Video History, Co-ops On Facebook

by Paul Wesslund

aTwitter over Facebook
Atlanta, Georgia
Whitney Duvall, manager of Communications and Advertising for Owen Electric Co-op based in Owenton, participated as a speaker on a panel addressing the use of social media at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s annual meeting. Duvall spoke about how member cooperatives can strengthen member connections and raise awareness of key issues through the use of social media, and how sites such as Twitter and Facebook are helping some co-ops keep a robust two-way communication with members flowing.

Teaching efficiency
Somerset
South Kentucky Rural Electric Co-op based in Somerset participated in the Engineering Pathways to Success Symposium held for the Pulaski County School System’s fifth-graders. Co-op Member Services and Marketing team leader Alan Coffey told how to build a more energy-efficient home. Energy advisors Nora Wall and Jeff Girdler worked with students who “built” energy-efficient “cardboard box” homes that they had to insulate. The final activity was a contest to see which home would keep a piece of ice intact the longest.

Living history
Glasgow
Farmers Rural Electric Co-op, based in Glasgow, began a living-history project this spring by videotaping a conversation with 90-year-old retired lineman Henry Staples. With good-natured humor, Staples recalls adventures and dramas from every decade of his work life from the late 1930s until his retirement in 1980. Jerry Carter, vice president for Member and Corporate Services at Farmers RECC, says, “Henry is by far our oldest retiree, but this isn’t just a ‘tell ’em about the old days’ project. We want our member-owners to see that ever since we started in 1938, Farmers RECC has been dedicated to improving the quality of life in the communities we serve. These video archives will be a scrapbook that can help tell our co-op’s story and guide us into the future.”