Cooperative Living October 2021 - 6

A Servant to His Community
PowerfulCareers | by Jim Robertson, Staff Writer
Convinced by a commitment to community,
committed to serving
J
ust a few weeks before Christmas, on a mandatory
conference call, Ryan Barrack learned that the bank he
had worked at for more than a decade was being sold.
" What does tomorrow hold for my family? " he thought.
Later, as he and his wife pulled into a retail parking lot, they
saw a truck in front of the store entrance with a trailer loaded
with bicycles. Barrack looked at his wife and said, " That would
be where you'd want to work. Look at the commitment to the
community there. " The truck belonged to Northern Neck
Electric Cooperative.
Community is important to Barrack, who has served the
Upper Lancaster Volunteer Fire Department in Lively, Va., for
18 years and as a deacon for Rappahannock Church of Christ
in Warsaw for four years. " I am there to serve the membership
in any way I can. "
CHANGING CAREER DIRECTIONS
Barrack received a job offer from the co-op in 2017 as
an information technology specialist; he's now manager of
information technology. He admits, though, " It was like
drinking from a fire hose. It took months to catch on to some
Ryan Barrack
Manager of Information Technology
Northern Neck Electric Cooperative
things; however, other things came pretty quick. The co-op was
patient and understanding, and they supported me all the way. "
Similar to serving the fire department, " you're always on, "
Barrack says. When crews respond to a power outage in
the middle of the night, or on a weekend or holiday, Barrack
must be ready to resolve technical issues with mobile devices
used in the field. Additionally, he resolves help-desk tickets,
maintains servers and ensures connectivity to the co-op
network, especially with more employees working from home
during the pandemic.
Barrack led the effort to move to a remote setting, allowing
employees to use a virtual machine from home with just
an internet connection and co-op laptop. His role became
even more interesting with new vulnerabilities to hacks and
cyberattacks. Increased security measures help keep the co-op
and members safe.
As a fourth-generation member of Northern Neck Electric
Cooperative, Barrack was well aware of its impact on the
community. " I've had multiple family members retire from here, "
he says. " One of them was 40 years and the other one was 27
years. The co-op's a big deal in our community, a big deal. " 
ThrowBack
A Most Remote Co-op
Bringing power to the islands
E
lsewhere in this issue, you'll read
about Tangier Island, a remarkable
geographic and cultural treasure
off Virginia's Eastern Shore.
Tangier Island is notable for another
reason, as well: It was where one of the
first electric cooperatives in the nation
formed without a farm or farmers.
Nearly 75 years ago, some island folk
secured a $207,000 loan to acquire a
diesel generator, and build 21 miles of
line for 413 consumers on Tangier and
neighboring Smith Island, Md. The new
entity was called Chesapeake Islands
Electric Cooperative, and its service
territory was about as rural as it gets.
4 | Cooperative Living | October 2021
For Tangier had only a couple of
stores, no automobiles or telephones,
and a single, 8-foot-wide, 1-mile road.
A DC plant that served 70 meters for five
hours a day had long since burned out.
But Henry B. Jander, Tangier town
clerk and president of the new co-op,
had bigger ideas. Credit him with
serious resourcefulness in raising local
contributions that persuaded the Rural
Electrification Administration to
issue the loan.
On Aug. 5, 1947, he transported
his Buick to the island and gave many
youngsters their first look at an automobile,
riding up and down Main Street
Editor's note:
Observing its
75th anniversary
in 2021, Cooperative
Living is revisiting
some of the stories
it has published
since its start
in 1946.
for 10 cents a trip, collecting $50 in all.
The world of electricity wasn't
without its stumbles. " Some said the
streets were now too brightly lit. One
woman complained that her electric
iron was much too hot. I myself had
become so unaccustomed to electric
appliances that I likewise burned my
fingers on the toaster, " Anne Hughes
Jander, Henry's wife, recalled.
A&N Electric Cooperative assumed
responsibility for the territory in 1968
and later ran a line to the island. But
more than a few islanders still recall the
difference Chesapeake Islands Electric
Cooperative made in their lives. 
co-opliving.com
PHOTO COURTESY NNEC
http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living October 2021

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