Kentucky Electric Cooperatives honors the memory and service of President Jimmy Carter, who died on December 29 at the age of 100.
President Carter, who took office in 1977 amid major energy challenges in the United States, was a consistent supporter of rural development, including advocating for low-cost financing of electric and telephone services to rural areas through the Rural Electrification Administration and the co-ops that provide those services.
On the South Lawn of the White House in 1978, President Carter addressed Washington Youth Tour students representing electric cooperatives in 24 states, including Kentucky.
“I grew up on a farm, until I was 14 years old, that didn’t have electricity, and our whole family was constrained very closely to a very narrow part of Georgia,” Carter told the students. “And because of the heavy labor requirements we did not have much flexibility as far as expanding our minds or expanding our hearts or our influence or our interests beyond the farm itself.”
When cooperatives began to electrify rural America in the late 1930’s, Sumter Electric Membership Corporation brought electric service to the Carter family farm in Georgia.
“My father, who was just a farmer, became a director in the local REA chapter,” President Carter told the students. “This gave him an opportunity to participate in government. And he would go to the national conventions—once, I remember, he went to Chicago—and he would come up here to Washington as an outspoken farmer to argue for the protection and the expansion of the Rural Electric program.
“Our life changed. Our horizons broadened. Later, my father became a member of the Sumter school board, Sumter County school board; later ran for the State legislature. And as a result of that, I got interested in politics and served on the school board, and then ran for the Georgia Senate, and then ran for Governor, and then ran for President. So, you might say that had it not been for the REA program, I would not be President. So I’m thankful for it, along with you.”
As president, Jimmy Carter continued to support electric cooperatives and encouraged a diverse energy mix to meet increasing energy demand, including the responsible use of coal.
Kentucky’s electric cooperatives fondly remember President Carter for his unwavering support of rural America and his dedication to advancing the mission of electric cooperatives. His leadership has helped illuminate communities, bringing power and progress to the heart of our nation.
