Southern hospitality
Walton Electric Co-op makes a positive difference for Georgia
By Steve Thompson,
writer-editor
USDA Rural Development
stephenA.thompson@usda.gov
Editor’s note: this is the second of three
articles focusing on the community-building
efforts of electric cooperatives.
o most urban Americans,
their electric
power provider remains
out of sight and out of
mind except during
power failures and when the electric
bill comes due. But in rural Georgia,
an electric distribution cooperative
has made a place for itself as a community
institution, through its efforts
to make a positive impact on the lives
of its members and their families and
neighbors.
Walton Electric Membership Corporation
is headquartered in Monroe,
Ga., about 35 miles east of Atlanta. It
serves 100,000 electric subscribers in
ten counties, including parts of the
greater Atlanta area. The co-op works
hard at fulfilling its prime mission of
providing the energy needed to keep
its service area thriving. Walton EMC
aggressively rides herd on costs to
keep its electric rates stable, while
keeping its infrastructure healthy and
returning $2 million in capital credits
to its members last year. The cooperative
maintains a reputation for excellent
customer service and has received
several recognition awards for its
community outreach efforts.
Walton’s products are no longer
limited to electricity. Last December,
Walton EMC Natural Gas, a new affiliate,
began supplying members
with gas priced up to 25
percent less than other gas
marketers in the area. Another
affiliate supplies security
equipment and services in the
co-op service area and
beyond.
Co-op’s commitment
to community service
By most measures, that
kind of record would spell
success for an electric co-op.
But Walton has gone far
beyond its business role to
become a major force for
community service. As the
result of its efforts, firemen
get funds for new equipment.
Low-income patients on prescription
medications get help
to defray the cost. A man who
lost his job gets help with his
mortgage payment. And the co-op is
actively involved in sponsoring educational
activities in local schools.
Ronnie Lee, president and CEO of
the cooperative, says that community
involvement is nothing new for Walton.
“When I came here 25 years ago,
the co-op already had a long-standing
tradition of being heavily involved in
community service,” he says. Lee
thinks the reason is the
attitudes of the people
who work for the co-op.
“We’re just more serviceoriented.
That’s the kind
of employees we have.”
The centerpiece of
Walton’s community
activities is Operation
Round Up, a program in
which members voluntarily
agree to have the
amounts on their electric
bills rounded up to the
nearest dollar. More
than 30,000 members
participate in the program.
Contributing an
average of 50 cents per bill, the program
amassed about $180,000 last
year. The money is used for small
grants to deserving organizations
and individuals.
The recipients are chosen by a 15-member board of co-op member volunteers,
each one appointed by a member
of the Walton board of directors.
Says Lee, “They do an outstanding job.
They consider every application for
help that comes in.”
Individual recipients of Operation
Round Up funds include a man suffering
from cancer, whose current treatment
is not covered by insurance. A
number of people laid off from their
jobs or unable to work for one reason
or another, have been given help with
their mortgage payments.
One elderly man received $1,500 for
hearing aids he couldn’t otherwise
afford. A low-income family was given
$1,000 for dental work for one of their
children. And a disabled man got funds
for a ceiling lift to help his wife move
him in and out of his bed and the
shower.
Organizations receive gifts from
Operation Round Up for even more
varied reasons. One, called Recording
for the Blind and Dyslexic, was given
$10,000 for transcribing books to
audio tape and CDs. A local chapter
of Habitat for Humanity received
$3,000 to install electric wiring in a
new house. A group called Project
ReNeWal received $3,000 for furniture
for a shelter for victims of
domestic violence.
Local fire departments have
received a number of grants for equipment
and other purposes. And many
schools are beneficiaries of the program,
having received grants for special
educational equipment, furniture and
special expenses.
Demand outpaces funds
The main challenge with Operation
Round Up is that many more applications
are being received than the cooperative
has funds for. That means trying
to get more members to participate
in the program.
“It seems we’ve reached our saturation
point,” said co-op spokesman
Greg Brooks. “When we began the
program, we decided not to go with an
‘opt-out’ sign-up, as many other co-ops
have done.” With an opt-out option,
co-op members are automatically
enrolled in the Round Up program
unless they call or send a postcard saying
the want out.
Even though co-ops using an optout
sign-up usually get higher participation
levels, Walton EMC felt this
option would not be the best way to
serve its members.
