Electric Co-op Today

INDIAN WELLS, Calif.— In this International Year of Cooperatives, the head of an Ohio electric cooperative is being singled out for his “personal and proactive promotion of the Cooperative Principles.”

Michael Sims (at podium) accepts the J.C. Brown award from NRECA CEO Glenn English (left) and Charlie McAlpin, president of the Council of Rural Electric Communicators. (Photo By: Michael W. Kahn)

That was just one of the reasons the judges cited in selecting Michael L. Sims as winner of the 2012 J.C. Brown CEO Communication Leadership Award.

Sims, the CEO of Oxford-based Butler REC, was praised for incorporating the principles into his co-op’s local pages of Country Living magazine, as well as into materials used for Butler REC’s 75th anniversary and its ongoing capital credits education campaign.

“I appreciate the recognition. I am humbly honored,” Sims said Jan. 24 as he accepted the award from NRECA CEO Glenn English and Charlie McAlpin, president of the Council of Rural Electric Communicators, during the CEO Close-Up here.

The J.C. Brown Award is a major component of the Spotlight on Excellence Awards, a project of the Council of Rural Electric Communicators recognizing electric co-op excellence in communication and marketing.

The award’s namesake was editor and publisher of both RE Magazine and Rural Electric News Letter, the predecessor of ECT.coop. Sims called Brown a “legend in the rural electric program.”

The judges also were impressed by Sims’ efforts to make each Butler REC employee “an ambassador of information” for members.

“It’s great that the co-op’s lineworkers have what they need to explain capital credits,” one judge noted.

Sims was also honored for his efforts on behalf of Touchstone Energy®, including his tenure as president of its board of directors.

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Tags: CEO Close-Up, Co-op News, Consumer Outreach