Episode 22: Your Co-op, Our Community

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign. [00:00:07] Speaker B: Welcome to the Buzz, a podcast by Boone Electra Cooperative. The Buzz is a monthly message to our community celebrating what it means to be a member owner of your local electric cooperative, Boone Electric Cooperative, your co op, our community. [00:00:26] Speaker C: Welcome back to the Buzz. I'm Zach Smith, communications specialist at Boone Electric Cooperative and I' on this month's program we're going to discuss to a little bit greater depth the Boone Electric Community Trust. And here to help us do that is one of our trustees, Morgan Corder. Morgan, welcome to the show. [00:00:42] Speaker A: Thanks, Zach. Appreciate you having me. [00:00:43] Speaker C: So, as of this episode's air date, we're going to be gearing up for at least as far as this go around is concerned, your second official meeting as a trustee. But you're far from being a newcomer to the board. Tell us, where did this journey start for you? [00:00:57] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. Thanks, Zach. Yeah, I've been fortunate to serve as a trustee previously and as a reader previously. So I live here in Colombia and graduated from Mizzou and after I graduated was contacted by folks here at the at the cooperative and asked me to join as a reader. And so I was familiar with the trust goals and the cooperative family previously from my family's experience actually. And so I was a little bit familiar with what a reader entailed and what the trust was. And so I was really honored to be asked as a reader to join. And so I read applications for the trust for a few years and then was fortunate enough to be asked to join as a trustee. And so joined as a trustee and served in that role here for the Boone Electric Trust for a couple years. And then life and a career change took me to St. Louis for all of eight months and then came back to Columbia because I missed this community so much. And so we moved back and I was asked again to join as a reader and so I was happy to do that and read some applications for the trust and then just last year was asked to join back again as a trustee. And so it's great to be back on the trust. I'm super fortunate to serve in this role. And that's a little bit about the story and how I got reconnected to the trust. [00:02:16] Speaker C: Well, you mentioned important part there that after you'd graduated you were asked by some folks here to contribute as far as being a reader for the trust, but you have to have some qualifications to be asked to do that. So how did you get linked up with those folks? I mean, what made them reach out to you? [00:02:34] Speaker A: Sure, I always have taken a strong interest in community service and trying to give back where I can. And so when I graduated from Mizzou, I sort of made it a mission to try and get involved with the community as much as I could because I felt like the community had poured into me quite a bit. And so it was a good way to pay it forward. And so I got to serve on the Boone Extension Council, actually, and served on that. That council for a while. And that really got me connected with folks here locally in the community. I also served a lot with the Mizzou Alumni association as a young alumni ambassador and different roles there. And so through those roles, I sort of met different community leaders. And then in my professional career, I got to know folks. And like I mentioned, I very familiar with the cooperatives because of a familial connection. And so I sort of just ran into someone one day at a 1,000,000 cups meeting at Ready and got to learn a little bit more about the trust. And that was sort of what sparked that initial conversation. And here we are today. [00:03:29] Speaker C: It's interesting that you say that because you're not the first person who I've heard sort of allude to the fact that even though Columbia is obviously a large city by most places in Missouri standards, it has that kind of small town feel. [00:03:41] Speaker A: The. [00:03:41] Speaker C: The same faces tend to rotate through some of the same places when you talk about community involvement. [00:03:47] Speaker A: Absolutely. Yeah, we found that and that was one of the reasons that drew us back to Columbia. [00:03:51] Speaker C: Really, why was it important for you to re. Engage with the trust? Because part of this, I mean, obviously like we mentioned, you. You have to have some qualifications to be considered, you know, for people to reach out to you to be a reader, and certainly for members of the Boone Electric Cooperative board to want to appoint you to the trust. But you also have to be willing to do it. So why was it important for you to kind of re. Engage with that? [00:04:16] Speaker A: Yeah, I'll go back pretty far, I think so. I was really fortunate to grow up in a home that. That knew what the electric cooperatives were. My dad worked for a company called NISC that provides software for rural electric cooperatives around the country. Okay. I always have grown up knowing what a cooperative was. I. We never actually lived on a line ourselves. And growing up in St. Charles, we were served by investor owned utility. I knew what a cooperative was, but I was never really part of it the same way as I am now. And so I saw the way that my dad was able to engage with sort of the cooperative family. Like we always talk about it and it just really always inspired me. And you could tell the difference between the investor owned and the cooperative mission and the goals of how they serve their customers. And so it was always important to me because the cooperatives, I think I would say, like, put food on our tables. They put me through college. Like, they really gave us a lot. So this is a way that I think I can give back to them because of all that they've done for my family. I remember growing up, all the trips that the linemen would take down to the Caribbean and to help people out there. I remember we held a lemonade stand whenever Hurricane Katrina hit and we sent the money to the electric cooperatives down there. It was just always something