An update from CEO, Hunter Robinson
Each October since 1964, cooperatives across the nation celebrate National Cooperative Month. It’s an opportunity to celebrate our heritage and unique collaborative spirit that are at the heart of our origin. If you were to read through the birth stories of individual cooperatives, you would begin to notice a theme: diversity, equity and inclusion.
Cooperatives are filled with diverse people from all walks of life who come together to unite for a common purpose. Typically, the purpose is to solve a problem for themselves and those around them. Time and time again, people have found they can do more together than they can alone.
That’s exactly the thought behind the Ocean Spray Cooperative. Their story begins in 1930 when three independent cranberry growers found the key to expanding the fruit’s success: a single cranberry-growing family! Today, the cooperative includes more than 700 grower families across North and South America.
Ocean Spray isn’t the only well-known cooperative. Since 1921, Land O’Lakes has returned $187 million to its members, which is now at 3,444 across the world. The fact that each of these members have a fair and equal representation is one of the seven cooperative principles upon which all cooperatives are founded.
And that’s not all! Cooperatives are everywhere you look! Ace Hardware, the Associated Press, Sunkist, Welch’s and Whole Foods are a few other nationally-known brands that can attribute their foundation to the cooperative model. They stand for diversity, equity and inclusion. Not only for their members, but also for their employees and customers.
Isn’t it comforting to know that your electric provider operates under the same set of principles? Just as these companies continue to assess the market and create new products, Central strives to do the same.
We have evolved with our members and focused on engaging with the communities within our service area so we can begin to understand the varying challenges and opportunities for each. One challenge we have heard from members is the lack of high-speed internet access. We are excited about the opportunities fiber to the home from Centranet will provide to you.
Know that as we expand our services and venture into a new path together, we will do so with the same commitment to service and to helping the greater good that we were founded on.
