Rural
Missouri's a winner!
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| by
Barry Hart |
by Barry
Hart
Communication: It’s
one of the basic principles under which successful cooperatives operate.
We communicate for an important reason.
Cooperatives are
organized like our great republic. Members elect fellow members to
represent them on the co-op board. If we expect members to make informed
decisions, we must educate them on these issues that affect their cooperative
and how their elected representatives respond to those issues.
Since
1948, electric cooperatives in Missouri have chosen to do most of
their communicating through the pages of this publication.
By combining
their communications efforts into one publication instead of 40
different ones, we can produce a professional publication that meets
your needs at an affordable rate. We produce and deliver Rural
Missouri for 28.5 cents a copy, far less than the price of a
postage stamp.
I
am pleased that beginning this month the cooperative I once worked
for, Platte-Clay Electric, will be sending Rural Missouri to its
entire membership. Their decision will further strengthen the electric
cooperative mission in Missouri.
To measure how we
are doing, we like to put our publication up against others in the
cooperative world. Through the annual Cooperative
Communicators Association contest, we seek the opinions of esteemed judges who tell us how we
rate compared to other cooperatives.
This year Rural
Missouri was named the Best Cooperative Newspaper in the entire country. We
also won the coveted Best Use of Photos honor. In addition, staff members
Heather Berry and Bob McEowen brought home individual awards for photography
and writing, with Bob taking 12 awards including Best of Show for
photography and six first-place awards for his work.
Judges liked the
way Rural Missouri combines local and national news about electric
cooperative issues with easy-to-read features that promote rural
people and businesses. We hope you enjoy our efforts.
Starting next
month, Rural Missouri will begin an important series of articles
explaining what is happening with rates at your local cooperative.
Many factors are coming together in a “perfect storm” scenario
that will force your directors to make some tough decisions on rates.
While
we can’t do much to make these issues go away, we can do our
best to explain what is happening and to outline steps you, as a
consumer, can do to help.
The news is not all
bad. The series will also point out the wisdom of cooperative leaders
who put Missouri ahead of the curve in planning for the issues now
facing us.
The staff of Rural
Missouri is dedicated to publishing a quality magazine. They are recognized
by their peers as being the best in the business.
They are also mindful
of the fact that this publication, like everything at your electric
cooperative, belongs to its readers.
We look forward to
hearing from you each month, whether it’s a comment
about something we published, a pat on the back or
an idea for a future issue.
Please keep those
cards and letters coming.
Hart is executive vice president of the Association
of Missouri Electric Cooperatives.
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