Wireside Chat

Cooperatives are guided by a set of seven principles that help shape their actions and policies. In this solo episode of the podcast, host Nathan Grimm details those seven cooperative principles and how they relate to Southwestern Electric and its members.

For the third consecutive year, Southwestern Electric Cooperative sent a few select high school-aged members to Springfield, Illinois for the Illinois Electric and Telephone Cooperatives Youth Day. Southwestern Executive Assistant Brooke Scott served as the chaperone for the trip this year, and she joined the podcast to discuss the experience.

On September 26, 2024, Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Gulf Coast and quickly made its way across the Southeastern United States. In total, seven states felt the effects of Helene and another 17 states provided mutual assistance to those affected. Among those affected was Satilla Rural Electric Membership Corporation, an Alma, Georgia-based electric cooperative that's one of the biggest east of the Mississippi River. Satilla manages more than 7,000 miles of power lines in serving more than 59,000 members across nine Georgia counties. And in Helene's wake, nearly all of those 59,000 members were without power. When Satilla needed help getting back on its feet, Southwestern Electric was among those ready to answer the call. In the weeks that followed, two separate Southwestern crews comprised of 12 different SWECI employees made the trek to southern Georgia to aid in the recovery efforts. Dustin Kemp, a journeyman lineman with Southwestern Electric, was one of those men who traveled to Alma to help get the lights back on, and he graciously joined the podcast this month to discuss the experience.

In March, Southwestern Electric will switch over its software platform provider, a change that means members will have a new account management system as well. Vice President of Information Technology Glenn Williams joins this month's episode to talk about the system, SmartHub, and what members can expect with regards to the change.

As a new presidential administration prepares to take office, the electric cooperative industry is focused on how the new regime might approach the burdensome regulations that are poised to threaten reliability as early as this winter. Host Nathan Grimm discusses both the national concern about reliability and how even locally leaders are expressing worry about the future. The letter from NRECA CEO Jim Matheson to President-Elect Donald Trump's Transition Team can be found here.

In what's becoming an annual podcast tradition, Southwestern Electric employees give reasons why they're thankful in 2024.

Every year, the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives (AIEC) puts on a Lineworkers' Safety Rodeo for lineworkers to get together, share trade secrets and compete — safely, as the name suggests — in a variety of events. Hear from CEO Bobby Williams and the team of linemen that represented Southwestern Electric in this month's episode.

On Sept. 7, 2024, Southwestern Electric Cooperative held its 86th Annual Meeting of Members at the American Farm Heritage Museum in Greenville. In this month's podcast, hear the addresses from CEO Bobby Williams and Board President Jerry Gaffner in their entirety.

Southwestern Electric recently held its second annual Safety Day event for employees and their families. Among those who volunteered to come out for the event was Southwestern's own Purchasing Agent Tracy Kuttin-Ferguson, one of the volunteers that makes up the St. Clair Special Emergency Services Association. Tracy took time to join the podcast to discuss her beginnings with the group and her passion for the search-and-rescue operation.

Southwestern Electric Vice President of Member Services Susan File returns to the podcast to discuss the upcoming 86th Annual Meeting of Members. Topics include this year's venue, the uniqueness of this year's board of directors election and what members can expect from this year's meeting.

May is National Electrical Safety Month. With that in mind, Southwestern Electric Maintenance Foreman Kyle Hails joined the podcast to discuss the live line demonstration he helps put on — why it's important, what he hopes to get across and what part of the presentation is his favorite, among other topics.

It's rare that someone knows what they want to do from a young age — and even rarer if they go on to live out that dream. That's what 2023 Power for Progress scholarship recipient Carter Bain did, though, recently graduating from the distribution line work program at Lincoln Land Community College with the goal of becoming a lineworker. Hear Carter's story in this month's episode.

The more things change, the more libraries do, too — which, to be clear, is a good thing. In advance of National Library Week, this month's episode looks at the ways in which libraries are changing with a changing world, while also remaining constant in their usefulness to the local community.

When the weather gets cold, like it did in mid-January, everything is affected — including electric vehicles. Southwestern Electric Energy Manager Julie Lowe discusses her experience driving the cooperative's Tesla Model 3 during the drastically low temperatures, as well as her view of the EV market in general, in this month's podcast.

The new year is a time to both reflect on the year that was and project ahead to the year to come. Southwestern Electric CEO Bobby Williams joins the podcast to discuss some recent topics as well as what's on the horizon for the cooperative.

CEO programs in our local communities are helping broaden the horizons for high school students. Facilitators from two area CEO programs, Erin Niebrugge of the Fayette County CEO program and Amanda Dussold of the Bond County CEO program, join the show to discuss the goals of the program, their roles within it and what kind of students are good candidates for the program.

Southwestern Electric employees gave reasons why they were thankful in 2022, and we liked the idea enough that we're doing it again in 2023.

