Episode Transcript
[00:00:08] Speaker A: Welcome to the Buzz, a podcast by Boone Electric 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 B: Hello, and welcome back to the Buzz. I'm Zach Smith, communications specialist at Boone Electric Cooperative. And today we're returning to our introductory series on the seven cooperative principles. Joining us today is Boone Electric Cooperative board president Kim Ponder. Kim, thank you for being here today.
[00:00:43] Speaker C: I'm happy to be here. Thank you.
[00:00:45] Speaker B: Today we're talking about cooperative principle number one, which is open and voluntary membership. And I think the best place to start is with your title. You are the board president of Boone Electric Cooperative. As a director, that means you are actually a member of Boone Electric.
[00:01:01] Speaker C: Yes, that's correct.
[00:01:02] Speaker B: So I take it to mean that you receive a bill from the co op for the electricity that you use at home.
[00:01:08] Speaker C: I absolutely do. Absolutely.
[00:01:10] Speaker B: What does it mean to you to say that you're a member of Boone Electric Cooperative?
[00:01:14] Speaker C: I think being a member, to me is that I have ownership, and historically, that is how the cooperative began. Being a member means I am empowered to be a part of the organization, making sure that the power that is delivered to us is reliable, that it is affordable, and that is safe. Membership is a little bit different than just being a bill payer.
[00:01:36] Speaker B: Ultimately, that's how we're sitting here talking now. You took an interest in the business of the cooperative as a member. You were nominated to the ballot. You ran for your district and received enough votes to be elected and reelected since then. So why did you want to do that?
[00:01:52] Speaker C: I wanted to do that to be a part of the community. So I was approached by a mentor of mine who asked me, said, I think you would be a great fit. They go out, and annually they search for folks to run for these positions on the board. To me, it's an extension of the community that I live in. It's where I raise my family. It's where my family was raised. I'm part of that. And so for me, I wanted to be a part of an organization that gave back, and that really made a difference. And those that we serve, that's not.
[00:02:23] Speaker B: How the average business, it's certainly not how the average investor owned utility is run.
[00:02:29] Speaker C: No, you're correct. So an investor owned utility, sometimes called an IOU, they're really driven by the stockholders. They're focused on profit. They're focused on the numbers, efficiencies. We are, too. But I think we lead with who our members are we lead with the people? We lead with those that have built us to who and where we are today. We have a serious focus on being reliable, affordable, providing safe electricity to homeowners. So the difference being one's driven by profits, the other's driven by people. And I prefer being driven for the people.
[00:03:00] Speaker B: Can you help me connect the dots there between how the types of decisions that you and the other board members make, how you keep those three things in mind when you're in the boardroom discussing policies?
[00:03:12] Speaker C: They are part of every decision that we make. I think it's our job to set priorities as a board. Safety being probably the top priority. We support the policies, the practices the organization holds so that we protect the health and well being of our employees and all of the members that we serve. So if you think about it, our linemen, they're at danger every day with the job that they do. We want to make sure that that's a top priority. And then I think about the priorities of our members who want the lights to come on when we flip the switch. And as a director, we have to think about that, and we have to support and review policies that create robust infrastructure so that that power continues to be delivered to your home, that the lights come on when you want them to. And, you know, you think about a lot of things that go on right now. Storms. Right. We can't take for granted that that's just not going to happen to us because it could. It could easily happen to us. And I think the third piece of that is the affordability, which is a priority for all of us, top to bottom.
You know, we're focused on managing the investment for the members and managing expenses and all those things that we can do because we. You sit on this table. You sit at this table, excuse me, and be on this board because you're committed to the members.
[00:04:20] Speaker B: That's what it's all really about, right? The members, which is simple to some people, as I get an electric bill from the cooperative, so I'm an owner of the cooperative. But it goes a little bit deeper than that.
[00:04:30] Speaker C: It does go a little bit. Absolutely. It goes much deeper than that. And sometimes that's probably nothing an easy thing to see. It's not something everyone is used to being a member of a cooperative. So whether it's Boone Electric as a cooperative or there are other organizations out there, that level of membership gives you a little bit more. There's more value there for you. And do you get from it probably what you put into it, your role.
[00:04:52] Speaker B: With the cooperative, even though you're a member, once you start paying an electric bill with the cooperative, we'll say your history with Boone Electric goes a little bit back before that. Right. You had a family member, I believe, who worked for the cooperative.
[00:05:05] Speaker C: So I have actually been a member of the cooperative either directly or indirectly my entire life. So my grandparents, my mother, my father, now myself, my husband, family, we've all been members, but I had a great uncle that was a lineman many years ago, and the family was very proud of rea, the rural impact that they had. So, you know, it's something that's been a part of who I am for my entire life.
[00:05:32] Speaker B: Who was your uncle?
[00:05:34] Speaker C: Deb Holton.
[00:05:35] Speaker B: Okay. And he was a lineman here at Boone Electric cooperative.
[00:05:37] Speaker C: Wow. Absolutely.
[00:05:38] Speaker B: So your history with Boone electric specifically.
[00:05:41] Speaker C: Goes back, goes way back. And I remember sitting at the tent out here on the, on the back of the campus here for annual meetings and fried chicken, and it was incredibly hot.
But we had a good time, and it was important that we attend. It was important to be a member and to be a part of what was going on. So that's been my whole life.
[00:06:02] Speaker B: You bring up a great point about annual meeting. Now that we do the drive thru annual meeting these last few years, since 2020. It doesn't look the same way that it used to with the big tent and the folding chairs and the meal, but why is it still important that people, that the members take part in that?
[00:06:20] Speaker C: Well, I think you hit on it there. You know, it doesn't look the same. Things change all the time for us, but the intent is still the same. The intent is to be a part of your community. And in this case, it's the cooperation community to be engaged, to vote for your directors, to vote for bylaw changes or anything that would impact the safe, affordable, reliable energy that's delivered to your home. So I think to me, it looks different, but the root and the core of it is still the same. And so we encourage people to attend and be a part. I go back to something I may have said earlier, is that you get from it what you put into it, and we find that people that do attend walk away feeling really good. They enjoy, they learn something. But just being a part of your community is an overall positive thing.
[00:07:04] Speaker B: Thank you very much for joining us today. Kim. I think that's a great cornerstone for this discussion we're going to have about the cooperative principles, and I'm sure we're going to have you back sometime soon to talk a little bit more in depth about the cooperative. But I appreciate you coming here to explain what membership is from the perspective of a member, because I think, like we said in our previous episode, that is the cornerstone of this whole cooperative movement.
[00:07:27] Speaker C: Absolutely. Well, thank you for having me.
[00:07:28] Speaker B: Absolutely. And thank you all for joining us here on the buzz. Please come back to join us next month, and until then, we'll see you somewhere down the line.
[00:07:41] Speaker A: 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 op Boon Electric cooperative, your co op. Our community.
