Cooperative Living March/April 2014 - 4

EDITORIAL by Richard G. Johnstone Jr., Executive Editor
Vol. 68, No. 4
ISSN 1529-4579
RICHARD G. JOHNSTONE JR.
Executive Editor
BILL SHERROD
Editor
LAURA J. EMERY
Field Editor
JANET ROGERS BAILEY
Production Manager
LAURIE MILLS,
Apple Eye Studio, LLC
Graphic Designer
AMANDA S. CUNNINGHAM
Advertising Sales
SUSAN C. GLISSON
Advertising Assistant
To contact magazine:
9 a.m.-5 p.m. M-F
Phone: (804) 346-3344
Or at any time:
Fax: (804) 346-3448
Email: bsherrod@odec.com
Web: www.co-opliving.com
Published by the VA, MD & DE Association
of Electric Cooperatives
OLIN S. DAVIS III
Chairman
LARRY C. HOWDYSHELL
Vice Chairman
JAMES E. HUFFMAN
Secretary
HERBERT R. PATRICK
Treasurer
JACKSON E. REASOR
President
RICHARD G. JOHNSTONE JR.
Executive Vice President
Board of Directors: R. Wayne Browning, R. Dodd Obenshain,
A&N; Michael Sandridge, Michael J. Keyser,
BARC; George N. Goin, Jr., Gary E. Wood, Central Virginia;
Olin S. Davis III, Michael I. Wheatley, Choptank;
Jeannette S. Everett, Steven A. Harmon, Community;
James E. Huffman, Shawn C. Hildebrand, Craig-Botetourt;
Patricia S. Dorey, J. William Andrew, Delaware;
Fletcher B. Jones, John C. Lee, Jr., Mecklenburg;
J. Steve Thomas, Sr., Greg W. White, Northern Neck;
J. Manley Garber, Stan C. Feuerberg, Northern Virginia;
Dale McNiel, Randell W. Meyers, Powell Valley;
Herbert R. Patrick, M Dale Bradshaw, Prince George;
Richard C. Oliver, Kent D. Farmer, Rappahannock;
Larry C. Howdyshell, Myron D. Rummel, Shenandoah
Valley; Frank W. Bacon, Jeffrey S. Edwards, Southside.
To advertise in Cooperative Living, contact:
Amanda Cunningham (804) 346-3344
National Advertising Representative: NCM
611 South Congress Ave., Suite 504
Austin, Texas 78704 * 800-626-1181
Member of the NCM network of
publications, reaching more than
8 million homes and businesses.
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COOPERATIVE LIVING (USPS 473300)
is published 10 times a year, monthly
except for combined March/April and
November/ December issues, by the Va., Md.
& Del. Association of Electric Cooperatives.
POSTMASTER, address changes should be
sent to: Cooperative Living, 4201 Dominion
Boulevard, Suite 101, Glen Allen, VA 23060,
(804) 346-3344. Periodicals Postage paid at
Glen Allen, VA, and additional mailing offices.
Subscription: $4.90 per year for members of
subscribing co-ops; $10 per year for all others.
ADVERTISING published is accepted on the
premise that the merchandise and services offered
are accurately described and willingly sold
to customers at the advertised price. Neither this
magazine nor the electric cooperatives in Virginia,
Maryland, and Delaware endorses any
products or services advertised herein. If any
readers encounter non-compliance with these
standards, they are asked to inform the Editor.
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2
FOREVER CONNECTED
Virginia's electric cooperatives are planting seeds of hope across
the state by providing modest but meaningful help to deserving
young people embarking on their educational journey beyond high school.
O
utside an office window on Richmond's
western fringes, fingers of March sunshine
persistently pull the last snowy blanket
from its earth bed. After a season of slumber, life
stirs and stands.
Crocuses and snowdrops peek out. Oak buds
expand, pushing stubborn leaves crinkly as parchment
off their branches, downward to the greening
ground. Migrating robins return, joining the home
cousins. Young squirrels and crows emerge, first
tentative, quickly raucous.
Those who venture outdoors note that yesterday's
chilled winds are today's moist breezes. Like
sluggish dawn, spring spreads across the land.
Following a winter of discontent, the natural
world is a refreshing elixir. The certainty of its
arrival - if not the exact date - is comforting in
a world where unease and uncertainty spread like
kudzu on a woody hillside.
Spring brings many joyful events to our lives, from
tilling soil to attending festivals to celebrating weddings
and graduations. For over a decade, Virginia's
13 local electric cooperatives have made graduation
day a little brighter for many deserving high school
seniors, providing them with scholarship money to
help with the cost of college or trade school.
This help is provided through a nonprofit
foundation created in 2000 to assist young people
whose parents or guardians are electric cooperative
member-consumers. Concern for community is one
of the seven core principles that guide cooperative
businesses. Helping young people in the communities
we serve is one way that Virginia's electric
cooperatives apply passion to principle.
In the context of today's high and ever-higher
education costs, the dollar amounts awarded are
modest; it's unlikely that a $500 or $1,000 scholarship
will transform a life. But the money does provide
tangible help with the daunting costs of today's
higher education, and perhaps even more importantly,
the award tells a young person that hard
work and persistence pay off, in applying for a
scholarship, and later in earning a college or trade
school degree.
To receive an award, high school seniors must
apply to the foundation by completing a questionnaire,
which is then reviewed by the foundation's
board of directors, who make scholarship decisions
based on the applicant's financial need, academic
achievement, and written personal statement.
Thanks to tax-deductible contributions from
generous cooperative member-consumers, the foundation's
ability to help deserving young people has
grown steadily; in fact, 2013 set a record both for
total scholarships (50) and total dollars awarded
($50,000). That's quite an increase from 2001, when
the first five scholarships were given out, each for
$500. In total, since 2001 more than 400 young people
have received over $300,000 to help defray some
of their costs for college or trade school.
And because the trade association that publishes
this magazine covers the modest overhead
costs of the foundation, literally every donated
dollar is used for its intended purpose: helping
deserving young people.
If you would like to help such young people on
their educational journey, please consider making
a tax-deductible gift to the electric cooperative
scholarship foundation.
Oftentimes we never see, or even know about,
the results of our good deeds. In the first half of the
20th century, a Canadian farmer and World War I
veteran named Nelson Henderson shared this
thought with his son Wesley on graduation day:
" The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under
whose shade you do not expect to sit. "
This thought resonates powerfully with anyone
who's ever cared deeply about a child, a community,
or a noble cause. Despite our selfishness and
short-sightedness, occasional cruelty and frequent
folly, we humans are also capable of great acts of
caring and sacrifice.
And whether we donate to good causes across
the globe, or across the street, we infuse our lives
with glowing meaning when we follow Nelson
Henderson's encouragement " to plant trees. "
Because, while it's unlikely we'll live to see these
trees grow to maturity, there's a sweet satisfaction in
knowing that they will shade and shelter generations
we will never know, but with whom we will
forever be connected. 
(To make a tax-deductible donation to the foundation,
please make your check payable to " VMD
Educational Scholarship Foundation " and mail it to
the foundation at: 4201 Dominion Blvd., Glen Allen,
VA 23060, Attn: Pam Johnson. You may also email
her at pjohnson@odec.com. For more information
on the foundation, please go to www.co-opliving.com
or www.vmdaec.com.)
Cooperative Living/March-April 2014
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Cooperative Living March/April 2014

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