A Splash, An Icon, And A Stand-up Guy

Cool dudes
Glasgow
Farmers Rural Electric Co-op construction supervisor Chester Kingrey and service technician Paul Clark received the “Emperor” Penguin Award for raising the most money as part of the Penguin Plunge for Junior Achievement of Glasgow-Barren County in March at the Glasgow National Guard Armory. They also won the People’s Choice Award for best costume. In the event, individuals and teams raised money to earn the right to jump into a pool of icy water.

Touchstone app
For electric co-op members around the state with Co-op Connections cards, life just got a little more futuristic with the announcement of a Co-op Connections app for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

Some local electric co-ops in Kentucky offer Co-op Connections cards that offer discounts on local and national products and services.

The app features an alphabetized list of the more than 100 national deals the Co-op Connections Card currently offers.

Co-op advocate
Ron Sheets, former president of the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives, told a national audience of more than 8,000 electric co-op leaders about the importance of representing co-op members, even when it’s unpopular.

His remarks came as part of accepting the Paul Revere Award from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. The award recognizes grassroots political activity on behalf of electric co-ops.

The award recognized Sheets’ 30 years of advocating for electric co-op member interests, including strong support for keeping co-op members informed through Kentucky Living, which is published by KAEC. The award cited specific achievements of changing state law to allow electric co-ops to provide nonelectricity services if the members approved, and, in the 1990s, opposing calls to deregulate electric utilities, which would have raised electric rates in Kentucky. In both of those legislative battles, Sheets said, electric co-ops “were standing alone, but successfully standing alone.”