In the scheme of things, it hasn't been very long since the first leaders of electric co-ops turned the lights on in rural America just a little more than 60 years ago. But today, in terms of where technology has taken us, and when nearly everyone in our country has electricity, those days seem awfully far away.

Glenn English

In the coming months, you will be hearing a lot about the future of the electric utility business. Your electric cooperative—a company committed to local service—will be keeping you updated as deregulation of the electric utility industry is debated at the state and national levels.

All across America, consumer-owned electric cooperatives are preparing for the future. Our future, backed by a long history of community service, has two very important parts.

First, is a commitment to be the very best electric utility company you can find anywhere. We are dedicated to providing modern, state-of-the-art service to our members and we understand how important quality, reliable electric service is to you in an increasingly unreliable world.

Second, is an unbreakable commitment to the communities we serve. Our loyalty is to you, our members because you own your cooperative. Locally-controlled electric cooperatives keep the profits and resources they earn in the community to benefit the people they serve.

This vision for the future is captured in our neighbor-helping-neighbor philosophy. Nobody does it better than the electric cooperatives. It might be through the Crime Watch program, where line personnel and other co-op employees work with law enforcement and emergency agencies to keep our communities safe. Or putting up the lights at the local softball or football field in your hometown. Or perhaps stringing the Christmas lights and hanging the decorations on the small town Main Streets during the holidays.

The vision also is found in local cooperative leaders, helping to improve their communities by working on local water issues or bringing improved telecommunications services to their areas. Or your cooperative's line crews, working all night in nasty winter weather to restore your power during a storm. The vision is not just to provide electricity, but rather to improve the lives of our rural members. In every one of these examples you'll find your locally owned and controlled electric cooperative's first priority is its members.

All across the country, nearly 70,000 hard-working men and women come to work each day unified in a common purpose—to make their communities better places to live, work and raise a family. That commitment can be witnessed in your cooperative's board room, business office and line trucks. It's part of our employees' goal to you, the members, owners and ultimately, the bosses of your cooperative.

This commitment to service makes your local electric cooperative a part of a unique network of nearly 1,000 local electric cooperatives serving across America today.

The demands and challenges of a changing electric utility marketplace will be difficult. But during this time of change, we need to remember that everyone deserves a safe and reliable source of electricity at a reasonable price. And the goal of your electric cooperative is to ensure that everyone—including rural homeowners, farmers and small businesses—benefits from deregulation.

Glenn English is the fourth chief executive officer of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). As such, he is the chief spokesman for the nations 1,000 consumer-owned, cooperative electric utilities.

Prior to assuming the NRECA post, English served 10 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. He served. on the House Agriculture Committee and was elected chairman of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, and Rural Development in 1989.

4 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING FEBRUARY 1997