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Tennessee co-ops send volunteers to Virginia

NASHVILLE – Working jointly with other statewide electric cooperative organizations, Tennessee’s electric cooperatives are sending crews to Virginia to help restore electric service to those affected by severe storms on Friday and Saturday, June 29 and 30.

“Six Tennessee cooperatives are sending volunteer lineworkers and equipment to assist cooperatives in Virginia,” said David Callis, executive vice president and general manager for the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association. “With record-setting heat in the area, it is critical that power be restored as soon as possible. Like residents in the affected areas, our lineworkers face some very long and very hot days ahead of them.”

Emergency work plans were put into place on Saturday morning, June 30, and crews from Tennessee headed for Virginia later that day. This cooperation is enabled through mutual aid agreements between electric cooperatives.

Assisting Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative in Mount Crawford, Va.:

  • five lineworkers from Mountain Electric Cooperative, Mountain City
  • four from Fort Loudoun Electric Cooperative, Madisonville
  • five from Sequachee Valley Electric Cooperative, South Pittsburg

Assisting Central Virginia Electric Cooperative in Arrington, Va.:

  • 10 lineworkers from Powell Valley Electric Cooperative, New Tazewell
  • six from Plateau Electric Cooperative, Oneida

Assisting BARC Electric Cooperative in Millboro, Va.:

  • 10 lineworkers from Appalachian Electric Cooperative, New Market

Some Tennessee cooperatives received damage from the same storm system that impacted Virginia. Holston Electric Cooperative, Mountain Electric Cooperative, Fort Loudoun Electric Cooperative and Volunteer Energy Cooperative service areas received wind-related storm damage over the weekend.

Holston Electric Cooperative and Powell Valley Electric Cooperative also had outages caused by a fire at TVA’s John Sevier generation plant. All service was restored on Friday evening. The John Sevier plant remains off-line, and TVA is requesting that northwest Tennessee residents conserve energy when possible until the plant resumes production and the high temperatures subside.

“We put our own members first. We only provide assistance to out-of-state co-ops after our own needs are met,” says Callis. “Sending crews and equipment to other states does represent a risk, but our cooperatives are always eager to help when possible.”

The Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association is a trade group representing the interests of Tennessee’s 23 electric distribution cooperatives and the 1.1 million members they serve.

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Built to Last

by David Callis, Executive Vice President and General Manager for the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association

Management gurus James Collins and Jerry Porras penned a book in the mid-1990s titled “Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies.” The book, based on a six-year research project at Stanford University, examined 18 long-lasting companies. In the foreword the authors write, “… visionary companies distinguish their timeless core values and enduring purpose (which should never change) from their operating practices and business strategies (which should be changing constantly in response to a changing world).”

Tennessee’s electric cooperatives aren’t quite as well known as the companies of the study. But, when it comes to longevity and singleness of purpose, we’re definitely in the same league. Our cooperatives have been around for 75 years and counting.

Management techniques come and go, operational strategies flourish and then fade away, but core values remain constant. Over the years, your cooperative has likely had several leadership changes; employees retire and new hires take their place. Each generation brings changes in style and vision.

With an ever-changing cast, how do we stay focused on our primary purpose from decade to decade? The one thing that doesn’t change: the member-owners of the cooperative. Collectively, we’re owned by the members of the communities we serve.

To stay true to that core value, cooperatives answer directly to the membership. Members are elected to act as a governing board — making decisions on behalf of all the members. Board members enact policies that are in the best interests of the membership, and, in turn, the directors select a CEO to manage the day-to-day operations. The CEO answers to the board, and the board answers to the rest of the membership, through periodic re-election.

Breaking that down to Collins and Porras’ statement: The board selects management, which develops business strategies that adapt to a changing world; co-op members select a board that adheres to never-changing core values.

While policies have evolved since Tennessee’s first co-op was formed in the mid-1930s, the basic structure has provided a framework that has lasted well. We’ve not only survived but thrived because of that foundation on which we’re built. That “core value” of member ownership is what provides the enduring purpose of serving our communities.

