Celebrating Membership: October is National Co-op Month.

Fall is a busy time, and October is a particularly eventful month with school, community, and sports activities in full swing. It’s also when all cooperatives celebrate National Co-op Month.

When I say Western Cooperative celebrates Co-op Month, it really means we are celebrating you! After all, our co-op wouldn’t exist without you, our members.

Our core business purpose is to serve as your electricity provider, but the larger mission of the co-op is to help make our communities a better place. Concern for Community is one of the Seven Cooperative Principles that all co-ops share.

Similar to how our wires run through our service territory, our concern for community flows through all of our decisions — because being a co-op means being a responsible partner and good neighbor.

Western works to help our community thrive through initiatives led by our employees and local board that’s comprised of neighbors who live right here in our community. Because we’re local, we understand your needs and strive to help meet them.

We’re proud to support local youth through our Youth Tour and scholarship programs. With your help, we offer Western Cares to provide assistance to our community’s most vulnerable. We also partner with and support area non-profits and charitable organizations to give out Sharing Success grants for valuable community projects.

The word “cooperative” is close to “cooperation,” meaning people working together toward a common goal — mutually benefitting one another and the larger community. Our employees and member-elected board members are invested in the community in which they live and serve. That’s the essence of the cooperative spirit.

We want to empower you to manage energy use at home. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to take a moment and download our SmartHub app. Through the app, you can conveniently monitor and manage your energy use.

Western is continuously examining ways to operate more efficiently while providing the highest level of friendly, reliable service you expect and deserve. After all, we’re your local co-op. We were built by the members we serve.