More Than a Customer: What It Means to Be a KV REMC Member-Owner

If your electricity comes from Kankakee Valley REMC, you are more than a customer—you are a member-owner of your electric cooperative.

That distinction matters.

As a KV REMC member-owner, you have a voice in your cooperative. You can vote in board elections, participate in annual meetings, ask questions, and help shape the future of the organization that provides electricity to your home, farm, or business.

Electric cooperatives like ours are guided by the Seven Cooperative Principles—values centered on democratic participation, responsible stewardship, education, cooperation, and concern for community. You can also read more about these principles from America’s Electric Cooperatives.

As I’ve learned more about our cooperative and the responsibility of serving on its board, these principles have helped shape how I think about leadership. I believe KV REMC is strongest when member-owners understand how their cooperative works, participate in its decisions, and know their voices matter.

Here’s what the Seven Cooperative Principles mean to me as a fellow KV REMC member-owner and candidate for the board.

1. Voluntary and Open Membership

Cooperatives are open to people who can use their services and are willing to accept the responsibilities of membership.

To me, this principle is a reminder that our cooperative exists to serve its members. Every member-owner should feel that they belong, that their experiences matter, and that their questions and concerns deserve to be heard.

2. Democratic Member Control

One of the most important differences between a cooperative and a traditional utility is that cooperatives are democratically controlled by their members. KV REMC member-owners elect representatives to serve on the board, and those representatives are accountable to the membership.

This principle is one of the reasons I decided to run for the KV REMC Board.

Board elections are not just a formality. They are one of the most direct ways we, as member-owners, can help shape the future of our cooperative.

I believe board members should listen, ask thoughtful questions, communicate openly, and always remember who they represent: the member-owners.

3. Members’ Economic Participation

As member-owners, we all have an economic stake in the strength and success of our cooperative.

Electricity is a significant household expense, and decisions about rates, investments, infrastructure, and long-term planning affect all of us. Those decisions deserve careful attention, responsible stewardship, and clear communication with members.

As a board member, I would bring honest questions and a willingness to learn so that I can better understand the decisions affecting our cooperative and the families, farms, and businesses it serves.

4. Autonomy and Independence

Cooperatives are independent organizations controlled by their members. They may work with other organizations, lenders, government agencies, and industry partners, but those relationships should preserve the cooperative’s democratic control.

To me, this principle is about remembering who the cooperative ultimately serves.

Partnerships and outside expertise can be valuable, but the needs and interests of KV REMC member-owners should remain at the center of decision-making.

5. Education, Training, and Information

This is one of the cooperative principles that speaks most strongly to me.

I’ve always believed in the power of curiosity, education, and asking questions. The energy world is changing, and issues involving costs, technology, reliability, and the future of our electric grid can be complicated.

That makes education and clear information even more important.

Board members should be willing to keep learning. Member-owners should also have access to clear, understandable information about the decisions affecting their cooperative and their electric bills.

Knowledge helps us ask better questions. Better questions help us make better decisions.

6. Cooperation Among Cooperatives

Cooperatives become stronger by working together and learning from one another.

No community has to solve every challenge alone. Electric cooperatives across the country are exploring different ways to address affordability, reliability, new technologies, changing energy needs, and member engagement.

I believe there is value in learning from what other cooperatives and communities are doing well, while always asking an important question: What makes sense for the people we serve here at home?

7. Concern for Community

This principle feels especially personal to me.

I have spent much of my life working alongside others through the arts, nonprofit leadership, education, environmental stewardship, and community service. Those experiences have taught me that strong communities are built by people who show up, listen to one another, ask questions, and work together.

Our electric cooperative is an important part of our community. The decisions it makes affect local families, farms, small businesses, and the future of the places we call home.

I believe concern for community means listening to the people who live here and keeping their everyday experiences in mind when making decisions about the future.

Our Cooperative Is Ours

The Seven Cooperative Principles are more than words on a page. They are a reminder of what makes a cooperative different.

We are not simply customers. We are member-owners.

That gives us both an opportunity and a responsibility.

We can learn more about our cooperative. We can ask questions. We can attend meetings. We can vote. We can share our experiences, concerns, and ideas.

And we should expect our elected representatives to listen.

That is the spirit I hope to bring to the KV REMC Board: curiosity, thoughtful questions, transparency, responsible leadership, and a commitment to representing everyday member-owners.

 Learn more about the Seven Cooperative Principles: Learn more from America's Electric Cooperatives