that was important to our family. And so to be connected in this role now, I'm so fortunate because they, the cooperatives did so much for us. And so it's just really cool to be able to be here in this experience. My dad's retired. He worked for NISC for over 45 years. It was just part of our life always. And so to be connected now. When we, when we later then moved back to Columbia, our first home here in Columbia was on the line. That was a priority for me. The second home here is on the line. And so it's really cool for me to be able to pay my utility bill to a cooperative now because I always knew about it growing up, but we never did that with the investor out. And so it's important to me. And I always joke, our houses will always be on the line wherever they end up being in the world. So, yeah, yeah, that's a little bit of the history. [00:06:18] Speaker C: You have that same story that a lot of people do. I knew about the cooperatives when I was younger. For a lot of people, it's because, oh, mom and dad were members of the Cooper whatever. Grandma and Grandpa were watching me one day in the summer and took me [00:06:30] Speaker A: to the annual meeting. [00:06:31] Speaker C: But for you guys it was different because your dad worked for a cooperative, just not for the electric cooperative to work with the electric cooperatives. [00:06:39] Speaker A: Correct. [00:06:40] Speaker C: And just like any good cooperative employee worked there for 45 years. That's incredible. [00:06:45] Speaker A: It was really. It's a unique story. I think NISC is sort of a cooperative of cooperatives is the way that they always like to describe it. And my dad started in the night shift in the building department as he was going to college. And so he worked his way up through the ranks at NISC. He was, I think, employee number 11 when NISC originally started. And now it's thousands of employees. And what's unique about his experience, I think, is when he started at NISC in the. In the building department, in the night shift, and grew, it was also the same time as many of the CEOs across the state started in their roles at cooperatives, and they also started in similar lower roles. And so he grew throughout the cooperative sort of hierarchy there, or family, if you will, and grew in his career the same time that others had grown in their careers. And so when he retired as regional business manager for the electric cooperatives, many of the colleagues that he started with 40 years ago were now in roles as CEOs across the country. Across the country and across the state of Missouri and Quiver river and Boone Electric and all these different places. And so that was a really cool experience, too, because a lot of the CEOs across the state I've known sort of as family friends that dad had met 50 years ago. And so it's just a really cool. You talk about the cooperative family. That is what it means. It's people and familiar faces that are working to help our communities. And that's what I think is so special about it. So it's a really unique story, I think, and something I'm really grateful for. [00:08:12] Speaker C: Well, and it's interesting that also there's so much of it that's familiar. You talk about your dad starting out in the night shift in the building department. And of course, anybody in the cooperative world has heard those stories about somebody who. Yeah. They, too, at one time were just a summer intern on the brush crew helping put up the tent or whatever. [00:08:30] Speaker A: The. [00:08:30] Speaker C: Whatever the entry point. [00:08:31] Speaker A: That's exactly right. Yeah. No, it's great. It's great. [00:08:33] Speaker C: It's interesting. [00:08:34] Speaker A: Testament to the cooperative family and the work that everyone does. [00:08:39] Speaker C: So as a refresher for folks listening, because it has been a few months since we discussed the trust with Kelly back in the fall. Each of the nine members who serve on the trust is also serving as a chairperson for a specific committee. [00:08:51] Speaker A: That's right. [00:08:51] Speaker C: Covering different categories or aspects of the types of projects and organizations. Who would apply for funding from the trust? What committee do you oversee? [00:09:00] Speaker A: Yeah, so I'm currently serving as the Community Development chair. [00:09:03] Speaker C: Okay. And what kind of projects do you. Does that committee. Sorry, evaluate? And what are you kind of generally looking for when you all are reviewing applications with the readers? [00:09:12] Speaker A: Sure, absolutely. I think we all see ourselves as stewards of contributions from members. And so we're always very diligent to make sure that the funding that we provide to organizations across the service territory is being used appropriately and is really making a difference. And so I think one of the things that is really unique about the trust is we don't fund day to day operations necessarily. We don't fund salaries, we don't contribute those things because there's a lot of other organizations that do that work, which is very important work. But I think what makes the trust unique is that we look for opportunities to provide capital improvements to provide things that make the experience of an organization better and make their impact greater. And I think that's what's really unique and why we have so many applicants come into the trust to look for funding because there's not a lot of other organizations out there that does that. And so we, I'll use the food bank as an example. They have buddy packs that they provide every single day. That's incredibly important and that is sort of those ongoing day to day operations. What I would, what we look for as, as trustees is how can we expand that impact? So maybe there's a refrigerator that the Boone Electric Trust can provide funding for to store more buddy packs so that more buddy packs are. May be able to be made for the community. And so we really try find those opportunities where we can scale and have greater impact, I think. And that's what makes us unique. So in my role as trustee for the community development committee, we see applications