PAGE 2 JULY 2012
Inside Your Co-op is published monthly for
Board of Trustees PRESIDENT
VICE PRESIDENT
SECRETARY TREASURER
Management and Staff Terry Matlock
Jia Johnson
Tonia Allred
Jim Malone
toll free telephone 800-780-6486
web site
www.choctawelectric.coop
PLEASE CALL
800-780-6486 Please save these important dates
September 22
........Choctaw Electric Cooperative Annual Meeting. Join friends and neighbors for your co-op’s biggest event at the Hugo Rodeo Arena. Registration opens at 8 am. Musical entertainment at 9 am. Business meeting begins at 11 am. Arts and crafts show ongoing throughout the morning. Prizes for kids and adults, including the $1,500 grand prize. For details, please call 800-780- 6486 or visit
www.choctawelectric.coop.
Balancing member needs A
cooperative business can be differentiated from other
business models by asking these questions:
Who owns it? Who controls it? Who benefits from its services?
A true cooperative is owned and controlled by the members who benefit directly from its services.
Because Choctaw Electric is a cooperative, we attempt to embrace the needs of our members, no matter how diverse those needs may be.
Often there is conflict in the interests of the membership. Some members want the best service possible and are willing to pay the price to get it. Others aren’t all that concerned about the quality of service. What they want is cheap electricity!
The diverse interests creates a challenge for your co-op; to meet those multi-member needs, recognize the difference in perspective and
find commonality between them. Finding solidarity in these differing communities is what we aim for. We do this by finding common ground and common interests, and bringing these groups together.
Most members claim interest in both points of view. They want cheap electricity and outstanding service. It is quite a complex situation.
A similar situation exists in daycare. As a parent we look for the lowest cost daycare possible. Daycare workers, however, want the highest wages possible, but both the parent and the daycare worker are interested in effectively nurturing and caring for the children. Therefore we can conclude that better wages draw better quality caregivers for children and fewer turnovers.
What happens is we find these two diverse groups aren’t as far apart as it seems. I know all this seems like “kumbaya” but it is basic economics.
For instance, in any industry both producers and consumers have a common interest in sustaining the system of supply and demand. If there is no reliable supply of a product you want, it doesn’t much matter what the price is.
At Choctaw Electric, we continue to work hard to balance the varied demands and needs of our members with the challenges of purchasing and delivering reliable, affordable electricity.
Each member has a different situation, and usually a different idea of what we should do.
Thankfully, at Choctaw Electric you have a board of trustee that understands the co-op business model and understands the varied needs of our membership because they are members, too. That, along with the best employees one could ask for, ensures that every member is fairly represented, and their diverse needs are carefully considered when decisions must be made.
BY TERRY MATLOCK Chief Executive Officer
CEC CEC
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