Cooperative Principle No. 6
Around midday on Oct. 26, high winds wreaked havoc in West Tennessee. Thousands of members were left without power across the area, and a great deal of damage was done to trees and buildings alike. Southwest Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation experienced numerous outages east of Henderson in the Jacks Creek area, but power was restored to all STEMC members by the end of the day. Our neighbors to the south were not as fortunate.
Sister cooperative Pickwick Electric Cooperative, which serves McNairy and Hardin counties in southwestern Tennessee, sustained much more damage to property and power lines than those of us to the very near north experienced.
Cooperative principle No. 6 that electric cooperatives adhere to is Cooperation Among Cooperatives. The seven principles are not just talking points; they are inherently part of who we are. When our neighbors need us, we are there to help.
Twenty-seven STEMC lineworkers gathered their tools and equipment and headed south to assist our friends at Pickwick Electric to get the lights back on for their members — be they in Adamsville, Selmer, Morris Chapel, Regan or Crump. This was a challenging task, but what a comfort to know that when difficult circumstances come our way, we can depend on those in our cooperative family to be there and persist until the job is done. STEMC lineworkers stayed at Pickwick Electric more than a week and a half until power was restored to all members.
Line Foreman David Watson and crew Drew Yancey, Kevin Austin, William Flannagan, Jon Smith, Dalton Stephenson, Jamie Bethune, Chris Huff, Josh Owen, Jon Cherry and Chris Austin prepare to head south to assist neighboring cooperative Pickwick Electric after high winds ripped through Hardin and McNariy counties, leaving thousands without power.
Stan Tempe, Scott McCaskill, Larry Cross, Ben Cupples, Steve Priddy, Nathan Rogers and Justin Bishop gather needed equipment before heading off to make repairs to the seemingly endless amount of damage on the Pickwick system.
