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| That's me in the red flannel. |
Grouse Hollow Journal for February 13,
2014 by Greg Koelker
I won't put down some of the words I
used to refer to my “friends” who voted for me to be a Bergen
Township delegate to the Vernon Electric Cooperative District
Committee Conference this winter. (No doubt, Editor Matt would
delete them but I'll save him the trouble.) Last week, when I told
Vince that I was elected, he said, “I've been checking your name
for as long as I can remember.” With friends like this who needs .
. . well, you get the idea. I am not a joiner, necessarily anyway,
so I was not too fired up about missing an ice fisheree up on Lake
Onalaska to spend a Saturday at a meeting where I wouldn't know
exactly what I was supposed to be doing. I could have made a call
and bowed out of the meeting, but Ellen reminded me that I am retired
and I could go fishing the next day, so I went.
Things started going wrong right away,
not doing much to allay my apprehension that I was in for a long
boring morning. I saw the road sign that read Saugstad Road, and I
turned right, much to the consternation of “Berta,” the lady in
my GPS on my smart phone. I finally got turned around and got to the
Vernon Electric headquarters just in time. Inside things started
looking up; the first person I saw that I knew was Karla (Proksch)
Stanke. Karla grew up just up the road from our farm. She and her
sister Kathy often watched over Ben and Mark back in the day. She
was too busy to reminisce too much, but it was really nice to see her
and catch up a bit. The next person I knew was Dave Olson of De
Soto. Dave is an old friend going back to the days of summer little
league when our boys played together and then when I taught and
coached his children, Sarah and John, at De Soto. He told me to
listen with an open mind and I would learn something. After that, I
started visiting with a delegate from Shelby named Mark and we sat
together. We both grabbed a coffee and donut and headed for a table.
The meeting was just getting started when I put down my folder and
immediately dumped my nearly full cup of coffee on the table and all
over a couple of handouts and my apple fritter. Mortified, I went
for paper towels while a couple of the guys used napkins to start the
cleanup before I got back. Anyway, everyone was gracious about the
whole mishap except me, I guess.
Dave Olson was right. I learned a
great deal about our power cooperative. After Vernon Electric
Cooperative Board President, Bernadine Hornby was designated the
meeting chair and welcomed us, director of Office Services, Karla
Yanske began the meeting, sharing with us the changes in technology
in running the VEC offices and records. They now use paperless
files, online bill pay and examination, online and smart phone
contact with the people in the field, and more. Director of
Operations and Engineering, Craig Buros, shared the changes in how
linemen in the field can interact with the office, client, internet,
and keep records of their time and services. The people in the field
show up on a computerized map, so everyone working together knows
where each other are. The huge paper files and books of maps of
customers and even power poles are readily available on their smart
phones or Ipads. Director of Marketing and Communications, Dave
Maxwell, showed the features of the VEC web site including the easy
ability to check one's usage and records, see what's new at VEC in
the online newsletter, and more. CEO and General Manager, Joe
McDonald began by talking about “the good news”, like how there
were no actions needed at this meeting regarding rule changes, and
that business is good enough that there was no rate increase to deal
with. The coop experienced a record low number of outages this past
year. Joe talked about the coop's renewable energy emphasis and
project that includes a large solar field near the Westby facility.
There was more; I even learned how to
really explain a BTU - light a single match and let it burn and you
have created a BTU. I was impressed with how VEC has begun to
modernize our business and especially how the people who have to fix
outages and take care of our supply lines and such can now use Ipads
and smart phones to see what's happening, find and record and take
care of problems, and communicate with each other without a pile of
paperwork. The lunch was good too.
While we ate, we discussed this
winter's special attributes and how we heat with geo-thermal, how
another delegate heats mostly with a huge fireplace, and how another
has a $60,000 solar array set up. They did door prize drawings then
too and I won a $45 gift certificate that I immediately put toward
our electric bill. Sweet! I'll go again if they want me.
So I guess I will recant my dark
thoughts towards those who voted for me. I always enjoy a day when I
can meet new people and learn something new. Vernon Electric will be
sponsoring a VEC Night at Mt. La Crosse on Friday, February 21 with
deals on tickets, ski rental, and lessons. Take the kids.
Until next time, get out - I am getting
ready for the annual Battle On Bago Ice fishing trip with my nephews
Jason and Jared Junk. I hope to make an ice fishing trip to North
Dakota with my friend Doug Ledbury yet this winter too. More on
these later. Enjoy.
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