Central Rural Electric Cooperative is toasting 2025 because it is officially the year of cooperatives! The United Nations has declared this year as the International Year of Cooperatives. 

From electric cooperatives and local credit unions to agricultural co-ops feeding the world, the International Year of Cooperatives is a year-long celebration that recognizes the unique way cooperatives empower members and invest in local communities. This year aims to highlight the strengths of the cooperative business model. 

As an electric cooperative, Central is a part of this global movement that brings power, not just electricity, to people and communities. 

The Power of Cooperatives

When people work together toward a common goal, something extraordinary happens. Challenges become opportunities, communities grow stronger and residents thrive. 

For decades, electric cooperatives have illuminated rural lives, bringing power and opportunity to communities once overlooked by investor-owned utilities. 

That’s exactly how Central’s members first received electricity. In the early 1930s, 10 farmers saw the importance of access to electricity in rural areas and began knocking on doors. Those men laid the groundwork for the original 141 homes and farms that were powered by Central. 

The work they did set the foundation for today, helping Central serve more than 18,000 members in seven counties.

From farmers banding together to bring light to their local communities, to cooperatives bridging the digital divide through fiber to members, cooperatives have always been at the forefront of progress. 

The Power of Membership

Unlike a typical business model, cooperatives exist to serve members, not generate profits. This business model puts the decision-making power directly in members’ hands.

Members have the opportunity to run or elect their trustees and vote on bylaws that govern how the cooperative operates. These opportunities directly put power in the members’ hands. 

Membership in a cooperative is about shared success. When

co-ops thrive, communities thrive. In a world where corporations often treat people as a number, cooperatives prove that membership has power. Empowering members and communities ensures that success is something shared by all members. 

The best way to celebrate the International Year of Cooperatives is by being active in your cooperative. When you attend Central’s member meetings or vote on trustees and bylaws, you are putting the cooperative power in your hands.