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Welcome to Your Hometown Cooperative
September 10, 2010
At South Plains Electric Cooperative, the welcome mat is always out for our members—like you!
Our community has changed over the years. You may remember as a kid buying groceries and hardware at mom-and-pop stores—most of which are now long gone, driven out by national retailers. It seems everything today has become a bit generic, focused more on making money than serving and developing relationships with people. Yet it’s nice to know there are still locally owned and controlled businesses that you can count on—such as South Plains Electric Cooperative.
October is celebrated as National Co-op Month by cooperative businesses of all types, which have shown great resiliency throughout the financial crisis and economic recession, continuing to meet members’ needs even as profit-driven businesses failed to deliver.
By receiving electricity from the co-op, you’re a member and part owner of one of those successful businesses. You have a say in how the co-op’s run. Your voice rings loud and clear every year at the annual meeting. We had a successful annual meeting in September with almost 2,000 members in attendance.
The annual meeting is where you join South Plains Electric’s other members to elect fellow members to represent your concerns on a daily basis. You elected four board members at the September meeting and we’ll announce those winners in the November issue.
The members of the South Plains Electric Board of Directors who manage your co-op are business owners, farmers and ranchers who live near you. They want what you want—affordable energy bills and the comfort of knowing lights will turn on when you flip a switch.
With those goals in mind, board members work throughout the year to guide policy for our electric system and keep power reliable. They focus on educating members about using energy efficiently. They talk to you in the grocery store and on the street, listening to your concerns and ideas.
The board’s role is a simple one—to look out for the interests of the membership. And you can be sure they’re motivated to do so, because they’re members, too. Remember, you and other members elect them.
Like other cooperative businesses, South Plains Electric Cooperative is founded on a set of seven principles, including voluntary and open membership. Anyone who needs electricity within our service territory, regardless of race, religion, sex or economic circumstances, can become an owner of this hometown cooperative.
The other cooperative principles include: democratic member control; members’ economic participation; autonomy and independence; education, training and information; cooperation among cooperatives; and concern for community.
If you missed this year’s annual meeting, we look forward to seeing you the next time our community joins voices to guide the co-op. You don’t have to wait until the next meeting because the welcome mat is always out at South Plains Electric Cooperative. Call or stop by anytime if you have any questions. We’d love to see you!