all across the service territory that are really unique. And you know, we have the moniker or the headline of our committee name. So community development is mine. But really the applications that we receive are all across the board. They're really a breadth of different organizations that are reaching out. So we're currently reviewing applications for funding for different types of charity organizations, for walks that they're doing to raise awareness to certain issues. [00:11:09] Speaker C: There's an aspect to it that's when you think about what the types of things are that you all get requests for and kind of talking about that delineation between what's day to day operations and what's something that's more project specific. A version of this that we hear a lot is well, the vehicle, the van that we use to transport people to right Doctor's appointments or something broke down, we've 25 years old, we've got to replace it. Those kinds of things which are really something that can make or break a budget for some of these organizations in a year. [00:11:40] Speaker A: It's expensive. And if you think about that, and to use your example, Zach, if, if someone's car breaks down and they're not able to provide that critical service of what they're doing that could stop the entire mission of an organization. And so that's what's really unique, I think, about the Trust is because we can serve as that bridge to make sure that they can continue to do the important things, work that they're doing. So, yeah, it's, it's great. And that's what's so unique, I think, about the trust and, and why it's so important to the community. [00:12:05] Speaker C: And of course, that's just what I mean, there's a million versions of that. [00:12:08] Speaker A: There are. And that's, that's what I love about the trust, is I learned so much about our community, and that is what's so, so unique that I don't think that I appreciated before joining the trust is there are so many good people doing good things in Boone county and across our service territory. And so in this role, you get to see the great work that you're doing that's being done in the community and get to support it and scale it and improve it however you can. And that's the cool thing is because I learn something every day when I read through these applications for funding, because there's just some amazing people doing amazing things in our community. [00:12:42] Speaker C: When you're a trustee, when you're one of the chairpersons of one of these committees, what are the kind of qualities that you're looking for in a reader? What makes a quality reader for the trust when they're looking over these applications? [00:12:55] Speaker A: Yeah, a couple of things come to mind. Someone who is familiar with the community, I think is always very important. You know, they're, they're. There's nothing better than a personal recommendation. And so if someone has an experience with one of these organizations in the community, say, hey, this is a very credible organization that's doing important work. I've benefited from it. My family's benefited from it. My neighbors have benefited from it. That goes a long way in that credibility, I think. And so having readers that are experienced with that and sort of have a understanding of the community and, and the fabric of our community and what people are doing is always very, very beneficial. I would also say just someone who can sit down and really go through the financials of an organization and understand sort of what red flags maybe exist out there to say, hey, this organization is doing a lot of great work, but unfortunately they're not in a financial position to be able to continue that long term. And so if we were to provide funding for, say, a Van, like we talked about earlier, unfortunately, that van's not going to be in use next year because this grant that they have is going to go away or something like that. Sure. You know, thinking about that broadly, I think is very important and being diligent and then also just someone who has attention to detail, I think that's also very important and can see through an application to say, okay, this, this applicant is specifically asking for this. You know, this is an accurate reflection of what the cost may be for what they're requesting or things like that. That really helps us make sure that we're being diligent and being good stewards of our members dollars that they're sending us through Operation Roundup and Capital Credit. So those are all things that I think make a good reader. [00:14:40] Speaker C: That's something that you hear reflected around the table a lot when you all are discussing some of these applications and trying to come to a decision is just that breadth of local knowledge that the nine of you, plus sort of the readers supporting you, even though they're not necessarily in the room at the meeting, you guys all kind of pitch into that conversation. Even though it's, you know, one person presenting each application, so to speak, you guys all have a little bit of local knowledge or specific knowledge, even to the organization or other funding sources. [00:15:14] Speaker A: That's exactly right. And we're really fortunate to have such experienced and integral members of our trust that have been community leaders, you know, historically. And that's really helpful because again, it goes back to the credibility, the personal experience that someone's had with an organization that goes a long way. You know, one of the things we ask for on our application is for an applicant's board members, the people who serve on an applicant's board, and also the applicant's sort of reference letters. And we use that very frequently. I often will call those members and ask about the organization. And, you know, when you get an application and someone's listed there as the executive director of a nonprofit or something like that, that's an applicant. It's always helpful to call them, but it's also very helpful to call the board members or sort of the folks that they referenced as supporters to get a better sense of sort of, okay, this is the internal sort of version of the story that