Cooperative staff are a lot like that. Whether on a line crew directing the work of building a job or restoring power, in a call center coordinating a response to a storm or answering a high-bill complaint or leading a complex discussion in the boardroom, ordinary everyday people do what it takes to meet a need of their local cooperative and move toward a better place.

Some might say there is a lull in the quality or degree of leadership in the cooperative community. I would offer that this is not the case.

Leadership isn't a title at co-ops; it's a responsibility that emerges when ordinary people meet extraordinary challenges.

We have great leaders at the local, state and national level. You must remember: Leaders do not simply exist; they are made, often under fire or through the struggles of a challenge.

My parents and grandparents were from what was called the Greatest Generation, those individuals who came of age during the 40s and 50s. They were cast into roles they were not prepared for and had no idea were coming.

They were called on to do things they had never imagined and to take on challenges outside their comfort zone. Take my parents, for example: My father left rural South Georgia at the age of 18 to serve his country in Europe, boarding a ship bound for Germany. Those experiences shaped the next 70 years of his life.

The same can be said of our cooperative family today. They, too, are experiencing new real-world challenges that will shape their outlook and their actions for years to come.

Our local co-op, like many others, has endured what felt like devastating events. In 2015, approximately 40% of our meters were out for 10 days from a crippling ice storm, and in 1963, not a single light bulb was burning after a major snow and ice event.

These and many other storms over the years have shaped the way we think about reliability, resilience, plant investment, training and so many other areas. One might call it perspective.

I have heard it said that “we are on this Earth to struggle." Well, co-op staff embody that in all they do. From the challenges Mother Nature throws at us, to the demands of a changing membership, to the responsibility of providing reliable, dependable, economical electric service, the work of the co-op presents challenges every day.

Again, ordinary people, faced with what at the time can seem like insurmountable odds, have the requirement to take on the challenge and strive to make a difference. That is true leadership.

The challenges that the broader cooperative community now face are no greater and no different than those our earlier leaders faced. You can take the perspective of how we are going to equitably serve data center loads while not placing a financial burden on our traditional co-op members.

Also, take the issue of the need for additional RUS funds when the need for new and expanding facilities is in high demand. Both require that can-do spirit and leadership qualities that embody the cooperative spirit.

I began this piece on leadership with the concept of everyday folk cast into seemingly insurmountable situations, called upon to make a difficult decision, in some cases on matters they were not trained for and could not imagine they would be in.

This sounds a lot like what co-op staff do each and every day: meeting the complex and far-reaching needs of their membership and doing so with a focus on leading with distinction.

Addressing today's needs is no different than what the cooperative family has addressed for the past 80-plus years—it's just the names are not the same. Today's challenges require that we, as co-op leaders, lead on into the next 80 years as those before us did.

Mike Goodroe is president and CEO of Sawnee EMC. He brings 46 years of cooperative experience, including 36 years leading the Cumming, Georgia-based co-op.