It’s a model that works best when members participate. Co-op members throughout the state can, and should, attend their cooperative’s annual business meeting.

Each annual meeting is built around a business session, which always contains operating and financial reports that, along with other details, help provide vital information to you as a co-op member — to show that your cooperative’s leaders have been good stewards during the past year.

Most of these meetings are held from August through October. Given the numerous entertainment options that compete for our attention, most feature a variety of other activities — from health fairs to safety demonstrations to live entertainment. It’s just a few hours out of your schedule, and, as Bill Cosby used to say, “You might learn something before it’s done.”

The cooperative business model is one that works for small and large co-ops alike. It’s a model that is built to withstand economic highs and lows. It’s a model that is built to deal with natural disasters or man-made challenges.

It’s a model that’s built to last. The proof is there year after year.

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Co-ops – Contributing to your community

by David Callis, Executive Vice President and General Manager for the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association

As we continue to celebrate the International Year of Cooperatives, we like to showcase other ways that cooperatives benefit your local community — not by delivering a product or a service but by delivering on a commitment.

If we’re shopping, we tend to look for the best value for our money. It’s easy to think of a cooperative as a place where we shop or receive a service: seeds, fertilizer or electricity. But cooperatives don’t exist merely to sell a product — there are often a number of companies to take care of our needs.

Roy Spence is a well-known Texas entrepreneur, speaker and marketing genius. His success is tied to a philosophy that goes much deeper than merely promoting a product. His latest book is titled “It’s Not What You Sell, It’s What You Stand For: Why Every Extraordinary Business is Driven by Purpose.” Spence writes that “purpose is a definitive statement about the difference you’re trying to make in the world.”

That’s the difference co-ops have been living since that first lightbulb began to transform rural America. Electric cooperatives deliver much more than electricity to our communities.

There’s a difference between being in your community and being invested in your community. Some businesses locate in your community because they see an opportunity to make a profit. Cooperatives locate in a community because they see a need.

One of our cooperative principles is Concern for Community. Our co-ops are heavily involved in the never-ending effort to keep industries located in our local communities. The Tennessee Valley Authority, Rural Utilities Service and state and local governments also participate. Sustainable development benefits us today and into the future.

Keeping an eye on our future, the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association knows that the future of our communities is in our youth. Through the Washington Youth Tour program, we send local high school students to Washington, D.C., to learn about their nation. Our Youth Leadership Summit brings the best and brightest to Nashville to learn about state government. And working with the University of Tennessee and the 4-H Foundation, we teach junior-high students about teamwork and safety around electricity. Across the state, electric co-ops are active in your local schools with educational programs throughout the year.

Take the time to look at the countless other ways your local cooperative invests in your community. It could be something as simple as putting the Christmas lights up downtown or donating thousands of dollars through “round-up” programs.

Deciding whether to participate in a community program is easy for cooperatives. Rather than start with the “why,” “what” and “how,” our first question is, “Why not?” And that leads us back to our roots and our purpose for existing — the needs of our community.

If you would like to see how cooperatives in Tennessee and across the nation have participated in large-scale community service projects, go to www.touchstoneenergy.com.

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Co-ops — closer than you think

by David Callis, Executive Vice President and General Manager for the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association

Our weekend shopping excursion had several oddly related purchases. Among them: butter, dog food, cranberry juice and running gear. All interconnected to each other. And all have something uniquely in common with your electric bill. The link?

For the first clue, we go to England. The year is 1844, and 28 weavers have just formed the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers. This group of tradesmen was able to collectively sell their products in a store that they could not have individually afforded. Yet working together, they prospered, eventually expanding into ownership of a mill and textile factory. The “Rochdale” principles they adopted eventually evolved into today’s Seven Cooperative Principles. Your electric cooperative still operates by them. And 2012 has been named the International Year of the Cooperative.

Residents of rural and suburban Tennessee are most likely members of an electric or telephone cooperative — often both. Occasionally derided as anachronistic relics of the Depression Era, electric cooperatives are anything but irrelevant. Nationwide, we’re leaders in energy-efficiency efforts, advanced metering infrastructure and alternative energy solutions. Member-owned and member-governed, we are nonprofits, operating as economically as possible and reinvesting margins back into the cooperative and the community.

