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Reflections on ending a 37-year career serving electric co-ops
When I was boy learning to drive in rural Washington County, I jumped at the opportunity to drive my dad to Hollandale for the monthly board meeting at Twin County Electric Power Association. Dad was the board’s attorney. I knew little about Twin County, only that some really nice folks worked there.
Little did I know how important that electric cooperative was to the area where I grew up, and that as an adult I would enjoy a 37-year career spent serving them and the other 25 electric cooperatives that serve some 1.6 million Mississippians.
That career is coming to a close this month as I retire from my job as executive vice president/CEO of the Electric Power Associations of Mississippi. I’m looking forward to leisurely mornings, a round of golf now and then, and more time spent with my family.
Like many retirees, I suppose, I’ll feel sadness on leaving behind my other “family”—the people at your electric power association with whom I’ve worked and admired all these years. I doubt a more dedicated or competent work force exists. Plus, they’re really nice folks.
My career has been extremely rewarding because I knew the organization I worked for was single-minded in its mission of improving life for rural Mississippians. It may sound trite but it’s true: The ultimate reason a consumer-owned electric power association exists is to provide service to its members at the lowest cost possible. Your electric power association is a not-for-profit cooperative owned by the members it serves.
For this reason, electric power associations are accountable to their members in every aspect of their operation. The staff and management at your electric power association are accessible through local offices and annual membership meetings. And they listen to members when they have questions or concerns about the quality of their service.
This is the cooperative way of doing business, and in the long run it benefits everyone—the electric power association and its members.
A great deal of my work through the years involved advocacy on behalf of Mississippi’s electric power associations. I’m proud to say that as their lobbyist, I never had to advocate a position on legislation I didn’t firmly believe in. I’ve always been able to advocate positions because they were the right thing to do—not because of dollars and cents.
Our advocacy was based on what was best for electric power association members. For that reason I always felt good about my lobbying efforts, regardless of the issue at hand. And lawmakers seemed to respect us more for it.
People have asked me to reflect on the changes I’ve seen during my career. What stands out in my mind is the progressive nature of today’s electric power associations: They have well-trained employees, well-equipped crews, impressive outage-prevention and emergency-response capabilities, and a commitment to economic and community development in their service areas. Plus, they work together for solutions to common issues.
But let me point out what hasn’t changed in 37 years: the professionalism and personal dedication of the electric power association family. I’ll remember working with them as the best part of my job.
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