they're telling us and the work that they're doing. Let's get the external story of it too. And a lot of times that can even make. That can make our decision a lot easier because it's like, man, look at the impact that These guys are having, not only are they saying this, but these other community leaders are saying this about them. So that's always something that we pay attention to. And I think the other trustees, who are very well respected leaders in our community a lot of times know some of these folks, like I said, have experience with these organizations. And so that goes a long way to have those conversations, I think. And the trustees take their, their role very seriously. I think up to this point, we've been able to give away $4.7 million since 1997. And while that's a lot of money, it's a finite amount of money too. And so we, I think, are that we take very seriously that, like, we, we can't just fund everything as much as we wish we could. Sometimes we can't. And so we have to be good stewards of those dollars and make sure that we're making the best decisions. And I think the trustees, as you referenced, do a really good job going around the table and being very critical of the applications and making sure that it has the biggest impact that, that we can. [00:17:11] Speaker C: That's also where I think being on the applicant side of things, as thorough as you can in those applications and really following the instructions, it sounds simplistic, but when you tell that story, it makes it easier for you all if you're, if there's a question or if you're on the fence about something. Because I've heard a lot of cases where, like you said, you guys are also looking at the numbers for the trust and you have all these requests coming in. You've got to balance both of those things at the end of the meeting. And sometimes you can't give the entire amount that someone's asking for, but you find ways to give them partial funding so that you're still, like you mentioned earlier, furthering that mission. [00:17:47] Speaker A: That's right. [00:17:48] Speaker C: But still being good stewards of the, of the finite amount of dollars that are coming in. [00:17:52] Speaker A: That's right, the golden kindergarten rule. Follow the, Follow the rules on the paper. It's important. There's a reason that, that every question is on the application and why we're asking it. And so I always encourage applicants that if you have questions, reach out. We're happy to, to help facilitate that application if we can. But yeah, completing those applications are incredibly important to, to be thorough, to, to have as much information on there as possible so that we can make an informed decision. And I'm glad you mentioned the partial funding. You know, we have a lot of applicants that shoot for the stars and their application, and they should. I think that's very important. We want to be aspirational. We want to. We want to see applicants who think that they can make a bigger impact. I think that's important. But what the trust does, which is really unique, I think, is that, you know, okay, if you have a $5,000 applicant who's looking for funding, maybe we can't give that full $5,000amount for one reason or the other, but we could provide $2,000 or we could provide $3,000 or somewhere in between. And that unique, I think, because I think that shows that we're being critical, we're being thoughtful and really making sure that we can stretch those dollars as far as we can to make as best impact as we can. But the partial funding gives us an opportunity, I think, to support some folks, maybe not all the way, but in other ways that we. That we can. [00:19:07] Speaker C: And conversely, that's where that part of the application, where getting multiple bids on certain items, if that's what you're trying to fund with an application, is very important because being able to show who. Not to get too granular about the application process itself, but being able to show where these things can come from, what the prices are, and, hey, this one is more expensive, but ultimately it's going to last us longer. Or, you know, providing some reasoning for what you're asking for can sometimes make the difference between partial funding or full funding, or getting what you are wanting versus getting something that just kind of fills the need. [00:19:43] Speaker A: It really. Can we ask for at least two bids on anything that they are requesting funding for, and then also what's really helpful for us? One of the questions that we have is what other community organizations are supporting your mission, supporting the work you're doing? And that also gives us a better sense of where that they're getting funding for. Who else in the community is supporting this work? And so that's a really unique opportunity for us, I think, to make sure that we understand the breadth of the application and again, make sure that we're being good stewards of the dollars that we have. [00:20:10] Speaker C: Sort of the flip side of all that your role is contacting these organizations. Tell me a little bit about why that's important, because I know for a lot of people out there in the nonprofit world, some of them are not grant writers at heart. And the thought of doing those applications or making a grant request is like doing homework at the last minute before it's due. What is that part of contacting the organization board members, executive directors, CFOs, in some cases. Why is that important to kind of tell you guys the other side of the story or give you a better, clearer picture of what's going on? [00:20:44] Speaker A: Yeah, that's a great question. I think for me, and I think the rest of our trustees would agree there's nothing that beats an in person, face to face meeting or a conversation. I think there are a lot of those grant applications out there that are very, very daunting. And for some, even our application, which, which is very comprehensive, but it's not as, as daunting as some out there maybe you know, to have those personal conversations and just talk about the organization and not necessarily read a written or on an application, but ask about the