Cooperative Principle #7: Commitment To Community
While focusing on member needs, cooperatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies accepted by their members.
Home Is Where Our Heart Is
The directors and employees at CECA want to see our community succeed. Why? The answer’s simple: Because we live here, too.
Local people working for local good. That’s the essence of Cooperative Principle No. 7, Concern for Community.
First and foremost, we can and do strengthen our community by doing what we do best: provide electricity, reliably and at a reasonable cost. We are a dynamic part of our community. As the area grows, so does our distribution system.
We have strong roots in this community. CECA has been in business here for seventy years. Part of the benefit of this stability is the assurance that we are not going anywhere. Our business began here, and we would not pull up stakes to pursue greener pastures elsewhere.
By providing jobs and a steady supply of electricity, the co-op helps the local economy stay strong. We pay our employees fair wages because that in turn helps strengthen the economy when they spend that money here. And by offering good jobs, we keep our towns healthy because employees and their families don’t have to move away to make a decent living. The more people we have here paying taxes and contributing to the community, the more vibrant it will be.
The benefits to the community aren’t only financial in nature. We open doors for our young people with scholarship programs, the annual Youth Tour trip to Washington, D.C. and the John Ben Shepperd Leadership Forum. We teach children safety through programs in schools and online. We help our members save money by performing energy audits of their homes and businesses and recommending energy-efficiency measures they can adopt.
We also strengthen the community by supporting local charities. We help our members and neighbors in need by sponsoring such programs as Operation Round-Up, volunteer fire departments, Christmas charities, and many more.
The co-op is made up of people who care. Our employees go out of their way to better the communities in which they live. They coach youth sports teams, serve on school committees and participate in church activities. They are co-op members like you, and like you they want to make their hometowns stronger.
Remember that when it comes to CECA, our local community comes first.
Cooperatives—
Owned by Our Members
Committed to Our Communities