At the heart of your local co-op is a commitment to community

By Chris Perry, KAEC President & CEO

Your co-op doesn’t just serve your community—it’s part of the community. Like you, co-op employees are consumer-members who also call this place home.

This month’s issue of Kentucky Living is truly a celebration of this special relationship and the connections we make to improve the quality of life in Kentucky.

As another school year begins, we celebrate our teachers and students and show how Kentucky’s Dual Credit Scholarship Program helps connect high school students with not only a head start on college but a savings in future tuition costs.

This month’s Future of Electricity column has been turned over to Jenny Mays, one of the 90 Kentucky high school seniors who participated in this year’s Washington Youth Tour. Mays’ family is a consumer-member of West Kentucky RECC. She wanted to express her appreciation to you and Kentucky co-ops for supporting the youth tour program, which is coordinated by the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives.

We celebrate how the Washington Youth Tour connects our co-op students with leadership and a greater appreciation of how co-ops create jobs, fuel growth, and power the lives and economies of communities across America. Congratulations to Michael Hodges, a Pennyrile Electric delegate, who was chosen as Kentucky’s representative on the national Youth Leadership Council.

I am reminded this month about the importance of sharing our stories, of taking the time to listen to our parents and grandparents, and turning away from our phones and televisions long enough to connect with one another and across the generations.

We have all heard stories about our ancestors. This issue celebrates family connections and how tracing your genealogy can unearth some fascinating roots of your family tree.

So, it is especially fitting that this issue of your magazine celebrates Kentucky’s Storyteller, Byron Crawford, to whom I had the honor of presenting the Distinguished Rural Kentuckian award last fall. I am proud to count Byron as one of our own.

Byron’s back-page columns in Kentucky Living reflect our commitment to your community and our celebration of your stories.