Mike Couick
At some point in 2020, many of us fantasized about escaping a year that took so much from us and created so much chaos. Perhaps we could return to some romanticized point in the past. Maybe we could jump ahead to a better time in our future. Such flights of fancy can be a temporary break for minds that are overburdened and overwhelmed.
Being a student of history, I often think about electric cooperatives’ bygone era. From their inception, cooperatives had to do things a little differently. That’s why innovation is in our DNA. So is democracy. Cooperatives had to figure out ways to bring their members together to do the business laid out in their bylaws, namely, electing the trustees for their governing boards.
In the early days, it could be a challenge to convince rural farmers and merchants to interrupt their day and travel into town to hear financial reports and to vote on board seats. So, co-ops got inventive with ideas to attract the whole family to an annual meeting. They organized beauty pageants. They held electric fairs where members saw the latest plug-in appliances. They arranged appearances by a live mascot, Willie Wiredhand, for the kids.
Co-op annual meetings became a part of the fabric of local communities. Over the years, pageants were replaced by live bands, but exhibits of smart thermostats, solar panels and electric cars still educate consumers about the latest technology. And children are now entertained by LED Lucy or Solar Sam characters.
Attractions and incentives to attend meetings—registration gifts, door prizes and drawings for retired fleet vehicles—remain a part of the appeal. After all, today’s co-op members are juggling many competing priorities, just like those farmers and merchants in the early years.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic threatened to wreak havoc on annual meetings and the co-op elections that are an essential part of who we are. Co-ops could not hold traditional annual meetings without putting the health of members and employees at risk.
For many of the state’s cooperatives, getting ballots in the hands of their members in 2020 was crucial. A law passed by the state legislature revised the rules that govern electric cooperatives, increasing transparency to co-op members and adding some government oversight. Co-ops worked with legislators to craft the law, and ensure their members had access to the information they need. One key provision of the law required many cooperatives to revise their bylaws and put them up for approval by the membership.
Once again, cooperatives got inventive. Instead of gathering under a tent or at a local high school gymnasium, co-ops set up drive-thru lanes so their members could register their attendance and vote in a socially distanced way. Cooperatives also allowed early voting periods and, in several cases, held their drive-thru events at multiple locations over multiple days.
The business portion of the annual meetings went virtual, as election results and financial reports were broadcast online for members to view at their convenience. Some of the old traditions held on, of course. There were still prize drawings and registration gifts. Cooperatives, as they have often been able to do, brought in the new without throwing out the old.
The response from cooperative members across the state was overwhelmingly positive. They appreciated the efficiencies of the process. They enjoyed the conveniences of the longer time periods and multiple locations. Many of the cooperatives that held these nontraditional annual meetings set record registration totals. Despite the challenges of a pandemic, South Carolina cooperatives increased access to the ballot box and increased engagement with their membership.
Our challenges are certainly not over, and the nature of future cooperative annual meetings is still being determined, but I’m looking forward to seeing how our cooperatives continue to meet their members’ needs.
At some point in 2020, many of us fantasized about escaping a year that took so much from us and created so much chaos. Perhaps we could return to some romanticized point in the past. Maybe we could jump ahead to a better time in our future. Such flights of fancy can be a temporary break for minds that are overburdened and overwhelmed.
Being a student of history, I often think about electric cooperatives’ bygone era. From their inception, cooperatives had to do things a little differently. That’s why innovation is in our DNA. So is democracy. Cooperatives had to figure out ways to bring their members together to do the business laid out in their bylaws, namely, electing the trustees for their governing boards.
In the early days, it could be a challenge to convince rural farmers and merchants to interrupt their day and travel into town to hear financial reports and to vote on board seats. So, co-ops got inventive with ideas to attract the whole family to an annual meeting. They organized beauty pageants. They held electric fairs where members saw the latest plug-in appliances. They arranged appearances by a live mascot, Willie Wiredhand, for the kids.
Co-op annual meetings became a part of the fabric of local communities. Over the years, pageants were replaced by live bands, but exhibits of smart thermostats, solar panels and electric cars still educate consumers about the latest technology. And children are now entertained by LED Lucy or Solar Sam characters.
Attractions and incentives to attend meetings—registration gifts, door prizes and drawings for retired fleet vehicles—remain a part of the appeal. After all, today’s co-op members are juggling many competing priorities, just like those farmers and merchants in the early years.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic threatened to wreak havoc on annual meetings and the co-op elections that are an essential part of who we are. Co-ops could not hold traditional annual meetings without putting the health of members and employees at risk.
For many of the state’s cooperatives, getting ballots in the hands of their members in 2020 was crucial. A law passed by the state legislature revised the rules that govern electric cooperatives, increasing transparency to co-op members and adding some government oversight. Co-ops worked with legislators to craft the law, and ensure their members had access to the information they need. One key provision of the law required many cooperatives to revise their bylaws and put them up for approval by the membership.
Once again, cooperatives got inventive. Instead of gathering under a tent or at a local high school gymnasium, co-ops set up drive-thru lanes so their members could register their attendance and vote in a socially distanced way. Cooperatives also allowed early voting periods and, in several cases, held their drive-thru events at multiple locations over multiple days.
The business portion of the annual meetings went virtual, as election results and financial reports were broadcast online for members to view at their convenience. Some of the old traditions held on, of course. There were still prize drawings and registration gifts. Cooperatives, as they have often been able to do, brought in the new without throwing out the old.
The response from cooperative members across the state was overwhelmingly positive. They appreciated the efficiencies of the process. They enjoyed the conveniences of the longer time periods and multiple locations. Many of the cooperatives that held these nontraditional annual meetings set record registration totals. Despite the challenges of a pandemic, South Carolina cooperatives increased access to the ballot box and increased engagement with their membership.
Our challenges are certainly not over, and the nature of future cooperative annual meetings is still being determined, but I’m looking forward to seeing how our cooperatives continue to meet their members’ needs.