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Show Garkane Will Note Cooperative Month Garkane Power Association, Inc., one of the nation's 1,000 rural systems, will celebrate Cooperative Month during October along with America's 40,000 cooperatives. This year, 1985 marks the 21st national observance of Cooperative Month highlighted by the theme, "Building A Better America." "Cooperatives of every kind have proven over and over again that their way of conducting business is both efficient and economical," said Glen P. Willardson, manager of Garkane Power Association. "The cooperative is owned and operated by the people it serves," he explained. "Each member has a vote and is eligible to serve on a co-op's board elected by the co-op's consumer-owners at their annual meeting," he added. This year is particularly meaningful to rural electric operatives because May 11 marked the 50th anniversary of the Rural Electrification Administration, created by an executive order of President Franklin Roosevelt in 1935 to help bring electricity to the nation's farms and rural areas. "Rural electric cooperatives have been, and still are today, one of America's greatest success stories," Willardson said. "The rural electric program is one of people working together to fulfill a common need, to better their way of life and improve their communities. We're proud of our history and achievements which benefit both rural areas and the entire nation," he continued. Twenty-five million people in 46 states receive electricity from rural electric systems. Since 1961 rural electric leaders have helped start and expand more than 20,500 new . commerical, industrial and community facility projects, producing nearly a million new jobs. "Even though many consumer-members are too young to remember the hardships and struggles of rural electric pioneers in establishing cooperatives, the cooperative spirit and pride still prevail in second and third-generation rural electric consumers," Willardson said. "Today's challenges are of a different nature: new technologies, environmental concern, power supply and costs. But rural electric leaders and consumers know their cooperatives are a vital part of a changing rural community and their contributions are important to the entire nation," he explained. Garkane Power Association serves 5,315 consumers in seven counties in south-central Utah and two counties in northern Arizona. |
