December 2006
Texas Co-op Presents First Power & Hope Awards
ACSI in 2006: A Year of Highs for Co-ops
Montana Governor to Headline NET2007
Ann Maggard to Join Touchstone Energy Staff
Straight Talk Campaign Broadens National Reach in ‘07
January Web Conference to Highlight New Partnerhsip
Distinguished Service Award Nomination Deadline is Jan. 12
Tune in to Touchstone Energy at Connect ‘07
Touchstone Energy Research on the Agenda at NRECA CEO, Director Conferences
Happy Holidays from Touchstone Energy!
Get Charged! Kits On Sale Through Jan. 31
Co-op Connections Print Deadline is Jan. 26
Share Your Brand-Building Success Stories
Texas Co-op Presents First Power & Hope Awards
In a true reflection of the cooperative spirit, two employees of Swisher Electric Cooperative (Tulia, Texas) were honored recently with Touchstone Energy Power & Hope Employee Recognition Awards. Swisher Electric is the first Touchstone Energy co-op to implement the program.
Crew chief Santos Basaldua and lineman Joe McDowell received the awards for their heroic efforts in assisting a woman injured in a car accident. The pair was on duty in a co-op service truck when they passed a piece of debris in the road. Recognizing the hazard it posed to other motorists, they stopped the truck and went back to retrieve it. While doing so, they noticed a vehicle several hundred feet off the road with its emergency flashers on. Taking a closer look, they saw a woman inside the vehicle bleeding badly. The woman had been struck in the head by a piece of steel that had fallen off a passing truck and crashed through the windshield. Basaldua and McDowell called for help and remained with the woman until an ambulance arrived.
At a ceremony honoring the two men that included the county sheriff and the woman involved in the accident, who recovered from her injuries, Swisher Electric CEO Charles Castleberry presented the men with custom-made pocket knives engraved with their initials and the Power & Hope logo.
"I wanted to honor these men for their life-saving efforts, and what better way to do that than with the Power & Hope Award,” said Castleberry.
The accident victim, Glenda Birkenfeld, is a member of Swisher Electric.
The Power & Hope Employee Recognition Program gives co-ops a way to honor employees who respond
extraordinarily to aid fellow co-ops and members in challenging times. While the recognition program was conceived on the heels of the 2005 hurricane season, the award is not limited to aid provided during natural disasters.
The award is intended to be a national honor, but is designed to be implemented locally. Once a recipient is selected by co-op management, a variety of design concepts, available online, can be applied to plaques, shirts, decals, patches, lapel pins or any other appropriate medium.
“The efforts of these two men really exemplify the intent behind this award,” said Zac Perkins, safety coordinator at Swisher Electric. “Their actions reinforce the dedication we have to our members and our community,” he added.
ACSI in 2006: A Year of Highs for Co-ops
2006 was a year of momentum and high scores for Touchstone Energy cooperatives as they participated in
the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) in record numbers and confirmed again that co-ops provide unmatched customer service.
The ACSI is one of the most recognized customer satisfaction indices in the United States and is a uniform measurement of customer satisfaction across 43 major industries and more than 200 leading corporations. The index measures satisfaction using four standard questions. Responses to those questions are averaged and plugged into a formula that produces the overall score. Touchstone Energy offers ACSI scoring to all members as part of their national investment fee. In addition to providing this service on a co-op by co-op basis, Touchstone Energy receives a quarterly national score based on a survey of a random sampling of co-op members.
Recent results gave Touchstone Energy co-ops, in aggregate, an all-time high score of 82 out of a possible 100, placing Touchstone Energy at the top of the electric utility industry, which averaged a score of 72 for 2006, and well ahead of industry counterparts such as Florida Power & Light (68), DTU Energy Company (65), and Excel Energy (70).
According to data provided by ACSI, Touchstone Energy co-ops also bested well-known companies in other industries, such as Starbucks (77), Verizon (69), and Southwest Airlines (74). To see how other companies and industries scored, visit the ACSI Web site.
