us to push back and try to escape the pressures of time. Perhaps that is why I am a baseball fan, as it is the only major team sport that does not utilize a clock.
But, I don’t think efficiently managing our time and meeting deadlines are what the saying intends to communicate. It’s not a question of how we spend our time — it’s urging us to ponder why we spend our time. Why do we choose to spend the limited amount of time we have on this Earth doing the things we do? What is the purpose of that time, and is it truly worth it?
I recognize that for many of us, we may not have a choice in how we spend all our time. We have to work a certain number of hours to put food on the table and pay the rent, for instance. But that makes the hours left in the day that much more precious and valuable. Are you using those hours in a way that has meaning, or are you just playing “Angry Birds?”
I have four young sons, so I have been feeling especially convicted by this question lately. For example, our twins just had their very first baseball practice. As I watched them on the field listening to their coach and running around the bases, my mind started to wander. What items were left undone at the office this week? What will happen next month in the Congress? When should I get that ding in the truck fixed?
And then, as I was needlessly worrying about things that could wait, I almost missed it. The boys fielded a grounder and threw it to first base. And they both looked straight at me with a look of pride, excitement and happiness that I hope I’ll never forget. Thankfully, I was watching at that moment and gave them a big thumbs up. It was a brief few seconds, yes, and their accomplishment wasn’t something that will be written about in the history books. But what if I had still been thinking about work or reading email on my phone? That moment in time would never have repeated itself, and I probably would never have known that it even occurred.
There are a lot of choices we make in life that we can correct if we get it wrong. Not so with the way we spend our time. So my question is this: What moments have you missed? And was whatever you were doing worth it?
Legislation Passes Senate with Strong Support
The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee passed SB 1222 on Tuesday on an eight to zero vote. The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Bo Watson, seeks to end a decade of legislative disputes about the cost cable companies pay to attach to poles owned by electric utilities.
“We are pleased that the Committee understood the facts of this debate,” says David Callis, executive vice president and general manager of the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association.
“Electric cooperatives have offered a good-faith compromise that allows for a clear path for resolution when pole attachment rates are disputed and, at the same time, recognizes the actual cost differences between electric utilities. We believe the legislation is an equitable path forward for electric cooperatives, utilities and the cable companies.”
Discussion on the companion bill in the House continues.
The Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association is a trade association representing the interests of Tennessee’s 23 rural and suburban, not-for-profit electric distribution cooperatives and the 1.1 million members they serve.
Video of today’s committee meetings
[button link=”http://tnga.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=252&clip_id=7295&meta_id=”]View Senate Committee →[/button]
[button link=”http://tnga.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=207&clip_id=7296″]View House Committee →[/button]
Electric utility bill protects ratepayers
Existing law is sufficient for broadband expansion, leader says
NASHVILLE – Legislation backed by the cable television industry and their lobbyists amounts to a $13 million subsidy that will ultimately end up on the electric bills of hundreds of thousands of Tennesseans, a state utility leader said today.
“The cable companies want, in essence, a $13 million subsidy that is paid to them by the electric ratepayers of Tennessee,” said David Callis, executive vice president and general manager of Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association.
At issue is the cost cable companies pay electric utilities to attach cable wires to power poles. This “pole attachment rate” is a negotiated contract between electric cooperative and municipal power provides and the cable companies. In Tennessee, the average pole attachment rate is $14 a pole per year for rural electric cooperatives and $18 per pole per year for municipal utilities.
Pole attachment rates cover the cost of installing and maintaining a power pole.
Electric cooperatives and municipal utilities are instead supporting a compromise bill that would preserve their right to negotiate agreements and would maintain local control of these important decisions.
“We think this compromise is fair. Most important, it protects the electric ratepayers of Tennessee from a hidden subsidy of the cable industry,” Callis said. “Our legislation continues the long tradition of local control and it offers a clearly defined dispute resolution process.”
The compromise legislation, Senate Bill 1222 and House Bill 1111, is sponsored by state Sen. Bo Watson and Rep. Jimmy Matlock.
Cable companies are pushing hard for legislation that would remove the authority of each utility’s local board of directors to set the rate, placing it instead in the hands of the state government. Additionally, the cable-backed legislation would require the state to consider an artificially low rate of $7 that was originally set by the Federal government 35 years ago as a subsidy to the then-fledgling cable industry.
“It is hard to argue that a media giant like Comcast, which has spent over $30 billion in the past few years to acquire NBC, is still a mom and pop business worthy of government protection,” said Callis.
“Cable lobbyists are using automated phone calls to claim that this compromise would stop people in rural areas from getting service, which may be one of the more disingenuous smokescreens I have seen in my career,” said Callis. “Since 2008, the law says a cable company can get 50% off their pole attachment rate if they provide service to an unserved area. We are still waiting on the first request.”
The Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association is a trade association representing the interests of Tennessee’s 23 rural and suburban, not-for-profit electric distribution cooperatives and the 1.1 million members they serve.
Important Work
by David Callis, Executive Vice President and General Manager for the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association
My good friend Kent Lopez is manager of the Washington Rural Electric Cooperative Association, serving in a position similar to mine. Kent is a transplanted Tennessean, and he recently shared the following about his work:
“My alarm goes off an hour earlier this time of the year. The State Legislature is in session. So I spend some extra time every morning getting ready for the day because there are special people relying on me. There is the rancher in Nespelem, the motel owner in Winthrop, the wheat farmer in Ritzville, the school teacher in Colfax … Each one has joined his or her neighbors to own and run their own local electric utility. They do this because they believe it’s in the best interest of their community. They do it without making a profit so their community will profit. They do this because they believe that the decisions that affect their community should be made locally, by individuals like themselves and their neighbors. Like I said, they are very special people. That’s why my alarm goes off an hour earlier this time of the year. I’ve got very important work to do.”
I’ll readily confess that I don’t begin my day like Kent. But my efforts, and the work of our entire staff at the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association and The Tennessee Magazine, are no less focused on supporting our cooperative members across our state. Our government affairs staff has worked nonstop over the past several weeks as our own legislative session began. Other staff have been busy communicating with our members across the state, planning for a busy year of cooperative education and training.
Andrew Carnegie envisioned his Carnegie Corporation as a foundation dedicated to the goal of doing “real and permanent good in this world.”
That describes perfectly the work of Tennessee’s electric cooperatives. Too often, Wall Street gauges success from one quarter to the next, cutting expenses and making rash decisions that undermine long-term growth, all in an effort to drive up stock prices quickly.
We measure success on Main Street over a much longer period — at least a generation or two.
Our co-ops are run by our members — which is a difficult concept for some to accept. How does that work exactly? A governing board is elected to set policy for the co-op. That board is composed of local co-op members who volunteer to serve.
That’s the purest, most direct form of local control — local people making decisions that are in the best interest of the community. And they’re decisions that bring about “real good” for today and “permanent good” for tomorrow.
So, for the banker in Bumpus Mills, the accountant in Sparta, the farmer in Hillsboro, the insurance adjuster in Ramer, the dentist in Hohenwald, the vineyard owner in Jamestown and the retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel in Jefferson City, we recognize the effort you put in serving your community. It’s not done for recognition or prestige; it’s done because you’re committed to making your community a better place.
People rely on you. The work you do on behalf of the co-op members in your community is important. It’s important to the members of your cooperative, and it’s important to us at TECA.
We keep that in mind every day, whether it’s publishing The Tennessee Magazine, educating tomorrow’s leaders through our youth programs, training workers on electrical safety or protecting your interests in the legislature.
It’s very important work.