October is National Co-op Month.
When you think of October, pumpkins, Halloween, and beautiful fall foliage naturally come to mind, but October is notable for another reason – it’s National Co-op Month! This is the time of year when cooperatives across the country, including Dixie Electric, celebrate who we are and more importantly, the members we serve.
As a co-op, we are well-suited to meet the needs of the community because we are locally governed. Dixie Electric’s leadership team and employees live right here in the community. Our board of directors, who helps set long-term priorities for the co-op, live and work here locally too. Board elections are currently underway, and we encourage you to participate in the election. There are numerous ways to vote, so participation can be easy and convenient for you.
Another feature that sets our co-op apart from a traditional utility is one of our core principles, “Concern for Community.” We partner with local organizations like the American Cancer Society and Salvation Army to give back to our community. We participate in the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour, where we take our community’s brightest young people to Washington, D.C. to experience history and democracy in action.
Similar to how Dixie Electric was built by members who came together to bring electricity to our community, cooperatives are conveners for the common good. Your electric co-op exists to provide safe, reliable, and affordable energy to you, the members of the co-op. Equally important is our mission to enrich the lives of the members we serve.
We hope you will think of Dixie Electric as more than your energy provider, but instead, as a local business that supports this community and powers economic development and prosperity for the people.
We will continue to learn from our members about their priorities so that we can better serve you – because your electric co-op was built by the community, for the community.