by Caleb Jones | cjones@amec.coop
Three days after I graduated from Mizzou with my ag economics degree, I packed everything I owned in a single-cab Toyota Tacoma and pointed it toward Washington, D.C. Along with all my stuff, I carried with me the bold (and maybe naive) belief that I was going to change the world.
And so began four years of working for a congressman and then for the president. To say I learned a lot would be an understatement. I discovered when you rip your only pair of suit pants, a stapler can hold things together long enough to get through the day. I learned the first step to fixing any problem is figuring out what’s really causing it. My biggest lesson: No matter who you are, where you live or what you do, government affects your life.
I left D.C. with lifelong friends and a deep understanding of how government works. That experience comes with me every time I return to our nation’s capital – not as a staffer, but as an advocate for Missouri’s electric cooperatives.
In April, 2,000 electric cooperative members from across the country descended on Washington, D.C., for the annual legislative conference. While the landscape always seems to change – new buildings, new members of Congress, new administrations – our message has stayed the same. Providing reliable, affordable power to rural communities isn’t just what we do. It’s who we are.
We talked with our lawmakers about the challenges and opportunities ahead: the need for smart energy policies, funding to modernize the grid and how to protect our power supply. We reminded them electric cooperatives aren’t faceless utilities; we’re rooted in our communities and we answer to the people we serve.
As I reflect on my first trip to D.C., I can’t help but smile. Back then, I wanted to change the world. These days, I want to make sure the lights come on when you flip the switch. I’d argue that is pretty important too.
Caleb Jones is the executive vice president and CEO of Missouri Electric Cooperatives. He is a member of Boone Electric Cooperative.
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