Page 25 - ES&G report 2021 final

A servant leader shows how to serve

Rosalinda Weatherly, application analyst, received Governance
Associated’s 2020 award for community ad-
vocate of the year. The Excel award is given by
the cooperative each year to an employee who
exemplifies outstanding service to community. In Member-owned, member led for 60 years
2020 and despite COVID-19, Rosalinda:
Cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled
• Organized and led a group of people to by their members, who actively participate in set-
provide meals and feed 50-80 people living in ting policies and making decisions. Representatives • Mission: Provide an economical and reliable power
Harmony House, a domestic violence shelter. (directors/trustees) are elected among the member- supply and support services to members.
• Collected donations for Gathering Friends (a ship and are accountable to them. In distribution • Vision: Be the lowest-cost wholesale power supplier.
not-for-profit volunteer network) and Connect- cooperatives, members have equal voting rights (one • Six core values: Safety, Integrity, Member Focus,
ing Grounds (a church), which both provide member, one vote); cooperatives at other levels are Employee Value, Performance Excellence,
items to the homeless. organized in a democratic manner. Community Citizenship

• Organized donations for Sammy’s Window, Structure & oversight
providing free resources to youth in foster care.
The three-tiered system, united by the common Member-owned
purpose of serving electric cooperative members
Rosalinda Weatherly, Associated’s 2020 with reliable, affordable and responsible electricity, three tiered system
community advocate of the year award winner. brings efficiency through specialization at each tier.
The entire three-tiered system benefits from econo-
my of scale and, since each tier can react quickly to
changes, the overall competitiveness of the system is
improved.
Member-owners
Headquarters building recognized for The top tier is comprised of 51 distribution coop-
eratives in Missouri, southern Iowa and northeast
gold level LEED certification Oklahoma. These distribution cooperatives provide
electric service directly to more than 935,000 member
Associated received LEED certification for its newest meters, representing about 2.1 million people includ-
headquarters building due to special consider- ing businesses, farms, schools and households. cooperatives
Distribution
ations adopted in the construction plans, includ-
ing a ground-source heat pump, energy effi- At the second tier are the regional cooperatives that OWNERSHIP POWER FLOW
cient lighting, cool roofing, aluminum window transmit the power from Associated Electric Coopera-
frames that reduce thermal heat loss, diversion tive to the 51 distribution cooperatives. These orga-
of about 95% of waste from landfills, storm- nizations are known as generation and transmission
water design, water-efficient landscaping, cooperatives (G&Ts), and they serve six geographical Transmission cooperatives
refrigerant management, construction waste areas of Missouri, southern Iowa and northeast
management, regional material use, outdoor Oklahoma.
air deliver monitoring systems and others.
In 1961 the six G&Ts formed the system’s third tier,
Associated Electric Cooperative, which was sub-
sequently given responsibilities for generation and
power procurement, leaving transmission as the pri- Associated
mary responsibility of Associated Electric’s six owner
G&Ts.

SOCIAL 23 GOVERNANCE 24