Electric Co-op Today

LAS VEGAS—Sam Houston Electric Cooperative’s efforts to update more than 51,000 consumer-members following a hurricane that wiped out its entire electrical distribution system have earned the 2009 Edgar F. Chesnutt Award.

Keith Stapleton accepts the 2009 Edgar F. Chesnutt Award from Karen Combs, president of the Council of Rural Electric Communications (Photo By: Michael W. Kahn)

The award, for the best total co-op communications program, was presented at the Connect 2009 Conference & Expo, May 12, on behalf of the Council of Rural Electric Communicators and NRECA.

The Livingston, Texas-based co-op’s plan was activated following Hurricane Ike’s strike on Sept. 13, 2008. The storm displaced the majority of the co-op’s members, heightening the need for regularly disseminating information about service restoration. Sam Houston EC accordingly employed both traditional and non-traditional means of communication, including print media, television, local and regional radio stations and a “Storm Central” Web site.

One of the competition’s judges said that the co-op’s plan combined “all the elements of an outstanding strategic communications plan and crisis communications plan.”

The co-op became a key player in creating a dynamic communications network that included law enforcement, emergency personnel and community leaders who met to share vital information, “further demonstrating the cooperative spirit at work,” the council said.

Accepting the award, Keith Stapleton, the co-op’s chief communications officer, praised staff members who worked on the plan’s design and the board and CEO that supported it.

Edgar F. Chesnutt, for whom the award is named, was the manager of corporate communications with Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Little Rock, from 1961 until his death in 1987.

More than 700 entries were submitted in this year’s Spotlight on Excellence competition.

Tags: CONNECT, Hurricanes, Recovery