On Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019, I was in McMinnville for Caney Fork Electric Cooperative’s annual meeting. I spent time visiting with co-op members and colleagues, then delivered a few remarks to the crowd during the business session. If you had told me that meeting would be the last time I did that for a while, I would have laughed at you.
As it turned out, it would be more than 18 months before I was again on stage at an electric cooperative annual meeting.
A co-op’s annual business meeting is held for one fundamental reason: The cooperative’s board and manager give their reports to the owners (that’s you) on the operations of the cooperative. That’s the main reason for the meeting, but it’s difficult to get people to come out on a beautiful Saturday and listen to someone read a report about substations and finances. That’s why most meetings feature live music, food, giveaways, health fairs, door prizes and a variety of other events.
This is one area in which I consider myself an expert. Over the course of my 20 years at the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association, I typically attend 12 to 15 such events every year. That’s a lot, even without counting those I attended when I was one of those co-op managers who had to give the report at his own annual meeting.
But last year, I attended only one, conducted as a “drive-through” meeting with the reports given over radio. Most cooperatives across the state had to delay their meetings or conducted them online. That trend will continue into the current year as cooperatives consider the best and safest way to operate.
None of us had any idea of the challenges we would face over the past year. It’s very possible that you or someone you know has been impacted by the pandemic; you may have even lost someone close to you. If so, my heart goes out to you.
As we begin to return to some degree of normality, it’s going to take some time to transition back into what used to be “normal.” I experienced that on Saturday, May 1, when I attended an annual meeting at Plateau Electric Cooperative. It was smaller in size and conducted in an open-air setting, but it felt good to be there and see people in person.
Slowly, I believe we’re getting back to some new level of normality.
For myself and my team, I’m glad. The annual meetings I attend help me connect with some of the 2.5 million Tennesseans who get their electricity from electric cooperatives.
As someone who works for you, I appreciate your involvement as an active member of your cooperative. And I hope to see you at your cooperative, either online or in person, sometime in the not-too-distant future.
Be safe.
