Welcome to the first edition of Bright Spots—a roundup of stories showcasing electric cooperatives’ community impact. Our goal with Bright Spots is to share uplifting news from co-ops across the country on the wide variety of ways you’re helping to make your communities a better place.
This new feature will run the last week of each month. This time around, read about a colorful fun run for literacy, support for local recreational opportunities, a project for our feathered friends, and a tasty tribute to the seven cooperative principles
Have a Bright Spot you’d like to share? Please send your news and photos to Victoria Rocha (victoria.rocha@nreca.coop) and Katie Allen (katie.allen@nreca.coop).
Running Colors
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In Warsaw, Virginia, Northern Neck Electric Cooperative’s third annual Bright Futures Fun(d) Run had another happy ending this year. The event raised $1,000 for a local PTA and another $2,500 for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library—enough for 1,500 children’s books. Nearly 150 runners signed up for course lengths of a quarter-mile, half-mile or mile. Along the way, co-op volunteers doused runners in dry color pigment. To date, NNEC and its members have funded more than 10,000 books.
Round Up for Skateboard Safety
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Flathead Electric Cooperative’s community safety program is helping make sure the next generation of skateboarders is off to a safe start. The Kalispell, Montana, co-op recently donated $1,000 from its Roundup for Safety program to the Badrock Skatepark Association for skateboard helmets, in conjunction with the opening of a new skatepark in Columbia Falls. Another $761 from the Board of Missoula, a local retailer, enabled the skatepark association to buy and donate 20 helmets.
One Burger, Seven Principles
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Which utility makes the best hamburger in Perry County, Indiana? As part of a dry run for its first Perry County Burger Week, judges from the local United Way sampled burgers from three utilities, including Southern Indiana Power. The Tell City-based co-op’s “Co-op Classic 7-Stack” won first place in the friendly competition. Each layer represents a cooperative principle, and ingredients came from local merchants and farmers markets. Toppings included “fresh, open and welcoming” leafy lettuce to represent voluntary and open membership and red onion rings, "many layers, each with a voice," to represent democratic member control. The contest raises money for local charities.
Summer Splash
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Osprey's Safe Haven
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A mother osprey and her chicks have a safe new home in Illinois, thanks to Coles-Moultrie Electric Cooperative and the Lake Shelbyville U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. After the mother built a nest atop a cross arm near Lake Shelbyville, the Mattoon, Illinois, co-op and the Army Corps stepped in to solve this safety and reliability threat by donating labor and supplies, including a new pole, nesting platform and nesting materials, and installing the new structure. Luckily, the mother osprey found the new location to her liking and rebuilt her nest there.
A Commitment to Special Olympics
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At Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, more than 150 employees from Oklahoma’s electric cooperatives volunteered at the 2025 Special Olympics Oklahoma Summer Games. They cheered and guided more than 5,000 athletes, including some 1,500 track and field competitors. For nearly 30 years, co-op employees, directors, managers and retirees have helped with the state’s Special Olympics, comprising one of the largest volunteer groups.
A Place for All to Play
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Old Dominion Electric Cooperative has been a big supporter of Bennett’s Village, a multigenerational, all-abilities play space in Charlottesville, Virginia. Several years ago, ODEC raised $30,000 to build an accessible treehouse, upon the suggestion of Plant Manager Floyd Lively. Recently, ODEC pledged $100,000 to help build even more accessible features, including sensory gardens, mobility-friendly bathrooms and adaptive swings. “My favorite part about working for ODEC is the pride I get by being a representative of a company that has our local communities’ best interests at heart,” Lively said.
