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Member Co-op News
Volunteers needed for GreenTouch Day May 3 at great river bluffs
State Park
Rushford, MN (April 24, 2008)— Volunteers make all the difference
when it comes to getting Great River Bluffs State Park, in rural Winona,
up and running for the summer season, according to park manager Rick
Samples. "If there isn't help from volunteers, then we do all the upkeep
and preparation ourselves, and we're a small group," Sample says.
 Like
so many other programs around the state, the state parks have limited
resources and budget. That is what makes GreenTouch Day so important to
Minnesota state park managers like Samples. Great River Bluffs State
Park encompasses 2,400 acres of land, which means there is always
something for volunteers to help do. This year, volunteers can expect
to rake, clean litter and brush off trails, clean grills and even paint
if the weather cooperates.
GreenTouch is a partnership that began nine years ago by Minnesota
electric cooperatives, including Tri-County Electric Cooperative (TEC),
to help state parks get “spruced up” for the busy season by enlisting
their employees and the community to volunteer. The first Saturday in
May is dedicated by participating electric cooperatives as GreenTouch
Day. In addition to the volunteer work, the partnership also gives the
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources funding to enhance the State
Park Guide and the junior Park Naturalist Program.
TEC rotates the location of GreenTouch Day between three state parks
in its service territory: Great River Bluffs, Forestville/Mystery Cave
and Beaver Creek Valley.
“This is a great opportunity for individuals, families, youth groups
and other organizations to learn more about what the state parks offer,”
said Brian Krambeer, TEC president and CEO. “We spend the morning in
cleanup mode and afterwards the volunteers are welcome to spend the rest
of the day enjoying the park without having to pay for a park permit.”
GreenTouch Day details
TEC’s GreenTouch Day is Saturday, May 3 from 8 a.m. to noon at Great
River Bluffs State Park. Volunteers will be asked to help clean grills,
move picnic tables, trim brush and trees, sweep for litter on
campgrounds and trails and paint if weather permits. Volunteers of all
ages are encouraged to visit the park and no park sticker will be needed
that day for volunteers. Snacks, beverages and gloves will be provided.
If you plan on joining TEC at Great River Bluffs State Park please call
TEC at 1-800-432-2285 or send an e-mail to
ahoiland@tec.coop. For more information about the park, visit the
link on TEC’s website: www.tec.coop.
TEC is a member-owned electric distribution cooperative serving three
counties in Minnesota including Winona, Houston and Fillmore and parts
of Olmsted and Mower counties in Minnesota and Howard, Winneshiek and
Allamakee counties in Iowa. It provides electricity to more than 12,000
services in the area. Tri-County Electric is a Touchstone Energy
cooperative.
East Central Energy Holds Annual Meeting
4/21/08 Hundreds of East Central Energy (ECE) members and guests
gathered at Cambridge-Isanti High School in Cambridge, MN Saturday,
April 19 for the cooperative’s 72nd annual meeting. Pancakes and
sausage were served to more than 800 people. Member registration
(one per household) for the event totaled 376. “Leaving a greener
footprint for tomorrow” was the theme for the annual meeting.
President and CEO Garry Bye explained in his report to members that
ECE has focused for many years on conservation and alternative
energy and will continue to do so. He urged members to take
advantage of the cooperative’s programs to reduce their energy use
and help improve the environment. “By walking and working together,
we can leave a greener footprint for tomorrow,” he said in the
annual report.
Results of the annual director election were announced
at the meeting. ECE members in districts 3 and 6 voted for their
representative on the ECE Board of Directors and elected David C.
Cartwright to represent district 3. In district 6, David
Tellinghuisen was re-elected. Director Jim Haasis did not have an
election challenge and will continue to represent district 1. The
annual director election allows ECE members, as owners, to have a
voice in how their cooperative operates. The board members
re-elected Joe Morley chair of the board. Robert Thompson was
elected to serve as vice chair, and Diane Zimmerman was elected
secretary-treasurer.
David Saggau, president and CEO of Great River Energy,
ECE’s wholesale power supplier, was guest speaker during the
business meeting of the cooperative. He discussed GRE’s “triple
bottom line: reasonable rates, reliable electric service and
environmental stewardship” and its position on issues that are
driving rising energy costs.
