Indiana’s electric cooperatives and “Indiana Connection” recently honored five young Hoosiers in grades 5-8 with Youth Power and Hope Awards during the Indiana Electric Cooperatives Annual Meeting. The recipients each received $500 to further their community service activities. Recipients of the 2024 Youth Power and Hope Awards were:  Fletcher Abner, Palmyra Abner is a seventh… Continue reading.

The first eight years of work experience on Indiana Electric Cooperatives (IEC) CEO John Cassady’s resume shows a distinct career path. After finishing his undergraduate degree, Cassady found his calling in the halls of government — first as a legislative research assistant in the Ohio House of Representatives, then a legislative liaison with the Office… Continue reading.

In 2018, high school junior Greg Jekel applied to participate in the Indiana Electric Cooperatives Youth Tour to Washington, D.C., and received the approval of his co-op, Clark County REMC, to join the 100-member Hoosier delegation that June. It wasn’t the last time Jekel would complete a successful IEC application. During his senior year, he… Continue reading.

By Stephanie Bernaba  Elaine Smith’s face holds a thousand secrets, but one would never know it at first glance. Sitting unassumingly on a couch next to her greatest cheerleader and husband, Tom, one would think she’s sailed smoothly into retirement after a relatively docile life.  The Smiths took some time to discuss her life on… Continue reading.

 When Ryan Stuthers was pursuing an electrical engineering degree at Anderson University, he wasn’t sure what type of electrical engineer he wanted to be. “There are a lot of avenues you can take in that career field,” he said.  Though he was exposed to most avenues, one he had never heard about was electric cooperatives…. Continue reading.

BY JODI BORGER If you’re driving through Clayton on U.S. 40, you can’t miss the big red barn situated on the south side of the highway. That barn is where you will find Singing Crust, a bakery owned by Emily Waits, specializing in artisan breads and pastries. For Waits, baking wasn’t always her passion. As… Continue reading.

For Hannah Carter, it was love at first sight, and it all started the summer after her high school graduation. An internship at Orange County REMC blossomed into a full-blown career. “After that first summer working here, I told my mom I wanted to work at the co-op. I wanted to stay there full time,”… Continue reading.

While attending Purdue University’s construction management program, Josh Durbin envisioned a dream job of building log homes in the Rocky Mountains, far from where he grew up in Steuben County.  After college in 2008, he was offered a job in the mountains. But that was right in the middle of the Great Recession. “I had… Continue reading.

When Mike Sheets returned to his hometown in Newton County after playing college football, he would tell folks who asked about his career that he was a lineman — “but not for the Chicago Bears.” After following in his father’s shoes as an electrician, he joined Newton County REMC. He became a lineman, all right… Continue reading.

On the cusp of the 21st century, Delmar Bontrager took a job going from location to location manually reading electric meters for a small rural electric cooperative. To many, it may have seemed like a job without longevity. Automated digital meters that read themselves were already becoming the industry standard. But, in his mind, Bontrager’s… Continue reading.

After high school, Colton Carden’s career ambition was to join the military to work on robotics — smart weapons, autonomous vehicles, and the like. While he never joined the military, his interest in cutting-edge technology is now being deployed on the home front, for consumers of Bartholomew County REMC. As director of engineering and technology… Continue reading.

Lisa Wilson describes the Chandelier Barn Market as a fairytale event. “Have you ever had a dream in your head that you can see but are not sure what it would look like put together in real life?” said Wilson, who owns Chandelier Barn Market, LLC, with her husband, Dennis, who has worked at Daviess-Martin… Continue reading.