October 2021 | Volume 83 | Issue 10
Remembering Gary Shanks
Everywhere Gary Shanks went, the room seemed to light up with laughter shortly after he entered it. He was happy to put in a hard day’s work in a boardroom or out in the middle of a field – and he fit in perfectly in either environment.
Shanks, who passed away on Friday, August 20, served for over 30 years on Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative’s Board of Directors representing the South District.
Few match his record of service to the cooperative and few have seen more changes in the business than he did.
When he wasn’t working on cooperative issues, he worked as a third generation farmer. Farming and raising cattle were two true passions from an early age, and stayed with him through every phase of life.
At home, Shanks was a loving husband, father and grandfather.
His knowledge of farming, business operations and the Kearney community were all foundational to his contributions on Platte-Clay’s board.
Shanks’ perspective was valued by other board members who often leaned on him for insights into past decisions made by the cooperative. In fact, he served with three out of the four General Managers in Platte-Clay’s history.
Gary Shanks was exuberant. His impact on the cooperative, and the warmth he showed board members and employees of the cooperative will be long remembered.
Preparation For Winter Storms Starts with Year-Round Vegetation Management
Dave Deihl, General Manager
From the General Manager
Whether we like it or not, winter is just around the corner. For your local electric cooperative, that means preparing for all of the challenges that come with a new winter storm season.
The unpredictability of snow storms and cold snaps is something Platte-Clay Electric plans for year-round through system upgrades, vegetation management and employee training. In recent years we’ve turned much of our focus and resources toward putting a plan in place to reduce outages using better vegetation management and tree trimming.
If you’re a member of the cooperative, there’s a good chance you’ve seen our crews or contractors in your area working to clear brush from around power lines. In order to access the right-of-way where power lines are located, this sometimes means going on private property. We make an effort to communicate with homeowners about when that will happen and sincerely appreciate our members’ understanding in situations where this is necessary.
These steps have been taken as an important part of our reliability improvement plan that we launched a few short years ago. The goal of the plan is simple: to keep trees from falling into power lines and creating disruptions in the lives of our members in the form of power outages.
PCEC employees use a combination of outage data and visual inspections to determine which areas are most in need of brush control. The work put into this process already this year will make a difference this winter in the form of trees causing less outages than they otherwise would if we did nothing.
Soon, the cooperative’s leadership will be determining the strategic priorities of the organization for the coming years. Reliability will once again be at the forefront of our mind as we work to plot out our next steps toward improvement as a co-op. This will mean a continued focus on diverse energy sources and smart brush control programs.
Attention Third Graders: Enter PCEC’s Co-op Month Poster Contest
During Co-op month in October, Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative is sponsoring a safety poster contest for third-graders in the communities we serve. Safety is at the forefront of everything Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative does for its consumer-members. PCEC is continually working to increase electrical safety awareness for our youngest members. Winners will be announced on our Facebook page and featured in an upcoming Northland Connection.
Submission guidelines
- Submit original artwork on 8.5 x 11 inch paper
- Poster must use the theme, “How do I stay safe around electricity?”
- Print the child’s name, phone number, school, and teacher on back of poster
- One entry per student
- Posters must be received no later than October 31, 2021
How to Submit (Three Options)
- Mail poster to: Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative P.O. Box 100 Kearney, MO 64060
- Hand-deliver to our Kearney or Platte-City office
- Scan poster and email to AmandaM@pcec.coop
Prizes
The top five winners will receive a prize. Three (3) teachers will also win a $100 gift card for their classroom!
New Energy Usage Tool Coming in November
A new online tool will be available starting in November that will allow PCEC consumer-members to monitor their energy usage and demand billing at the click of a button.
The tool has been in development for over two years and will provide members with more information than ever before about how they are using energy in their homes. The portal, which will be launched in mid- November, will also offer members tips on how to reduce their energy usage.
To be notified when the new portal is live, sign up on www.PCEC.coop to get email updates from Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative.
Celebrating Co-op Month
Kendall Davis
Board President
That was 61 years ago, and many decades later I now have the chance to serve as President of PCEC’s Board of Directors. With October marking Co-op month, this is a great time to take a step back and reflect on how our local cooperative is focused on strengthening connections across the Northland.
Platte-Clay started small, as a group of farmers coming together to bring the new technology of in-home electric service to the rural area north of Kansas City. Today, we’re now one of the fastest growing cooperatives in the state of Missouri.
Our road to growth was not quick or easy, but it was powered by our consumer-members and guided by the cooperative principles that define our business model.
Co-ops do a great job of meeting local needs because they are overseen by members of the community who are democratically elected to serve on a board of directors. All board members and most employees of the cooperative also live in the community and rely on PCEC’s service for their own homes.
No far-away investors are calling the shots at the co-op, just local leaders you might run into at the grocery store or gas station.
We’re responsive to our members’ needs because we know them. A priority of our board is to improve service reliability, which the cooperative has been working toward in recent years through dramatically increased tree-trimming efforts.
Platte-Clay’s employees are focused on safe and reliable service, not on profits. Consumer-members contribute to the finances of the cooperative through their bills every month. Every year, we return millions of dollars back to members in the form of what we call “capital credits” – a fancy way of saying the money we have left over after our business expenses are taken care of.
Every action taken by the co-op is done for one purpose: to benefit the consumer-members and the communities in which they live. That’s the cooperative difference. PCEC connects communities across the Northland in a special way that’s worth celebrating this Co-op Month.
Hurricane Response
In September, Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative dispatched line crews and equipment to assist with Hurricane Ida recovery efforts in southern Louisiana. The crew was part of a coordinated effort by the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives (AMEC) to respond to a call for help by DEMCO Electric Cooperative, located northwest of New Orleans.
“We believe it’s important for electric cooperatives to assist each other in times of need,” said Dave Deihl, CEO and General Manager of Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative. “Our employees have once again stepped up to the plate to take on the difficult task of restoring power to a heavily damaged community, just as others have done for us in the past when our cooperative faced extensive damage from natural disasters.
Over 65% of DEMCO Electric’s consumer-members are without power due to the storm. The cooperative currently expects full restoration could take multiple weeks to complete.
DEMCO is the largest electric cooperative in Louisiana, serving more than 112,000 total consumer-members.
Last year, Platte-Clay sent three crews to assist Beauregard Electric Cooperative, also in Louisiana, after Hurricane Laura made a direct impact on their system.
The Northland Connection is published monthly by Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative, Inc., 1000 W. 92 Highway, Kearney, MO 64060. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Northland Connection, PO Box 100, Kearney, MO 64060 or mail@pcec.coop.
Platte-Clay is an equal opportunity employer.