Rural Missouri - October 2022 - 9

by Zach Smith | zsmith@ruralmissouri.coop
I
t's not often that a session of
night school ends with a round
of applause, but on a clear
evening in southwest Missouri
that's the sound you'll likely hear
outside the offices of New-Mac
Electric Cooperative. And when,
above the ovation, a member of
the audience cheers, " Let's hear it
for New-Mac! " Mark Rakes doesn't
need to look at the evaluation
forms to know that the co-op's
program is making an impact in
its community.
" Everywhere you go you can
see that, because we work really
hard to have that rapport with
our members, " New-Mac Electric
Cooperative's manager of marketing
and consumer services says.
" It's just one thing we wanted to
give back to the people who make
up the co-op, and all of the
employees help. "
New-Mac University
was established in 2016,
when Mark and Manager of
Billing Services Josh King
were searching for a way
to keep members in touch
with the co-op. With their
own kids in college, the
pair came up with the idea
for a class with an everevolving
curriculum. Since
that time the co-op has
hosted free classes three
times a year at its offices in
Neosho and Anderson. The
educational value for members
was apparent, and the
co-op saw an opportunity
for a personal focus group
"
We want to make
sure that you know
we work for you.
That's the difference
between a co-op and
an investor-owned
utility; we don't just
treat you like you're a
number.
-Mark Rakes
"
with its members. New course ideas are shared, and
co-op staff can answer members' questions about safety,
efficiency and weather preparedness.
Course offerings over the years have included everything
from home weatherization tips to live-line training
for emergency services and first responders to demonstrations
of bucket and service trucks. This fall, New-Mac
U students received a version of the electric safety class
which Member Services Representative Zane Berner
performs at 10 area school districts. Communications
Specialist Ashlea Norman also has given attendees a
refresher course on how power is restored to members
during an outage.
" You tell 12 or 15 people, they go back and tell five
or six people apiece, and the next thing you know the
membership has a better understanding of that, " Mark
adds. " It's all about the cooperative principles: Concern
Neosho
Anderson
for Community and Education,
Training and Information. "
During the most recent course
held in August, New-Mac helped
members take control of their
electricity through energy efficiency
steps such as replacing
door and window seals, insulating
outlets and filling drafty gaps
in frames, baseboards and walls.
Zane and Ashlea also showed off
useful electric yard tools available
at area hardware stores. Co-op
staff leave no stone unturned,
telling members how much they
can expect to spend on basic
items (a 5-gallon bucket full of
simple home solutions came in
at under $100) and where to find
them.
Being a member and steward
of the community is a full-time
role for New-Mac. Although the
co-op can coordinate with local
emergency management
agencies to notify members
of outages by text message,
the employees still find
value in making personal
connections. In August,
when line maintenance
was needed in the border
town of Caverna, Mark and
his team visited with members
to determine when a
planned outage would have
the least impact on businesses.
New-Mac also coordinated
with the McDonald
County Sheriff's Office to
make sure law enforcement
was aware of the situation.
Crews returned at midnight
and completed the
job in time for the morning
rush at McDonald's. Once again, the co-op personally
followed up with the banks, hotels and stores in the area
to make sure everyone was operational. Call it extra leg
work or neighborly courtesy, but to New-Mac Electric it's
simply the right way to treat the membership.
" We want to make sure you know that we work for
you. That's the difference between a co-op and an investor-owned
utility; we don't just treat you like a number, "
Mark says to the class. " When you need
us, you're not just getting an email or a
text message; you're getting someone
from New-Mac Electric at your
door. "
For more information on NewMac
Electric Cooperative, visit
www.newmac.com.
OCTOBER 2022 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP 9
http://www.newmac.com http://www.RURALMISSOURI.COOP
Rural Missouri - October 2022

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