NASHVILLE, Tenn.—From Amazon to Walmart, every great business must continually evolve. As it turns 20, Touchstone Energy® Cooperatives is not only doing just that, it's also helping its more than 750 member co-ops continuously improve.

"Our mission is dedicated to your success," Roger Meader, president of the Touchstone Energy Board of Directors, told participants at the brand's 2018 annual meeting on Feb. 27. "Touchstone Energy measures its effectiveness by how well we support you in connecting and engaging with your members."

Meader, CEO of Port Orford, Oregon-based Coos-Curry Electric Cooperative, joined Lynn Moore, Touchstone Energy's executive director, in highlighting some of the many ways the brand is working for its members.

"You can charge up your cooperative performance using the ACSI (American Customer Satisfaction Index) satisfaction measurement tool, the National Survey on the Cooperative Difference research, the Balanced Performance Scorecard and the Strategy Execution System to help you measure and attain your cooperative performance goals," said Moore.

Co-ops are seeing increasing numbers of new members who have high expectations from their utilities but often lack knowledge of what a co-op is. Both Meader and Moore stressed the need to tell them about the Cooperative Difference. To help with that, they unveiled the new "Vintage Fresh" campaign.

"The Vintage Fresh message and materials will catch the eye of even the tough-to-reach 25-to-45-year-old member and help us reintroduce every generation to the fact that the Cooperative Difference is relevant now more than ever," said Moore.

The campaign, she added, "gives a nod to the values of our nostalgic past and embraces our promising future."

Moore and Meader also debuted a remake of the original 1998 "Let it Shine" video, which provides a fresh view on the message and includes some things that weren't around two decades ago, such as iPads and smartphones.

The meeting also honored Charles Dalton, the recently retired CEO of Pickens, South Carolina-based Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative, with the Touchstone Energy Distinguished Service Award, the brand's highest honor.

"Charles exemplifies our core values and particularly emphasized integrity and commitment to community," said Moore.

"The passion and commitment of representatives from local co-ops and the staff of Touchstone Energy are what makes this initiative so successful," said Dalton. "And when we're successful, co-op members see and receive the enhanced value of their electric cooperative."