| the co-op difference Learning The Ropes For CEC trustees, 'taking the plunge' might be more accurate. E
ngineering, construction, finance and accounting; government and private lending, environmental
regulations, safet regulations, emergency management and response, power generation, transmission and distribution, electricit prices and rate setting, cooperative management and administration, communications and advanced technology, non-profit policy setting and governance, legal and liabilit issues, federal and state legislation, and more.
Within each of these fields lies another world of specialty knowledge with its own unique terms and jargon. On any given day—not just the last Tuesday of every month— Choctaw Electric Cooperative (CEC) trustees must delve into these topics and read, learn and prepare themselves to make the most informed decisions possible for an organization that provides electricity for some 13,000 households and businesses in southeast Oklahoma.
The responsibility is not taken lightly. While a board of nine free-thinking individuals will never see eye to eye on all decisions, on one point CEC trustees are unanimous: Within the world of electric co-ops there is a lot—a lot—to learn.
“It’s a bit like an iceberg,” says Marcia Wright, CEC District-I trustee. “Each subject just goes deeper and deeper.” Wright, of Nashoba, has served on the board for a little over a year. Like her peers, she had no hidden agenda when she accepted her position, only the desire to set a troubled co-op on the right track.
What she and other trustees stepped into was a colossal mess: an ongoing investigation into potential wrongdoing by previous CEC management, an irate membership demanding change, and employee moral and member trust at absolute rock bottom. Add to that the all-important task of providing electricity 24/7. “It was overwhelming to say the least,” Wright recalls. “We had to take the wheel and then learn how to fly the plane.”
Wright also serves as CEC representative on the Western Farmers Electric Cooperative (WFEC) board of directors. WFEC generates electricity and sells it to electric co-ops in four states. The transmission side of the business, Wright added, is another aspect of the industry she is coming to understand.
For co-op directors of all experience levels, education, training and the willingness to learn are key to being effective trustees. In the past year, Wright and fellow board members devoted countless hours to educating themselves by attending workshops, lectures and online courses, and reading numerous utility industry bulletins that arrive in their email boxes daily.
The Choctaw Electric bylaws require trustees to complete the National Rural Electrification Association (NRECA) Certified Cooperative Director program within three years of assuming office. The 44-hour program includes sessions on cooperative financing, director duties and liabilities, board operations and process, understanding electric co-ops, and strategic planning. Trustees are encouraged to earn further accreditation with NRECA’s Board Leadership Certificate, which provides courses with greater depth in industry, governance, risk management, rate making and policy development.
Norman Ranger, CEC-District F trustee, represents CEC on the board of the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives (OAEC). The retired Redland poultry grower admits the scope of the cooperative industry surprised him. “It’s been a big eye opener to me. CEC is so much more than people realize,” he says. “It’s very big and it’s very complicated and it takes a lot to keep it going.”
Training, Ranger points out, is crucial. “In order to make the best financial decisions for this co-op we must have training,” he says.
The course work also provides an opportunity to learn from others in the industry. “By meeting with other board members from across the country, we aren’t forced to reinvent the wheel on some matters,” Ranger says. “We’re learning what works, and that’s what we as a board are trying to do here. We’re trying to make this co-op work.”
Mike Brewer represents CEC members in District-H and is president of First Security Bank in Hugo. He completed the full CCD program this year. The crash course, he says, “taught me how much I did not know about the not-for-profit organization called an electric co-op.
“Private businesses look for that opportunity to make a profit, but co- ops are looking for that comfort zone where rates are affordable, they have enough money and assets to grow the cooperative, keep a strong equity position and return credits to their members,” Brewer explained.
Finding that perfect balance in co-op finances or other matters, is challenging. Then again, CEC trustees know a bit about challenges—and controversy. “We are the frontline for this co-op,” Wright says. For her, the headfirst dive into turmoil early on only served to solidify her commitment to restoring faith and confidence in CEC.
Regaining that member trust, Ranger points out, is one of the biggest hurdles the co-op faces. “My hope is that one day our members will trust that this board— all of us—want what is best for our members and this co-op,” he says.
“Sitting across from someone for 12 hours, you can tell how sincere they are,” he adds. “This board is unified. We’re all reading off the same sheet of music, and we’re all working hard to do what’s right. Let’s move forward.”
4 | FEBRUARY 2016 | CEC Inside Your Co-op
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