JULY 2018 5

co-op news

One of the fundamental strengths of electric cooperatives is their ability to juggle the emerging changes and challenges of the electric industry while still maintaining their focus on their

members. Since cooperatives are member-owned, members obviously are the number one priority.

From the beginning, we referred to the potential consolidation between Jasper County REMC and Kankakee Valley REMC (Wanatah) as being “member-focused.” We want you to be a part of this consolidation conversation because your voice as a member is important to the process. Your participation elected the cooperative’s board of directors. Each board member is accountable to the membership. Your voices have helped our board and leadership team set the cooperative’s priorities. Those priorities include reliable service and keeping power costs as low as possible.

Directors from both cooperatives are continuing to explore how the consolidation will affect our members. One recent discussion focused on ensuring that your representation within the new cooperative not be affected by the possible consolidation. Having fair representation throughout the service territory means your voices and interests will be heard equally. We are beginning to map out what the new consolidated service territory might look like. A new district map that would allow fair representation among the consolidated cooperative footprint is a priority for both boards.

We have assigned a governance committee to review corporate policies and procedures, and to make other decisions pertaining to the directors’ roles in the new combined entity. All of these items constitute our legally required Plan of Consolidation, which must be completed prior to a membership vote.

The cooperatives’ leadership teams are also forming employee committees to review best practices and evaluate each cooperative’s programs. We want to continue delivering valuable programs to our members and the communities we serve. The employees will be involved in developing a framework for the new entity.

As you can see, we are working diligently on the many elements of the consolidation process. There should be — and will be — a clear plan before we ask our memberships to vote on this important decision. Your board of directors, leadership teams and employees are committed to ensuring that every decision is made in the members’ best interests. We are dedicated to remaining member focused.

Rest assured that even though your cooperative has a lot going on right now, we will always be here keeping the lights on for you, our members.

BRYAN WASHBURNCEO

Members are the focus of the consolidationCONTACT US

Office: 219-866-4601 / 888-866-REMC (7362)

WEBSITEwww.jasperremc.com

EMAILjasperremc@jasperremc.com

OFFICE HOURS 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday-Friday

STREET ADDRESS 280 E. Wood Road

Rensselaer, IN 47978

MAILING ADDRESS P.O. Box 129

Rensselaer, IN 47978

OUTAGESReport your outage day or night by phone or through SmartHub at jasperremc.com

or the SmartHub app.

Jasper County REMC is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Like us on Facebookwww.facebook.com/ JasperCountyREMC

Look for these stories!• Giving back: page 6

• The gold standard: page 7

• School days: page 8

Don’t forget to search for a hidden account number within pages 5-8! If you find it, and it’s your account number, call our office before the last working day of the month to claim your $25 bill credit.

What’sinside

ENERGY EFFICIENCY TIP!Here’s a cool tip for your fridge! Cover liquids and wrap foods stored in your refrigerator. Uncovered foods release

moisture, causing the compressor to work harder.

— U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

We want you to be part

of this consolidation

conversation because

your voice as a

member is important

to the process.

“

”

6 JULY 2018

co-op news

the processof consolidating

cooperatives

EXPLORE

RESEARCH

ANALYZE

DIRECTOR VOTE

INFORM

MEMBER VOTE

We always

explore

options

to improve

service.

Independent

companies

are compiling

financial

reports.

Your board

analyzes the

reports to

find benefits

and risks.

The board

votes on

combining

the two

co-ops.

We inform

you of the

decision

made by the

directors.

If the

directors

vote “yes,”

the members

have the

final vote on

whether to

combine the

co-ops.

Jasper County REMC issued our quarterly Operation Round Up grants to representatives of local organizations. Our members can contribute about $6 annually by rounding up their monthly electric bills to the nearest dollar. This quarter, the grant money totaled $11,200. The goal of the Operation Round Up board is to impact as many community members as possible with the funds gathered from REMC members.

Recipients this quarter included the Jasper County Library. It has a summer reading program called “Libraries Rock.” Students will learn about different types of rocks and how fossils are created by nature.

Heather Heinig of Fendig Summer Theater for Children said the grant funds

will support the upcoming production of the musical “Newsies.”

