Rural Missouri - November 2021 - 5

MISSOURI
RURAL
Volume 74 | NOVEMBER 2021 | Number 11
EDITORIAL STAFF:
Jim McCarty, editor
jmccarty@ruralmissouri.coop
Paul Newton, managing editor
pnewton@ruralmissouri.coop
Heather Berry, associate editor
hberry@ruralmissouri.coop
Megan Backes, creative director
mbackes@ruralmissouri.coop
Zach Smith, field editor
zsmith@ruralmissouri.coop
Angie Jones-Wheeler, designer
ajones@ruralmissouri.coop
ADVERTISING:
Mary Davis, production manager
mdavis@ruralmissouri.coop
Editorial:
Rural Missouri
2722 E. McCarty St., Jefferson City, MO 65101
573-659-3423 info@ruralmissouri.coop
Advertising:
mdavis@ruralmissouri.coop
573-659-3400
National Advertising Representative:
American MainStreet Publications;
611 S. Congress St., Suite 504; Austin, TX 78704
573-659-3400
Postmasters: Send address changes to Rural Missouri,
2722 E. McCarty St., Jefferson City, MO
. ubscribers eport change of address to
your local cooperative. Do not send change of address
to Rural Missouri.
Advertising standards: Advertising published in
Rural Missouri is accepted on the premise that
the merchandise and services offered are accurately
described and sold to customers at the advertised
price. Rural Missouri and Missouri's electric
cooperatives do not endorse any products or
services advertised herein. Advertising that does
not conform to these standards or that is deceptive
or misleading is never knowingly accepted by
this publication. The acceptance of all advertising
shall be in the sole discretion of the editor.
Rural Missouri I -  
is published monthly by the Association
of Missouri Electric Cooperatives, 2722 E.
carty treet, efferson ity,  , aleb
Jones, CEO/executive vice president. Individual
subscription rate  per year or  for three
years, taxes and postage included. Group rate for
members of participating RECs $2.22, plus taxes
and postage, paid from equity accruing to the
member. elivery as specified by subscriber. If not
specified, delivery will be by periodical class mail
at subscriber's expense. Periodical Class postage
paid at Jefferson City, MO, and additional mailing
offices. opyright , Association of issouri
Electric Cooperatives. Call for reprint rights.
Circulation of this issue: 577,016
RM | PERSPECTIVES
More than lights - it's life
by Caleb Jones
cjones@amec.coop
W
e had quite the situation
at our house this past
weekend. Max and Charlie's
Aunt Hali and Uncle
Wes were in town for a Mizzou game.
When we got back to the house, they
convinced Max, 8, to watch a Halloween
horror movie. Not surprisingly,
my daughter, Charlie, who is 6, was
smarter and watched a comedy with
me downstairs. You can imagine who
ended up in our bedroom at 3 a.m.
I've never understood why people
pay good money to get scared watching
a horror flick. The scariest of them
all pales in comparison to the most
frightening thing I've experienced.
That was the moment when a nurse
handed me a 9-pound bundle of joy
we named Max. As that door closed
behind her, I realied for the first time
ever my wife, Lindsey, and I were now
responsible for another human being.
The  minutes I spent trying to
adjust that dang car seat to make
sure it was perfectly installed was a
delay tactic because I knew once we
got Max in it we were on our own.
I thought it would get easier with
our second child. ope. The minute
she was placed in my hands the beads
of sweat popped out on my forehead.
The good ord could have at least left
me an owners manual.
I'm sure every parent has experienced
the crushing feeling of responsibility
that comes with the birth of a
child. It doesn't end there. Some of us
have had to take care of elderly parents,
making decisions that are literally
life and death.
I've talked to electric co-op managers
who feel the same weight of responsibility
for their members.
They are responsible for keeping
your heat on during a snowstorm or
even making sure the venison or side
of beef in the freezer you count on to
feed your family doesn't spoil. The oygen
machine or kidney dialysis some
depend on won't work without electricity.
These situations are on your
manager's mind as they make plans
The scariest thing I've ever experienced was
when little a was first placed in my arms.
and decisions to ensure you will have
electricity.
There are plans in place for every
imaginable crisis that could knock out
a power plant or bring down a substation.
These plans weren't drawn
up with an tch A ketch. They were
crafted with the knowledge that reliable
electricity is more than just lights
- it's life.
Normally those crisis plans gather
dust. But this past February, a storm
tested this reliability like never before.
Across the country, electricity was
shut off to homes and businesses.
People lost their lives. I am proud
that through all of this, your Missouri
Electric Cooperatives pulled their crisis
plans off the shelf and kept your
lights on and electricity flowing
My good friend, Robert Bryce, wrote
about what went wrong in Teas
where the same winter storm brought
down the power grid. He agreed to let
us reprint that article in this issue of
Rural Missouri. It's a cautionary tale
of what would happen without the cooperative
commitment to reliability we
have in Missouri.
Caleb is the executive vice president
and CEO of the Association of Missouri
Electric Cooperatives and a member of
Boone Electric Cooperative.
NOVEMBER 2021 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP 5

http://www.facebook.com/RuralMissouri http://www.youtube.com/RuralMOmag http://www.pinterest.com/ruralmissouri http://www.RURALMISSOURI.COOP

Rural Missouri - November 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - November 2021