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Randy Fordice, Great River Energy, Maple Grove, Minn., accepts the Chesnutt Award from Karen Combs, Jackson Energy Cooperative, McKee, Ky., and president of the Council of Rural Electric Communicators.
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PORTLAND, ORE., May 14, 2008 – Great River Energy, headquartered in Maple Grove, Minn., received the Edgar F. Chesnutt Award for Best Total Communication Program, the highest honor bestowed through the Spotlight on Excellence Awards program. Great River Energy was recognized today during Connect 2008, a national communication, marketing and member services conference convened by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and Touchstone Energy® Cooperatives.
Randy Fordice, Great River Energy’s project communications specialist, accepted the Chesnutt Award from Karen Combs, president of the Council of Rural Electric Communicators, which established and oversees the Spotlight on Excellence Awards. Combs cited Great River Energy’s success in informing more than 70,000 landowners and other stakeholders of the need for new generation and transmission infrastructure, a project called CapX 2020. Great River Energy provides wholesale electricity to more than 1.7 million people via 28 electric distribution cooperatives in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Great River Energy partnered with 10 utilities in the region on CapX 2020.
Judges for the 2008 round of Spotlight on Excellence said, "From a research, planning, execution and evaluation perspective, this is the strongest entry in the competition.”
One judge on the panel noted the effort’s complexity, saying “This project is a huge undertaking, and the organization is well poised to realize the benefits of its communication investment.” Summarizing, the judges said, “The measurement component is well designed even though the results are far off in the future. This is the textbook example of how to design and conduct a communication program. Simply outstanding.”
In order to meet the energy needs of its distribution members, which include some of the nation’s fastest-growing electric co-ops, Great River Energy helped launch CapX 2020 – a project to build a transmission system to meet load growth and carry wind energy captured within the state and surrounding region. Great River Energy and the other CapX 2020 utilities knew that communication with its member-utilities and their consumers, opinion leaders, and the news media was crucial to inform and educate people about the benefits of the project.
“Our mission is to provide our 28 member cooperatives with ‘reliable, competitively priced energy in harmony with a sustainable environment,’” said Fordice. “We wanted everyone concerned to know that the project would honor this commitment.”
As an early step, Great River Energy conducted phone surveys to gauge public attitudes toward new transmission lines. The results showed projects would likely be well received if local governments and the public could provide significant input. In response, the communication team developed a comprehensive plan that incorporated tools that each of the other 10 utilities involved could use to reach out to all stakeholders, including tens of thousands of landowners living along project corridors. The plan included briefings for elected officials, media updates, a comprehensive Web site and more than a dozen fact sheets.
All major newspapers in Minnesota and several in surrounding states covered the project. Exhibits at events attended by affected landowners helped educate people about the needs for the project. Additionally, 25 open houses were held in September 2007, attracting nearly 3,000 attendees. These events were designed to answer questions and provide preliminary information about the project.
While the permitting phase of the project will take several years to complete, the initial communication effort was successful. Participating utilities provided direct information to county boards, and elected officials submitted resolutions of support to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. Comments submitted at open houses, through the Web site and on a toll-free phone line reflected positive feelings about the huge public outreach effort.
Great River Energy and Fordice also were recognized at a special Spotlight on Excellence Luncheon today, during which other electric cooperatives and communicators from across the country received honors for their work in all aspects of the communication field. More than 900 entries were submitted in this year’s Spotlight on Excellence competition and were judged by faculty members of the University of Missouri-Columbia, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of Southern Mississippi.
Edgar F. Chesnutt, for whom the award is named, was the manager of corporate communication with Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Little Rock, from 1961 until his death in 1987. He chronicled the first five years of Arkansas’ rural electric history, which was published in the “Arkansas Historical Quarterly” in 1987. He also wrote a handbook on public relations, "Getting in Step," which co-ops still use today and is required reading in preparing for the Certified Cooperative Communicator program.
More than 500 electric co-op professionals in marketing, member services and communication are attending the Connect 2008 Conference, May 12-15, which offers exhibits, workshops, seminars and other educational presentations pertaining to the electric utility industry and the cooperative sector. NRECA is the national service organization representing the nation’s more than 900 consumer-owned electric cooperatives, which provide electric service to 40 million people in 47 states. Touchstone Energy is a national alliance of local, consumer-owned electric cooperatives providing high standards of service to customers large and small. Touchstone Energy Cooperatives serve their members with integrity, accountability, innovation and a long-standing commitment to community.
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