NRECA’s regional meetings begin Sept. 4 in Buffalo, New York, and offer co-op leaders a chance to learn more about industry trends, including the latest electric vehicle regulations, broadband’s role in economic development and how to engage young adult members.

The five regional meetings provide NRECA members a forum to hear from experts and colleagues without having to travel far.

“The regional meetings give leaders the opportunity to network with peers in their area who may be facing similar challenges in the evolving electric cooperative landscape,” said Kristen Wheeler, NRECA’s meetings program manager.

“The meetings also give members the chance to voice their thoughts on key issues facing the industry through the resolutions process. Sessions addressing both current and emerging topics provide valuable information and resources to help co-ops and communities thrive.”

When and Where

Sept. 4-6: Regions 1 and 4 meet in Buffalo, New York.
Sept. 10-12: Regions 5 and 6 meet in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Sept. 24-26: Regions 7 and 9 meet in Spokane, Washington.
Oct. 8-10: Regions 2 and 3 meet in Louisville, Kentucky.
Oct. 23-25: Regions 8 and 10 meet in San Antonio, Texas.

Speaker Highlights

NRECA CEO Jim Matheson and NRECA President Curtis Wynn will speak at all five regional meetings. Wynn, who is also president and CEO of Roanoke Electric Cooperative, will focus on how co-ops must adapt to meet members’ changing needs.

The keynote speaker at four meetings will be Kelly McDonald, founder of McDonald Marketing and a national expert in marketing, customer service and consumer trends. In Spokane, Kenja Purkey, director of strategic planning at McDonald Marketing, will deliver the keynote remarks.

Other speakers include Tony Anderson, general manager of Cherryland Electric Cooperative, and NRECA’s secretary-treasurer, and Phil Irwin, president and CEO of Federated Rural Electric Insurance Exchange. Anderson will be giving the financial update for NRECA.

Session Highlights

Breakout sessions will include:

Leveraging data: Co-ops can use data they’re already collecting to prepare for storms, reduce expenses and increase member satisfaction. Experts will talk about how it can be done.

Electric vehicles: So far this year, there have been nearly 500 actions on EVs by state legislatures and regulators. Those actions can affect co-ops and consumer-members, even though co-ops aren’t directly regulated by state governments.

Young adult member engagement: This session will focus on how co-ops can use digital communications, member data and special events to engage consumer-members in the 25-45-year age group.

Broadband: Experts will explore the crucial role that broadband plays in rural economic development as it connects communities and brings jobs, telemedicine, long-distance learning and teleworking opportunities.

Co-ops and the 2020 election: Grassroots advocacy experts will talk about how the Co-ops Vote program can have a greater impact in a presidential election year. Co-op leaders will learn about the most effective ways to engage candidates and elected officials.

Spark sessions: These special sessions are designed to spark peer-to-peer discussions on a range of key topics, including lineworker safety and cybersecurity. There will be an expert on hand to help get the discussion started, but participants will do most of the talking.

Resolutions Process

The Regional Resolutions Committee will hold a session at each meeting to discuss proposed resolutions from the National Resolutions Committee along with any resolutions from prior regional meetings. The resolutions let people know where co-ops stand on a wide range of issues, including tax policy, energy markets, environmental issues and co-op governance.

Audience members are welcome to ask questions of the committee members and offer new resolutions from their co-op boards or statewide associations. The final resolutions will be adopted at the 2020 NRECA Annual Meeting in New Orleans in March.

Registration Information

For more information and to register for upcoming regional meetings, check out the Conferences & Education section on cooperative.com.