Cooperative members hanging together
Benjamin Franklin put it eloquently during those trying times when
America’s forefathers were struggling for freedom and independence.
He understood how risky and perilous trying to overthrow an established
ruling order would be. Therefore, he offered these words of caution
for his associates. “We must all hang together, or, most assuredly,
we shall all hang separately.”
Franklin understood the value of “hanging together” and
cooperating. It was the value he saw when he organized the first
cooperative in the country, the Philadelphia Contributorship for
the Insurance of Homes from Loss of Fire. Today, more than 39 million
Americans enjoy the same values as members of electric cooperatives.
Electric cooperatives were established to provide electricity to
people living in rural communities. The idea of providing federal
assistance to accomplish rural electrification took shape when President
Roosevelt took office in 1933 and began his New Deal programs. After
President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Rural Electrification
Administration (REA) in 1935, electric cooperatives began to spread
across the country. A year later, the passage of the REA Act marked
the first steps in a public-private partnership.
Currently, there are more than 900 electric cooperatives in the
United State – and in Kentucky 26 electric cooperatives serve
over a million and a half Kentucky residents from Hickman to Grayson.
Electric cooperatives are different from other forms of business,
and members of cooperatives notice this difference. Cooperatives
put members first because the members are the owners. Co-ops are
locally owned and operated and are committed to providing safe,
reliable power at the lowest possible cost.
This October, Kentucky's Touchstone Energy Cooperatives are joining
all types of cooperatives across the country to celebrate National
Cooperative Month. Cooperatives are about neighbors helping neighbors.
“Hanging together”—that's the cooperative difference.
To learn more about cooperative businesses and Cooperative Month
go to the CoopMonth.coop.
Kentucky Association of
Electric Cooperatives, Inc.
4515 Bishop Lane * Louisville, KY 40218
502-451-2430 * FAX: 502-459-3209 Terms of Use
