by Caleb Jones | cjones@amec.coop
It was a quiet Saturday morning in Missouri – or so I thought. I was standing on the sidelines watching my son, Max, play goalkeeper in a soccer game. The sun was out, the game was close and I was trying to keep one eye on the ball and the other on my coffee.
Then my phone rang. The caller ID read: Gov. Mike Kehoe.
Mike’s a friend, fellow co-op member and someone who understands the mission of electric cooperatives. He didn’t waste time with small talk. A tornado had just torn through the St. Louis area. Trees were down and tens of thousands of homes and businesses were without power.
“Can the co-ops help?” he asked.
But he already knew the answer. Even though those without power weren’t co-op members, we knew what had to be done.
By that evening, co-op trucks from across Missouri were on the move. Eight electric cooperatives stepped up, sending 51 linemen to form construction and maintenance crews ready for a multiday deployment. These men left their families, their weekends and their service territories to head into a hard-hit urban center to help strangers.
While I hate to see the damage caused by spring weather, the cooperative effort to turn the power back on safely and quickly reminds me of why I love co-ops. This wasn’t a publicity stunt. It wasn’t about profit. It was about people. Our linemen didn’t ask what utility served the street. They saw fellow Missourians in the dark – and they went to work.
That’s the heart of the cooperative difference. We don’t just serve electricity. We serve people. We help communities recover. And when a neighbor, a friend – or a governor – asks for help, we show up.
As Max’s soccer game ended, I looked around and felt pride. His team won, and I remembered why I’m proud to be on the Missouri electric cooperatives team. When the winds tear through the state and the lights go out, Missouri’s co-ops don’t wait for someone else to act.
We go. We serve. And we help put the pieces back together.
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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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