Capital credits. It's a difficult concept to understand for the uninitiated, and even more confusing when a cooperative makes changes to the way they return them to members — as Southwestern Electric is preparing to do after the new year. Fortunately, Billing Manager Veronica Forbis is well versed in the topic, and she joined the podcast to explain capital credits and what the new policy means for Southwestern members.

On Sept. 9, 2023, Southwestern Electric Cooperative held its 85th Annual Meeting of Members outside the Vandalia Statehouse. In this month's podcast, hear the addresses from CEO Bobby Williams and Board President Ann Schwarm in their entirety.

It's that time again — the 85th Annual Meeting of Members is next month. This year, we're holding the event outside the historic Vandalia Statehouse in Fayette County. SWECI Vice President of Member Services Susan File makes a return appearance on the podcast to detail the day's events, what's new, what's familiar, and everything you need to know about this year's annual meeting.

A few months ago, we told you about the six local high school students who attended the Illinois Electric and Telephone Cooperatives Youth Day in Springfield, Illinois. In conjunction with that event, two of those area students were chosen to attend the NRECA Electric Cooperative Youth Tour in Washington, D.C. Those students, South Central High School's Boston Hails and Highland High School's Kylie Ketcham, joined host Nathan Grimm to discuss the trip and their big takeaways from the whirlwind few days in the nation's capital.

Cooperatives like Southwestern Electric are guided by seven cooperative principles. That doesn't mean such pillars are limited to cooperatives, though. In this month's episode, we explore the seventh cooperative principle, concern for community, through the lens of Southwestern Electric's partnership with Anderson Healthcare at the system's new Goshen Campus development.

When an outage occurs, it takes a village — our Southwestern Electric village, specifically — to get your lights back on. Southwestern Chief Operating Officer Marvin Ayala joins the podcast to detail all the moving parts that set in motion when an outage strikes, and how each of them contributes to the larger goal of restoring power as quick and safely as possible.

Southwestern Electric Cooperative recently sponsored six local high school students' participation in a Youth Day event in Springfield, Illinois. Hear more about the day — and even hear parts of the day itself, by way of audio clips from the event — in this month's episode.

DeMoulin Brothers and Company has a unique history rooted in its early manufacturing of some of the most bizarre and fascinating lodge initiation paraphernalia and regalia in the country. Equally fascinating is the DeMoulin Museum, which tells the history of the Greenville-based factory. In this episode, museum curator John Goldsmith talks about the museum's origins, its aim and how Southwestern Electric has contributed to its success through the Operation Round Up program.

For better or worse, technology has become a nearly indispensible part of our day to day lives. In this episode of the podcast, host Nathan Grimm details all the ways in which the cooperative utilizes technology to keep Southwestern Electric members informed and empowered with their electric service.

There are a lot of cool things happening in our own Southwestern Electric backyard, and Elaine McNamara is the person in the know. The director of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce and Greenville University SMART Center joins the show to discuss the origins of the SMART Center renovation, new life being breathed into the city's downtown and what's next for Greenville.

December is a time to look back at the year that was, while also looking ahead to the year to come. Media Specialist Nathan Grimm does a bit of both in this year-end wrap-up episode.

It's cliche, but so are the holidays. So, with Thanksgiving on the horizon, the November episode asks a simple question: Why are you thankful to work at an electric cooperative?

The way we communicate — as a cooperative to our members, and simply as humans to each other — has perhaps never been more important. SWECI Vice President of Communications Joe Richardson joins the podcast to talk about his job, the ways he's seen it change and how he approaches communicating complex subjects to our membership, among other topics.

Lower temperatures bring higher electric bills. Ahead of the cold winter months, SWECI Billing Manager Veronica Forbis joins the podcast to talk about her department's auto-pay feature, LIHEAP assistance, personalized billing options and more.

The 84th Annual Meeting of the Members is upon us. SWECI Vice President of Member Services Susan File joins the show to talk about all aspects of the annual meeting, including how this year's meeting will be different from those of recent years.

Solar cogeneration is increasingly popular among electric cooperative members. Southwestern Electric Energy Manager Julie Lowe joins the show to discuss cogeneration, its growing popularity, what roadblocks still exist for members and where she sees cogeneration — solar and otherwise — going in the future.

The southwestern Illinois region is, slowly, emerging from the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic. SWECI Vice President of Business Development and Marketing Andrew Jones discusses what he's seeing in the local economy, and society in general, as we head into the summer of 2022.

The power goes out. What now? Southwestern Electric CEO Bobby Williams takes us behind the scenes of an outage, including the difficult decisions and challenges that come up, and how SWECI is working to continue improving outage response mechanisms moving forward.

With gas prices soaring, more consumers may begin looking to electric vehicles as an alternative. In this episode, SWECI Energy Manager Julie Lowe discusses the state of the EV market, where it's headed and the role the cooperative is playing to promote its growth in southwestern Illinois.

Host and Southwestern Electric Media Specialist Nathan Grimm is ready to talk all things related to the southwestern Illinois electric cooperative. From outages to electric vehicles to Capital Credits and everything in between, we're delivering you, the members, the information you need to know about your service!