Generation and transmission cooperatives across the country are hitting milestone anniversaries and finding creative ways to mark decades of reliable member service.
In November, Kansas Electric Power Cooperative will celebrate its 50th anniversary at its annual meeting and dinner in Salina, where attendees, members and staff will receive a variety of swag sporting a custom-tailored logo.
KEPCo will also distribute a special edition magazine with articles on its history and will host competitive team trivia based on key events at the G&T, said Susan Cunningham, senior vice president and general counsel at the co-op headquartered in Topeka. Up to 150 are expected to attend.
“It’s a remarkable, significant occasion that we absolutely want to recognize in a meaningful and fun way,” said Cunningham. “We want to thank our employees, and we wouldn’t be here without our members.”
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Oglethorpe Power celebrated its golden anniversary last year at its headquarters in Tucker, Georgia, and individual generation facilities across the state. The co-op’s board chairman, now-retired CEO and one of the company’s longest-serving employees addressed attendees. Everyone at the event and those tuned in remotely from plant sites played a live trivia game exploring how the co-op has evolved over the past 50 years. Videos produced by Oglethorpe highlighted its mission, portfolio and culture.
“One video included interviews with employees from across the company, and it really captured the heart of who we are,” said Blair Romero, director of corporate communications. “We asked what they love about Oglethorpe, their favorite memory and what working here means to them. Their responses highlighted the deep sense of purpose we share in serving our members and how much working for Oglethorpe truly feels like family.”
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Golden Spread Electric Cooperative also produced a historical video to mark 40 years of operation in 2024 and hosted NRECA Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Connor as the keynote speaker at its annual meeting. Attendees received charging blocks with a custom-made anniversary logo. A Touchstone Energy® Cooperative balloon and the Solar Sam mascot added to the festivities.
The G&T celebrated its milestone all year by sharing clips of the video on social media and giving away co-op swag with the milestone logo, said Claire Ekas, communications, media and marketing coordinator. She led Golden Spread’s creative team effort and encourages other G&Ts to mark their milestones.
“It's important, because it gives us a chance to reflect back on the progress that we've made while also thinking about where we're headed,” said Ekas.
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Cooperative Energy will hit the 85-year mark in 2026. When they celebrated their 75th anniversary in 2016, the co-op changed its name from South Mississippi Electric, said Sara Peterson, the co-op’s director of corporate communications.
Staff received a T-shirt bearing the anniversary logo and a custom ceramic dish commemorating their years with South Mississippi, while the G&T unveiled a commissioned multimedia art piece made of scrap generation and transmission equipment.
At the milestone celebration, retirees and long-timers from the co-op’s power plants and transmission facilities took the stage, “sharing memories of the years gone by,” said Peterson. Topics ranged from the impact of Hurricane Katrina to the successful buildout of the cooperative’s original transmission system and personal tales from their careers.
“We don't want those stories to disappear as people retire,” she said.
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Her team complied a history book on the Hattiesburg-based G&T with help from longtime employees, retirees—including one who served under three of the cooperative’s four general managers—and reams of archived magazine articles and photos. It documents “the painstaking efforts people made just to form our cooperative,” said Peterson.
“The book really gives our employees—the vast majority too young to witness the co-op’s beginning—an appreciation of who we are, where we came from as well as our purpose.”
