Indianapolis, Ind. - Indiana’s rural electric cooperatives’ international project - Hoosiers Power the World – has been selected as the recipient of the 2012 Cooperator Community Service Award by the Indiana Cooperative Development Center (ICDC). The project and the volunteers who made it possible will be honored on November 9 during a luncheon at the 2012 Indiana Cooperative Summit in downtown Indianapolis.
Hoosiers Power the World is an initative supported by Indiana’s rural electric cooperatives, in partnership with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association International Foundation, to bring power to remote areas of Guatemala. In August and September 2012, 32 volunteers traveled to the northeastern area of the country, bordering Mexico, to bring electricity to three isolated villages for the very first time. The projects benefitted nearly 1,000 men, women and children who had never had access to electricity, even though they could see the lights in neighboring villages.
All 38 electric cooperatives in Indiana, along with an energy efficiency products cooperative, donated manpower, equipment and materials to build the distribution systems across the mountainous region. Total donations exceeded $500,000.
“This is one of the largest international endeavors undertaken by electric cooperatives in Indiana---and across the country,” said Gayvin Strantz, Hoosiers Power the World Project Engineer and Manager of Job Training and Safety for the Indiana Statewide Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives. “Our team’s excitement increased even more, when we learned that the municipal utility they would we working with in Hoja Blanca would form the first-ever rural electric cooperative in Guatemala. Indiana led the nation in rural electrification in the 1930s, so this is a full circle moment for all of us.”
Project volunteers and the electric cooperative they represent are noted below:
- Bobby Waddle: Bartholomew County REMC (Columbus)
- Randy Price, Brandon Foutch, Matthew Kent, and Gary Kirk: Carroll White REMC (Monticello/Delphi)
- Jerry Applegate: Clark County REMC (Sellersburg)
- Gayvin Strantz and Terry Adkins: Indiana Statewide Association (Indpls.)
- Craig Smart: Jasper County REMC (Rensselaer)
- Dennis Weiss: Kankakee Valley REMC (Wanatah)
- Kelly Neace and Jeff Moore: Kosciusko REMC (Warsaw)
- Chris Mynhier and Troy Sams: LaGrange County REMC (LaGrange)
- Rob Schwartz: Miami-Cass REMC (Peru)
- Todd Myers: Northeastern REMC (Columbia City)
- Carl Sneed and Chris Wesner: Orange County REMC (Orleans)
- Warren Shuppert, Larry Herbert and Tim Smith: RushShelby Energy (Manilla)
- Stephen Campbell, Troy Fisher, and Chad Griffin: South Central Indiana REMC (Martinsville)
- Rob Hunger: Southeastern Indiana REMC (Osgood)
- Matt Lowe, Jeff Morrison and Robert Palmer: Tipmont REMC (Linden/Battle Ground)
- Jordan Clark, Ross Egenolf and Jeremy Feltner: Utilities District of Western Indiana REMC (Bloomfield)
- Felix Vanner: United REMC (Markle)
The Cooperator Community Service Award annually recognizes cooperators who have gone above and beyond to enrich their communities. The individuals or projects selected for this honor exemplify the cooperative spirit through their character and community involvement, leadership and service.
Accepting the award will be Randy Price, CEO of Carroll White REMC in Monticello and Dennis Weiss, CEO of Kankakee Valley REMC in Wanatah. Both Price and Weiss traveled to Guatemala as volunteers on the international electrification project.
Hoosiers Power the World is the subject of a documentary – “Power to the People” – being produced by WFYI Channel 20 set to premiere on PBS in Indiana and select markets across the country in early 2013. The 60-minute program will feature the volunteers and their families as they prepared for the trip, their incredible cooperative spirit and the spiritual journey to bring power to the people of Guatemala.
ICDC annually hosts the Indiana Cooperative Summit bringing together co-op members and leaders from across the many sectors of cooperative enterprise. In just a single day, attendees get ideas that will help to grow their co-op throughout the year. Additional details are available at www.indianasummit.coop.
The Indiana Statewide Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives, based in Indianapolis, represents 39 electric cooperatives that serve more than 850,000 Hoosiers in 89 of the state’s 92 counties. For more information on Indiana Statewide and its members and staff, visit www.isa.coop.
The Indiana Cooperative Development Center (ICDC) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that promotes cooperatives as a vibrant model to address the economic and social needs of Indiana’s communities. ICDC provides assistance to a wide variety of cooperatives including food, agricultural, arts and crafts, child care, energy, and housing with start-up, management, and other technical assistance.