“Now it seems that we’re at a
plateau,” Brooks continues. “But we
still don’t regret not going the optout
route. Besides providing a community-service opportunity, Operation
Round Up is also a public
relations opportunity and we didn’t
want to create dissatisfaction and
make some members feel they were
forced into participation.”
Since the co-op has many more
applications than funds, some very
deserving causes are not receiving
grants. “Our volunteer board frets and
sweats over every application it takes
this job very seriously and it’s really
heartbreaking to deny some of the
legitimate requests.”
As a side benefit, he notes, board
members see firsthand the good work
the co-op is doing and they’ve
become stauncher supporters of it.
Benefitting schools, youth groups
Walton’s support for education goes
beyond Operation Round Up. The coop
has a sponsor relationship with a
school in each of the 10 counties in its
service area, participating in incentive
programs for teaching excellence and
helping with expenses for teacher
breakfasts and other functions. Staff
members also give presentations about
electrical safety and the history of the
cooperative movement.
Every summer, the co-op sends a
delegation of students to the Georgia
Cooperative Council Youth Leadership
Conference, where they learn about
cooperative associations and participate
in exercises teaching teamwork and
leadership skills.
The co-op also partners with the
local Future Farmers of America
(FFA) chapters in a career development
program for students interested
in electrical work. One high-school
physics program got help for its electric
vehicle program, winning second
place in the nationwide Electric
Vehicle Congress.
Walton EMC employees are
known for their involvement in the
community as individuals, as well.
Many volunteer at local schools,
churches, and other community
institutions. The employees are
enthusiastic supporters of the March
of Dimes and stage two golf tournaments
every year to raise funds for the
charity. Lee says anyone is welcome
to play, but most of the participants
are employees themselves.
Through the tournaments and
other activities, such as a giant
yard sale, co-op employees have
won top place in the local March
of Dimes fundraiser four years
running. And staff members
recently began participating in
“Relay for Life,” a 24-hour relay
walk-a-thon that raises money
for cancer research.
Having service-oriented
employees translates into high
morale and a willingness to
explore new ways to serve
members. The new natural-gas
affiliate is a good example. Coop
members were a driving
force behind recent deregulation
of the utilities industries in
Georgia, which made it possible
for electric co-ops to sell
gas. It was Walton members
seeking improved gas service
who asked cooperative management
to enter the market.
“I was in the electric industry my
whole career, and natural gas is a little
bit different,” Lee says. “But we are an
energy company, and our customers
wanted us to do it.” The new gas service
started out with only eight customers
last November. The number of
participants has grown to 15,000, and
is expected to climb to 20,000 by this
fall. This growth has been achieved
with no advertising, other than in the
member newsletter.
“It’s been mostly word-of-mouth,
but we’ve gotten a really enthusiastic
response,” says Lee. “Now I’m sure
we did the right thing.”
Starting a security affiliate was
also in response to customer interest.
The security business is different
from electric distribution, but, says
Lee, “Customers know our name.”
Walton got together with another
electric cooperative, Jackson EMC,
to set up the new affiliate about four
years ago.
Today, EMC Security is subsidiary
wholly owned by Walton and Jackson
EMCs. The venture has been successful,
in part, because EMC offers a
no-nonsense security product, selling
equipment separately from services,
and not tying customers to onerous
leases or monitoring contract requirements
like some competitors.
Monitoring fees are more than competitive.
“There’s a six-month, 100
percent money-back guarantee on
every system,” says EMC Security
General Manager Vince Raia. In about
four years, the customer base has
grown to about 8,000, most of it in the
Atlanta metropolitan area.
“It’s just another avenue we can
serve,” says Lee. Though times have
changed, the Walton tradition of service
is alive and growing.
Walton saluted for business ethics
Walton EMC was recently recognized with the first Samaritan Business
Ethics award, presented by the Covenant Counseling and Family Resource
Center and the Gwinnett, Ga., Chamber of Commerce. The award recognizes
businesses that are “doing the right thing” and which foster heightened
awareness of ethical business practices.
Covenant Board President Barbara Myers said Walton demonstrates
strong ethics and integrity toward customers, employees and the community.
“Walton operates with the philosophy that the customer is given the benefit
the doubt,” she said. “Electric rates are structured to provide the most affordable rates possible while recovering the cost of providing electric service.”
Walton saluted for business ethics.
