Annual Meeting
English Calls for Co-op Army to Act
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Other speakers emphasized the need for quick action. Jack F. Wolfe Jr., the outgoing NRECA board president, urged attendees to send e-mail messages and postcards to their representatives in Congress from the lobby of the convention center and follow up as soon as they returned home.
The parade of flags provides a colorful kickoff to the meeting. (Photo By: Luis Gomez)
“Our accomplishments have been significant. But while 1.6 million postcards and letters have gone out, there are more than 42 million members out there that Congress has not heard from. Congress needs to hear from all of them, so there is work to be done,” Wolfe said.
Barry Hart, executive vice president and CEO of the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives, issued a call to action after he accepted the Paul Revere Award on behalf of the statewide for its leadership in the Our Energy, Our Future campaign, an effort he said is paying off.
After about 500,000 e-mails and other communications from Missouri hit Capitol Hill, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and nine senators signed a letter to the Senate leadership, expressing concern about job losses and affordable electricity for low- to moderate-income consumers, who often are co-op members.
“If you go back home and get your members to join the army, we have a fighting chance to preserve what you love in your electric cooperative,” Hart said.
Delegates to the annual business meeting also reiterated the importance of having co-ops play an active role in the climate change debate by adding to a resolution adopted in 2007. The amended resolution urges a title for nuclear energy in any climate change bill, with incentives for co-ops similar to those provided for IOUs.
Another resolution directs NRECA to engage with federal and state agencies and other organizations to identify ways to tap into the $787 billion federal stimulus package that benefit co-ops and potentially offset increased costs associated with other legislation.
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Tags: Annual Meeting, Cap and Trade, Climate Change Legislation, Grassroots, Our Energy Our Future