Bobby Allen’s family has trusted Randolph Electric Membership Corp. to dependably power their North Carolina dairy farm for three generations.
On rare occasions when the electricity goes out, the farm uses diesel-powered generators until the co-op can turn the lights back on.
“In those times, you really learn to appreciate the affordability and reliability of the local electric co-op,” Allen wrote in June about Asheboro-based Randolph Electric.
The dairy farmer was one of more than 400 electric co-op consumer-members who took time this summer to write about what their co-op means to them as part of the “Share Your Story” campaign by NRECA’s grassroots network, Voices for Cooperative Power. And stories are continuing to come in.
“We had no idea what kind of response we’d get, but it’s really snowballed,” said Patrick Ahearn, NRECA’s senior manager of grassroots campaigns. “People feel more comfortable participating when they see other people talking about their co-ops. It’s become a community.”
Co-op members who already belong to the VCP network are invited to share their stories. Others respond after seeing social media posts from their local co-ops. They are all directed to a Share Your Story form they can fill out on VCP’s website.
Although new VCP members have always been invited to write about their co-ops, the grassroots network stepped up its focus on the campaign this summer, sparking a flood of responses from June to mid-August. VCP plans to continue the campaign beyond summer, Ahearn said.
Many members wrote about how co-ops have improved their lives.
“I live in rural Tennessee,” wrote John Martin. “My co-op enables me to enjoy internet, electric heating and cooling, and all the other amenities that people in the big cities enjoy. Even if a storm knocks out my power, the co-op gets it back on in a very short time.”
One woman even credited her Oregon co-op with being her “connection to civilization.”
“Their poles and infrastructure not only carry electrical lines but also broadband internet,” wrote Nancy Hildebrandt in July. “Beyond that, being a member of an electric co-op is an integral part of my rural community. The co-op is small and responsive and reliable. We have annual meetings, and we know that their management decisions are made in our best interest.”
Quite a few members expressed strong affection for their local co-ops, praising their responsiveness and community service.
“There are none to compare with MidSouth Electric,” wrote Sherry Lane about the Navasota, Texas-based co-op. “When lights go out in stormy weather, service is back up almost immediately and, if not, they are on point as to WHEN…Midsouth is part of our family.”
The stories underscore the unique connection that members feel to their co-ops, said Kelly Cushman, NRECA’s vice president of political programs.
“VCP advocates are passionate about their families, businesses and community and their ties to their co-op are strong,” Cushman said. “They are eager to share their co-op experiences, especially when their story helps reinforce the importance of policies that help keep the lights on. And policymakers in Washington, D.C., want to hear these stories.”
Ultimately, VCP would like to work with these local co-op advocates to boost their engagement even more, said Ivy Prater-Seifert, NRECA’s senior manager of grassroots advocacy.
“Our goal is not only to get more stories but to develop and work with these advocates to become champions for their co-ops,” she said. “We want to get them politically engaged and encourage them to be leaders in their communities.”
Co-op members who want to share their stories can do so on the VCP website.
Erin Kelly is a staff writer for NRECA.