Participation by individual co-ops also surged in 2006. The number of scores generated jumped to 296, an increase of 46 percent, and the number of participating cooperatives climbed 14 percent. One reason for the increase in the number of scores generated in 2006 is a growing number of cooperatives who receive a quarterly score. Many of these co-ops use their ACSI scores as a foundation for setting strategic goals for improving member satisfaction and loyalty.
“We’ve seen an encouraging trend develop this year in terms of how cooperatives use their ACSI scores,” said Jim Bausell, COO of Touchstone Energy Cooperatives. “As cooperatives have realized the value of the ACSI, more and more of them are using it as a quarterly management tool, in addition to using it to benchmark their co-ops against their peers and industry counterparts,” he said.
For more information on ACSI, contact Erin Keogh at 703.907.5572 or erin.keogh@nreca.coop, or visit the ACSI section on the Touchstone Energy Web site.
Montana Governor to Headline NET2007
The opening session of eighth annual New & Emerging Technologies (NET) Conference will by headlined by Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, pictured at left. Schweitzer, an active proponent of synthetic fuels, will speak about Montana’s efforts to help break American dependence on foreign oil through the development of ultra-clean technology to convert coal into synthetic petroleum products and natural gas.
The conference will be held Feb. 7-8, 2007, at the Double Tree Hotel in Orlando, Florida. Pre-conference events take place Feb. 5-6.
Attendees will also hear from hear from Mike Davis, head of the energy research division at the U.S. Department of Energy. Davis will discuss four key research focus areas at DOE, including coal technology, national grid reliability, nuclear power and renewables.
After NET2007 wraps up, conference attendees are encouraged to head to the Orlando Convention Center to take in the International Home Builders Expo, slated for Feb. 9-10. The event showcases the latest building products and services the industry has to offer. NET2007 attendees will receive discounted registration at the event.
To get more program details and to register online, visit the NET2007 Web site or contact Kathryn Momot at 703.907.5707 or kathryn.momot@nreca.coop.
Ann Maggard to Join Touchstone Energy Staff
The Touchstone Energy national staff will welcome a new team member in early 2007. Ann Maggard, a well-known face in the co-op network and longtime employee of East Kentucky Power Cooperative, will assume the role of director of communications and brand education on Jan. 8. 2007.
Ann brings a wealth of experience and a high level of enthusiasm for Touchstone Energy to her new role. In her position at East Kentucky Power, Ann was responsible for education, training, and development for employees. She has also served as a training consultant for Touchstone Energy and NRECA, leading workshops and helping to develop employee education programs on Touchstone Energy and customer service.
Ann has championed the Touchstone Energy brand since its launch in 1998 and has guided many co-ops through their first steps with the brand. She will be a valuable addition to the Touchstone Energy staff!
Congratulations, Ann!
Straight Talk Campaign Broadens National Reach in ‘07
Touchstone Energy’s award-winning “Straight Talk” advertising campaign will extend its reach as it runs on national cable and satellite networks in 2007. The spots will air in an expanded mix of networks and time slots selected to target strategic demographics.
The first portion of the 2007 national media buy is scheduled for January 8 to February 4, 2007. Watch for the spots on the following channels:
-AMC
-Discovery
-ESPN
-Fox News
-HGTV
-Lifetime
-Spike
-TBS
-The Weather Channel
-TNT
-USA
-Versus
-Various satellite networks
The complete 2007 national media plan can be found on the Touchstone Energy Web site.
For questions about the Touchstone Energy media plan, please contact Cynthia Henthorn at 703.907.5575 or cynthia.henthorn@nreca.coop, or Scott Bialick at 703.907.5627 or scott.bialick@nreca.coop.
January Web Conference to Highlight New Partnerhsip
Touchstone Energy recently joined the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), opening up an extensive library of
marketing and educational tools and knowledge to co-ops. Get the details on this new benefit during a free Web conference on January 26, 2007 from 2-3:30 PM ET.
