News > CEO’s Message – November 2023

CEO’s Message – November 2023

Member Engagement – Keeping You Informed

At Stearns Electric, we understand that our Cooperative exists because of our member-consumers. We value this cooperative difference and work hard to provide effective member communication and robust member engagement for our members on an ongoing basis.

Though we work hard to keep you informed on Cooperative happenings through Power Connection, our website, social media and different member events, we know member engagement goes two ways and are always looking for ways to hear directly from you. Here is a recap of some of our recent member engagement initiatives.

MEMBER SURVEY
Surveying members is one of the most helpful member engagement tools we use. We partner annually with the National Rural Electric Association (NRECA) Market Research division to conduct member surveys. Results are used to track how satisfied members are year-over-year and provide insight into the areas of the Cooperative and/or the electric utility industry that matter most to our members.

Last month, we completed our second member survey in 2023. We look forward to hearing what members had to say and using that feedback to maintain or improve our services and consider future opportunities.

MEMBER ENGAGEMENT GROUP
Our Member Engagement Group is a really great way for members to engage directly with Stearns Electric. The Member Engagement Group (MEG) meetings give members a chance to learn more about the specific areas of the Cooperative. We also use the MEG as a sounding board for ideas and proposals for new programs and evaluation of existing services. MEG meets four times per year.

In November, MEG members participated in a tour of the current Melrose facility and learned more about our Right-of-Way program, outage response at the Co-op and the needs for the new headquarters facility.

OPERATION ROUND UP® (ORU) TRUST BOARD
Another way to get involved is by serving on the ORU Trust Board. The Trust Board reviews and evaluates funding requests from area organizations and charitable causes and distributes funding of ORU funds throughout our area communities.

On November 1, the Trust Board hosted an open house for ORU recipients to celebrate the $3 Million Milestone that was achieved in 2023. View photos from this event on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/stearnselectric.

If you are interested in learning more about any of these initiatives or want to connect with Cooperative staff at any time, you can visit our website, www.stearnselectric.org, or call us at (800) 962-0655.

As always, it is a pleasure to serve you.

Sincerely,

Matt O’Shea
Chief Executive Officer