Carlee Alson said the grant money she picked up would support Families the Jasper County Youth Center (JCYC) daycare with the purchase of a new computer and printer.

Other grant recipients this quarter included the Boy Scouts of America, Little Cousin Jasper Festival, Jasper County Historical Society, Carnegie Players, Rensselaer Central High School FFA Livestock Judging Team, Remington Park Department, UpTown Project of Francesville, Remington Water Tower Days Festival, Kankakee Valley High School, Junior Achievement serving Rensselaer and the Valley Community Players.

Giving backRepresentatives of the organizations receiving Jasper County REMC Operation Round Up grants included, front row, from left, Carlee Alson from JCYC, Byron Haverstick of Boy Scouts of America, Janice Wilma from Jasper County Library, Heather Heinig, Fendig Summer Theater. Back row, from left, Robert Heid of Kankakee Valley High School and Chip Gull of Rensselaer Central High School.

PH

OTO

BY

NIC

K F

IALA

, RE

NS

SE

LAE

R R

EP

UB

LIC

AN

JULY 2018 7

co-op news

Meet your board candidates

From 1957 through the 1970s, living

in a “Gold Medallion Home” was a

status symbol. It meant the home

had an innovation that was not

found with every home in that peri-

od — it was 100 percent electrified.

To this point, we have a nationally

distributed magazine advertisement

in our archives from 1960. The first

line says, “Nearly a million jet-age

Americans still don’t have electricity

in their homes.”

It is hard to realize this today

because modern homes function

cleanly and efficiently, but homes

built before World War II were not

so clean or efficient. Many had dirty

coal-burning furnaces in the base-

ment or even coal- or wood-burning

stoves that helped heat the home.

All of this soon gave way to adver-

tisements for electric heating sys-

tems that touted a flameless system

that would allow you to “Live Better

Electrically” in a Gold Medallion

Home. We first see the “Live Better

Electrically” ads in the June 1958

REMC newsletter.

Jasper County REMC had many Gold

Medallion Homes on its lines. Patri-

cia and Paul Moore built their Gold

Medallion home in 1975 in rural

Rensselaer. Patricia worked at Jasper

County REMC for 51 years and still

has the golden glass meter cover

that was installed on her home. She

remembers that the transformer on

the pole was a gold color as well.

Moore also recalls two more homes

in the Rensselaer area with the spe-

cial “Gold” designation — Morris and

Dorothy Heffner’s house built in

1957 and Raymond and Cora Lehe’s

house built in 1971. Incidentally,

Morris and Raymond were both Jas-

per County REMC directors from the

late 1950s to 1971.

The gold standardAREA GOLD MEDALLION HOMES REMEMBERD FOR INNOVATION

No more busy signal!When you report your outage through the

SmartHub® app or SmartHub on our website.

8 JULY 2018

co-op news

OFFICE CLOSING

The Jasper County REMC office will be closed on Wednesday, July 4, for the Fourth of July holiday.

REBATES AVAILABLE

Find residential and commercial rebates for energy efficiency at www.powermoves.com.

WATER HEATER REBATE AVAILABLE$250 electric water heater rebate available. Visit www.jasperremc.com and go to the “Products” tab for details.

SMARTHUB OUTAGE REPORTING

Log your outage through SmartHub on our website, the SmartHub app or by phone. There is no busy signal when you log the outage through SmartHub.

GRANT FUNDS AVAILABLE

Operation Round Up grants are available quarterly for schools, non-profit organizations, individuals and youth projects. Applications are on our website under the “Community” tab. Thank you to our members who allow us to “round up” their electric bill to support community projects.

NEWS BRIEFS

Recently, we read an interesting quote from a utility industry analyst. He said, “If you want to understand the next generation of customers ― the people who will be your members in 2030 ― who do you have to look at? Actually, the most terrifying people in the world today — 8-year-olds.”

Your cooperative does not think of grade-school children as “terrifying.” In fact,

we enjoy visiting with them at schools to teach them about electrical safety. Two of our core principles revolve around education and concern for the community.

Recently, the kindergartners at Rensselaer Primary School learned several electrical safety tips from Jasper County REMC linemen and saw how a line truck drills holes for the poles.

School daysTEACHING THE NEXT GENERATION OF CUSTOMERS