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Trinity Valley EC News

Growing Up Co-op

Message From General Manager/CEO Jeff Lane

I love the feeling of being able to walk into my favorite locally owned shop, restaurant or store knowing that its profit, product and labor can have positive impacts on my community. The spirit of Main Street is embodied in these local businesses, just as it is in Trinity Valley Electric Cooperative.

Electric co-ops are as local and community centered as they come. Founded as a means for bringing electricity to communities that didn’t interest profit-seeking investor-owned utilities, electric co-ops have been a cornerstone of community and economic development in rural America and beyond for decades.

More than 80 years later, with electricity serving an ever-growing need for connection and commerce, we still enjoy serving the needs of the residents and businesses in our service area.

That feeling I get when I frequent local businesses in our community is the same feeling I get when I walk into work at the co-op every day. It’s a feeling of pride. I’m proud to be part of an organization that serves the community where we live instead of a group of shareholders who may never set foot in our service territory.

Living on co-op lines is more than just knowing there are people out there working to bring you safe, reliable and affordable electric service. Living on co-op lines is an investment in our community and its members.

You see, TVEC is a not-for-profit business. When we make more money than we need to keep the lights on safely, affordably and reliably, we return it to our members (that’s you!) in the form of capital credits. This means that after all co-op expenses are paid, any additional money we earn goes back into our community, instead of into a shareholder’s pocket—which is pretty great.

And because we are owned by you, our members, we have a vested interest in making sure our community prospers. We do this by investing in economic development and community service projects and programs.

I hope that you view TVEC not just as your electric utility provider but as a local business that brings pride and prosperity to our community. If you’re interested in learning about how we keep the lights on and more, please stop by the co-op or give us a call. We love being a part of this community, and we hope you feel the same way.