Fall is a busy time, and October is a particularly eventful month with school, community and sports activities in full swing. It’s also when all cooperatives celebrate National Co-op Month.

When I say Orange County REMC celebrates Co-op Month, it really means we are celebrating you! After all, our co-op wouldn’t exist without you, our members.

Our core business purpose is to serve as your electricity provider, but the larger mission of the co-op is to help make our corner of the world a better place. “Concern for community” is one of seven guiding principles that all co-ops share.

Similar to how our wires run through our service territory, our concern for community flows through all of our decisions––because being a co-op means being a responsible partner and good neighbor.

Orange County REMC works to help our community thrive through initiatives led by our employees and local board that’s composed of neighbors who live right here in our community. Because we’re local, we understand our community’s unique needs and strive to help meet them.

We’re proud to support local youth through our Youth Tour, Camp Kilowatt and scholarship programs. With your help, we also offer Operation Round Up to help local organizations fund the important work they are doing in our community. Take a look at the next page for a feature story that highlights how an Operation Round Up grant has been used to purchase equipment for the print shop at Spring Mill Park.

The word “cooperative” is close to “cooperation,” meaning people working together towards a common goal — mutually benefiting one another and the larger community. That’s the essence of the cooperative spirit. Our employees and member-elected board members are invested in the community in which they live and serve.

Above all, as a co-op we put our members’ priorities first. As your trusted energy partner, we know that saving energy and money is important to you. That’s why we have numerous programs in place to help, including incentives and rebates to offset the cost of installing new, energy efficient HVAC and water heating equipment.

We want to empower you to manage energy use at home. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to take a moment and download our app, SmartHub. Through the app or by going to Smarthub.com, you can conveniently monitor and manage your energy use. And we’re, of course,  here to help, so give us a call if you have questions about your energy bills.

Orange County REMC is continuously examining ways to operate more efficiently while also providing the highest level of friendly, reliable service you expect and deserve. After all, we’re your local co-op. We were built by the members we serve.