mission and hear the organization or the representatives, the tone and the voice and the way in which they talk about the work they're doing. I think that sometimes can, can really make a difference. And you, and you hear about the personal stories that maybe you don't get in the application, but that really can, can add color to an application that me as a trustee now can bring to the meeting to say, hey, you know, I know that the paper application here says this, but I want to add that when I spoke to their CEO, I spoke with their cfo, they mentioned this that they're doing. And I think this is really important to consider when we think about funding. So those conversations, I think are incredibly important. I also think it gives us an opportunity as trustees to explain what we're trying to do for our community with the funding that we have. And I think that's really important too. While, while the applicants can talk about their request, we can talk about what the goal of the trust is to them so that they can better align their work with what we're trying to do. And one of the things that I really try to stress when we talk to applicants is we need your help to get the word out about the Boone Electric Community Trust. So as important as it is for you to apply and we'll go through this process. If you're receiving funding, please share that message with others so that we can help others in the community. Oftentimes I try to find opportunities where we can add the Boone Electric Community Trust logo to the work that we've done. Whether it's a magnet or a sticker or whatever, it is just somehow so that the community knows that this is what the Boone Electric Community Trust provided. This was the work that we were able to do and support so that others can see it and benefit from it and learn about the opportunities that exist within the community and that we can do more work in the future. [00:22:51] Speaker C: And also, it's kind of similar to what we do with our cycle and youth tour delegate application process. You know, the written response or the essay response is an important part of a process, but it is one dimension of. [00:23:05] Speaker A: That's right. [00:23:06] Speaker C: Process. And sometimes, like you mentioned that in person, not necessarily an interview, but those in person meetings or interactions tell you a bigger story. [00:23:15] Speaker A: They do. And. And with the advent of artificial intelligence and chat GPT and you know, you want to make sure you're getting a real personal response and not just something that someone put in. ChatGPT. [00:23:26] Speaker C: Yeah, unfortunately, the. The world that we live in. [00:23:28] Speaker A: That's right. [00:23:29] Speaker C: Well, we've talked a lot about the role and the responsibilities that the readers and the trustees on the community trust have. How can people who are more interested in the trust learn more about it? Whether that's, hey, I might be interested in helping you guys as a reader at some point, if you're looking for one or I'd like to one day, you know. [00:23:49] Speaker A: Yeah, I think that's great. We always encourage more folks to get involved. The best way to find out about us is on the website, the Boone Electric Cooperative website. It has a really great detailed list of all of the funding that we've given out throughout the years. To be transparent, it shows who our trustees are currently and it has opportunities there for you to reach out and say, hey, I'm really interested in becoming a reader or potentially a trustee in the future. So that's one way you can get involved. The other way, I think that's really important to get involved is through Operation Roundup or capital credits. That is a way that you can really support the trust if you are a member of Boone Electric Cooperative. If you round up to that next dollar, the most you can give is 99 cents a month. Right. And so if you elect to donate those funds to the trust, that just helps us further our mission. And so maybe you don't have time to be a reader or a trustee, but you, you support the mission, you're able to give back through Operation Roundup, through giving your capital credit back to the trust. And I want people to know that we're very serious about the funding that we receive and we're very diligent about making sure we can stretch it as far as we can. So those are a couple ways that people can get involved and really support the work we're doing. [00:24:57] Speaker C: And it's amazing what we talk about it all the time, but it's amazing what all those dollars and cents add up to. [00:25:04] Speaker A: That's right. [00:25:04] Speaker C: At the end of the month, at the end of the cycle, many hands [00:25:08] Speaker A: make a light load. And I think that that's something you see and it's just a great value of the electric cooperatives and the mission that we do is it's so aligned with our values and that's right. If you can give, you know, 15 cents, 99 cents, whatever it is a month, that really makes a difference. Like I said, we've been able to give $4.7 million back to our community since the trust's inception. That's a lot of pennies that have added up over the years. But you know, we can continue to do that, work with, with other support. [00:25:36] Speaker C: And if you have questions about that you're interested in learning more about the trust, you can always contact us here at Boone Electric Cooperative, the 573-449-4181 number. Or you can email bectrustonelectric.com Morgan, thank you so much for coming by and talking to us. More about the trust today. [00:25:54] Speaker A: Absolutely. Zach. Thanks for what you guys do. We appreciate it and thanks for the opportunity to speak about the trust and [00:25:59] Speaker C: than for listening this month. Be sure to come back next month and until then, we'll see you somewhere down the line. [00:26:05] Speaker B: Thank you for tuning in to the Buzz, a podcast by Boone Electric Cooperative. To subscribe or for more information, you can find us on Facebook, Instagram X and LinkedIn. And of course you can always visit us 247 at Boonelectric Co Op, Boone Electric Cooperative, our community city.