Quilts, Care Packages, Celebrations

Care for soldiers
McKee
Jackson Energy Co-op, based in McKee, collected care packages to send to two soldiers who are related to co-op employees. Nick Wilson, the son of line tech Greg Wilson, is serving in Iraq, and Josh Bales, the brother of London warehouse employee Andy Bales, is serving in Afghanistan.

Community quilts
Flemingsburg
Each month Fleming-Mason Energy Co-op displays a quilt made by one of its members in the lobby of its Flemingsburg headquarters office. The members and their quilts are photographed and placed in a booklet in the lobby so other visitors can learn about quilting. The project started in May last year when the co-op was looking for a way to decorate the office lobby. Joni Hazelrigg, Fleming-Mason chief financial officer, noticed quilts displayed at nearby Blue Licks Battlefield State Park, and adapted the idea to Fleming-Mason with Brenda Smoot, Fleming-Mason customer service representative, who coordinated the program. The quilts have come from the Flemingsburg Quilters Anonymous group. Some of the quilts have been offered for sale to the public, and purchased. The quilt must be either queen or king size in order to be displayed at the co-op office.

Celebrating co-ops
Shelbyville
Shelby Energy Cooperative based in Shelbyville celebrated National Co-op Month this past fall by hosting member appreciation days in October. All Shelby Energy members were invited to come by their local office for lunch of grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, a free light bulb, and other goodies. Members were also given a chance to receive information about the different services available to them through the co-op. There was also a drawing for energy-efficiency products such as weatherstripping and door sweeps. Co-op Month recognizes the wide variety of user-owned businesses, including electric co-ops, agriculture co-ops, housing and health care co-ops, and credit unions.