National Co-op Month

October is co-op month

We are cooperatives

CIPCO’s travel crew members walk toward power lines on a breezy fall morning.

Credits: Zach Finn, Digital Communications Specialist at Central Iowa Power Cooperative

Electric cooperatives believe in neighbors helping neighbors. That’s just another way of saying we’re committed to our communities, and it’s central to everything we do.

National Co-op Month is also a perfect time to highlight our commitment to the local communities we serve.

Your electric cooperative keeps the power flowing; powering your lights, heaters and air conditioners, and energizing the images we see in the game of the week or our favorite television series.

That’s our main mission, but when you look around your neighborhood, there’s a good chance the folks at your electric co-op have played some small role in helping to make things better.

Because we are your neighbors, our kids attend the same schools. Members of our co-op staffs are right there with you at parent-teacher organization fundraisers. You may hear their voices among the bidders at 4-H/FFA project auctions, and some of those energy efficiency projects at the science fair might just be co-op inspired.

We see the same challenges and depend on the same services you do. At the fire hall or emergency medical services garage, you might see some of our lineworkers, field representatives and member services staffers listed on the roster of volunteers. You might also see a sign along the highway indicating that a co-op team helps to keep that stretch of roadway clean.

We work with members to solve the problems in our communities that members see. Whether filling food pantries, collecting school supplies and holiday gifts or supporting temporary housing for families in crisis, in some small way, your local electric cooperative is involved.

But none of this is new. In fact, it’s why your electric co-op is not just some company. Since the beginning, the people behind the co-op have regularly gone through their communities looking for ways to meet needs.

These days, we do that through social media or through conversations with members on the telephone or at our service center counters. Staffers are also listening for your concerns at churches, fast food restaurants and on the sidelines at the local ballfields.

Whether you grew up on our lines or just moved into our service territory, you’ll always have a voice. When we listen to you, we find out how we’re doing. And that lets us know when we get it right, or need to make changes to keep from getting it wrong.

We care about the things you care about, because we live here too. We get involved early on the big economic development issues. Our engineers, lawyers and accountants work with other community leaders to find solutions creating new jobs and launching new industries.

But our commitment to community means we are there to help with the small things too.

At the neighborhood level, it’s the little things that really make a difference. That’s always been the co-op way. We put our Members First, every day.