“At a time when folks are losing faith in big corporations, the International Year of Cooperatives offers us a great opportunity to showcase many ways the local, consumer-owned and member-controlled cooperative form of business benefits communities all over the world,” declares Glenn English, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

The number of cooperatives is staggering: There are 900 electric cooperatives and 260 telephone cooperatives in the U.S., serving 42 million electric co-op members and 1.2 million rural telephone members. All told, the United States boasts 29,200 co-ops that run the gamut from insurance companies, food processors, daycare centers and apartment complexes to the better-known farmers co-ops.

Other familiar names you might not recognize as cooperatives are Ace Hardware, Blue Diamond Almonds, Welch’s, Nationwide Insurance, Sunkist, the Associated Press and Dairy Farmers of America. All are based on the same principle-driven model that forms the foundation for electric cooperatives.

So what co-op stops were on our shopping trip? The butter was made by Land O’ Lakes, the dog food came from Sumner Farmers Co-op, Ocean Spray made the cranberry juice and the running gear came from Recreational Equipment Inc. — better known as REI.
To quote Martin Lowery, longtime cooperative advocate and NRECA executive vice president of external affairs, “Co-ops empower people to take control over their own economic destiny. It’s in every co-op’s DNA to serve members in the best way possible. That’s why co-ops remain the best type of business around.”

For more information about the Rochdale cooperative, Benjamin Franklin’s cooperative effort and an international perspective, go to tnelectric.org.

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Powering Progress

by David Callis, Executive Vice President and General Manager for the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association

Near the end of “Saving Private Ryan,” as Tom Hanks’ character is dying, he leans forward and mutters one last command to the young private: “Earn this.” He speaks the words after most of his men have died saving the private’s life. He speaks the words to the soldier in an effort to convey the magnitude of the sacrifice made on his behalf.

Moving forward with a new team in place for 2012, “Earn this” is our internal watchword at the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association.While not as dramatic as a life-or-death struggle, the foundation on which we’re building involves a legacy that began in the 1930s.Early cooperative leaders were more than pioneers. The tactics they used were revolutionary, and the business acumen they possessed was cutting edge. Investor- owned utilities and legislators first ignored them and then tried to run them out of business. The co-op organizers took them on — and won. They were fighting for a better life for themselves, their children and their communities.

More than 70 years later, those cooperative principles and goals remain unchanged.Whether the work was done in the 1930s or the 1990s, we have a legacy of service and commitment that is to be earned — not squandered. Just like our predecessors from the ’30s, we’re committed to using nothing less than the best tools and technologies available to us today. Though the methodology is dramatically different — electronic social media has replaced the telephone party line — the basic principles of our business model remain the same.

As we move forward at TECA, we’re aware of our task, and we have our focus Squarely on you — the co-op members.In addition to publishing The Tennessee Magazine, TECA provides energy marketing assistance and a variety of education and training to today’s cooperative leaders. We also coordinate legislative efforts to protect the interests of the electric cooperative members in the state.

Those black-and-white images of the past serve as silent sentinels that repeat the charge to earn their sacrifice — a charge that we embrace with a tremendously talented group of employees with more than 160 years of varied experiences working on behalf of rural Tennessee. That background and commitment power our progress as we work for you — for the next 70 years and far beyond.

Our leadership team:

Robin Conover, vice president of communications and editor of The Tennessee Magazine; Mike Knotts, director of government relations; Todd Blocker, director of member relations; Trent Scott, communications coordinator.

Chris Kirk, Ron Bell and Susan Pilgreen round out the staff of The Tennessee Magazine. Amy Jordan, Tina Smith, Andrea Knight and Miyuki Fowler provide accounting, human resources and administrative support.

As for myself — I have more than 25 years of public power background. My decade of work as TECA director of government relations was preceded by service at Tri-County Electric in Lafayette and the Tennessee Valley Authority in Chattanooga.

For much more information on TECA and bios of the employees that work on your behalf, click here.

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