The 2008 East Central Energy Board of Directors
includes, from the left, Robert Kaeter, District 6; Jim Haasis,
District 1; David Deutschlander, District 2; David Cartwright,
District 3; Linda Laitala, District 5; Joe Morley, District 4; Diane
Zimmerman, District 1; David Tellinghuisen, District 6; Robert
Thompson, District 2; John Jackson, District 3; Gerald Nelson,
District 4; and Donald Martens, District 5.
MLEC Operation Round Up® contributes $15,250 to local
programs
4/21/08 Mille Lacs Energy’s Operation Round Up® Trust Board approved
over $15,000 in contributions to local community programs during its
quarterly meeting. The Trust Board, comprised of eight Mille Lacs
Energy members, distributed funds to 25 community based projects and
programs. Operation Round Up® is a charitable program unique to
electric cooperatives that is designed to provide financial
assistance to area activities and projects by "rounding up" members’
electric bills to the nearest dollar. More than $467,000 has been
distributed through the program since its inception in 1998.
Applications are available on line at
http://www.mlecmn.net/
Lake Region Electric Cooperative Thanks You for Your
Concern
4/7/08 Thank you for your messages and
concern for our employees regarding Saturday’s tragic bus accident
near Albertville. Several employees had children on the bus and the
husband of one of our employees was a chaperone. We thank God that
none of them were hurt. We grieve for the family and friends of
Jessica Weishair. This is a very sad day for all of us, but we are
grateful for your thoughts and prayers. Lake Region Electric Cooperative Board of Directors Employees
 On
Monday, August 20, 2007, the Tri-County Electric Cooperative
facilities in Rushford, MN were completely flooded out due to a
levee break. Flood waters completely inundated
the co-op's buildings including the warehouse and truck bays. Due to the
speed of the event they were not able to get all of the vehicles
out, nor many of the employee vehicles. Much of their material was
there as well. They relocated much of their operations to their
outpost in Caledonia, and to some facilities at the Rushford
Airport.
Outages were spotty, and those that have occurred were
temporarily inaccessible. The primary problem was
the co-op's buildings. Freeborn-Mower CS and People’s CS dispatched
some crews to assist. Cell phone service was jammed in that area of the state so
communication was difficult.
The co-op would appreciate offers of assistance. For now it is
probably best to avoid calling them directly due to the cell phone
congestion and the staff tasks at hand unless you have important or
critical information. However, you may wish to consider if you may
be able to send crews in the next few days or spare some materials
to help them meet the demand they will certainly face. If possible,
perhaps you could prepare an email with a summary of the support you
could provide, and wait to be contacted.
Two employees' homes were swept off
their foundations and destroyed by floodwaters. So in addition to
working to keep the co-op operations going, Manager of Operations
Bob Spartz and Line Superintendent Mike Ebner are dealing with
personal tragedy. MREA setup a fund to help the TEC employees personally affected by this
tragedy. Monetary
donations may be made payable to Tri-County Cooperative Benefit and sent to:
Eastwood Bank
Attn: Teller
Re: Tri-County Cooperative Benefit
45-28th Street SE
Rochester MN 55904
or
TEC Operation Round Up
PO Box 626
Rushford MN 55971-0626
Federal Tax ID: 41-0254835
Other cooperatives in the area of the
flooding were not significantly affected. We will send out further
information as it becomes available and permissible.
Update -
Wednesday, August 22
Great River Energy has become a Founding Reporter of The
Climate Registry by being among the first to join. The Climate
Registry is a non-profit organization established to measure and
publicly report greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in a common,
accurate and transparent manner consistent across industry
sectors and borders. Thirty nine U.S. states, five Canadian
provinces, three Native American tribes, two Mexican states and
the District of Columbia are the founders of the organization.
“Great River Energy has demonstrated exemplary environmental
leadership by stepping forward to support The Climate Registry
in its preliminary stages. We are deeply grateful for their
integral support in helping to address the challenge of climate
change,” said Gina McCarthy, Chair of The Climate Registry.
Great River Energy has demonstrated environmental stewardship
on several fronts by voluntarily committing to measure,
independently verify, and publicly report their greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions on an annual basis utilizing The Climate Registry
General Reporting Protocol. The protocol is based on the
internationally recognized GHG measurement standards of the
World Resources Institute and World Business Council on
Sustainability.
“Since 1995 Great River Energy has been reporting its
emissions information under the Department of Energy’s 1605(b)
program,” said Mary Jo Roth, manager of environmental services
for Great River Energy. “By participating in The Climate
Registry, we will extend those reporting efforts as well as
benefit from this documentation of our early reduction actions.”
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