
I have a confession. The smiling face you’ve enjoyed with this message each month isn’t me. It used to be, but not anymore. When I see that fella, I see someone different than I am now.
The person in that picture on the left—taken 17 years ago—was a father of a 3-year-old, 5-year-old and a 15-year-old. Now, I’m a grandfather of a 1-year-old. I’m sure many of you can recognize the stark difference in those roles. But an account of my personal journey since that photo was taken might best be left for another column. That guy had just begun his journey in the electric cooperative movement and had not yet experienced what would become some of the most important parts of his life.
He had yet to work alongside policymakers and energy industry leaders on a groundbreaking study about the impact energy efficiency has on homes and generation demand. A co-op idea born in S.C.— providing loan funds through cooperatives to make thousands of homes more energy efficient—grew into the national Rural Energy Savings Program Act.
Those eyes had not seen South Carolina’s cooperatives respond to catastrophic weather events like Hurricane Matthew and the Thousand Year Flood. Lineworkers were not only restoring power to their cooperatives’ members but helping to do the same in other cooperative territories. Member service representatives were not only reassuring anxious members but were gathering food and supplies for neighbors in need.
Those shoulders had not yet been covered by the distinctive red jacket worn by 185 World War II veterans and their guardians (like me) during the Honor Flights the electric cooperatives sponsored so that those heroes could visit the national memorial constructed in their honor.
That chin had not yet stuck out with pride when Gov. Nikki Haley signed landmark renewable energy legislation or when Gov. Henry McMaster signed into law new standards of cooperative governance and transparency, both of which our electric cooperatives had a hand in constructing. I’ve also stood a little taller as our cooperatives have reached out to their communities to enhance their members’ quality of life by supporting charities, local students and teachers, senior citizens and others in need.
That nose had not been probed for evidence of COVID (I’m still negative, thankfully) when our world changed, and co-ops changed with it. Across the state, co-ops adeptly adjusted their policies and practices to protect the employees and members, even revolutionizing their previously festival-like annual meetings into drive-thru affairs.
We made similar transitions with our statewide programs like Washington Youth Tour and the Cooperative Youth Summit. Since the high school students selected by the electric cooperatives couldn’t go on those trips, we designed a once-in-a-lifetime virtual experience that involved national and state leaders and an innovative podcast challenge for the students.
Those spectacles had not yet magnified the countless letters and emails I’ve received from many of you over the years expressing your appreciation for your co-op. Nor had they enlarged the words of Dr. Lacy Ford and Jared Bailey in the recent publication of the book Empowering Communities, a history of how electric cooperatives transformed South Carolina.
In July, a new photograph was taken to use with this column. I’m not a photographer, but I think a wider lens was used. If you compare the two closely, you may notice that my crooked smile is a little wider as well.
That’s the least of the transformations that can happen to a person in 17 years working for South Carolina’s electric cooperatives.
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Mike Couick is the president and CEO of The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina, Inc., the statewide association of not-for-profit electric cooperatives providing safe, reliable and affordable electricity to nearly 2 million South Carolinians.