ANA provides marketing, advertising and communications professionals the ability to tap into the expertise of the country’s top brands and the 30,000 professionals who manage those brands. The Web conference will delve into how co-ops can access valuable proprietary information on brand-building, integrated marketing communications, multicultural marketing and more.
Speakers:
Jim Bausell, COO, Touchstone Energy
Michael Palmer, Executive Vice President of Member Relations, ANA
Co-ops are encouraged to submit topic suggestions and questions in advance of the Web conference. Questions can be submitted to Scott Bialick at 703.907.5627 or scott.bialick@nreca.coop until January 3, 2007.
Stay tuned to cooperative.com for more details and online registration.
Distinguished Service Award Nomination Deadline is Jan. 12
Nominations are being accepted for Touchstone Energy Cooperatives' highest honor, the Touchstone Energy Distinguished Service Award. The award is presented annually to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the Touchstone Energy brand on a national level.
Nominations must be submitted to Erin Keogh, Touchstone Energy communications and PR advisor, by Jan. 12, 2007. Up to two awards will be presented at the Touchstone Energy Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, Nev., which will be held in conjunction with the NRECA Annual Meeting March 20-22, 2007.
To request a nomination form and learn more about award criteria, please contact Erin Keogh at erin.keogh@nreca.coop or 703.907.5572.
Tune in to Touchstone Energy at Connect ‘07
Online Registration Opens Jan. 5
Connect 2007 is right around the corner, scheduled for May 15-18, 2007, at the Miami Hyatt Regency in Miami, Fla. Connect 2007 promises big learning opportunities and a chance to network with hundreds of co-op communicators, member services and marketing professionals. Online registration opens on Jan. 5.
Touchstone Energy is preparing a 'playlist' of sessions that will show attendees how Touchstone Energy programs build loyalty and deliver value to members:
Turn the Beat Around
Turn it up, turn it upside down, and discover how your colleagues successfully integrate the entire portfolio of advertising and communications resources into local and regional communications strategies.
Taking Care of Business
Learn how to reach real estate site selectors, grow jobs, and improve the quality of life in co-op communities.
Changes in Attitudes
Nothing remains quite the same, as you’ll learn from the findings of the 2006 National Cooperative Difference Survey of 15,000 consumers, and discover how visions of good times can come true in meeting the expectations of your members.
What’s in Your Wallet?
Bring home the value of membership with the Co-op Connections card and hear how co-ops are saving their members money while helping their small business customers boost sales.
South Beach Diet
Hear how Touchstone Energy residential energy efficiency programs can get co-op members to be lean and mean on energy use.
Miami Heat
Become a champ and slam-dunk your competition using these cooperative best practices.
For more information on Connect 2007, visit the conference Web site.
Touchstone Energy Research on the Agenda at NRECA CEO, Director Conferences
The results of the 2006 National Cooperative Difference Survey are in, and attendees at the NRECA CEO Close-up (January 22, 2007 - January 24, 2007 in Marco Island, Fla.) and Directors Conference (February 10, 2007 - February 14, 2007 in San Antonio, Texas) will be among the first to hear about it.
Attendees will hear the scope of the most recent Touchstone Energy research garnered from over 15,000 co-op member interviews across the nation this summer. They'll come away with a better understanding of the most important drivers of member satisfaction and loyalty.
During the Touchstone Energy sessions, CEOs and directors will learn how their co-ops can implement ten important strategies that will achieve high levels of member satisfaction. They’ll also discover which energy programs and services hit the mark with consumers, and how Touchstone Energy resources can meet their needs.
Finally, they’ll catch a glimpse of how co-ops have successfully integrated the ACSI satisfaction benchmark into all levels of organizational behavior and delivered on the brand promise of superior service.
For additional details and online registration for the CEO Close-Up and Directors Conference, visit the conference section at cooperative.com.
Happy Holidays from Touchstone Energy!
The Touchstone Energy board of directors and national staff wish all Touchstone Energy cooperative employees and their families a safe and happy holiday season. We look forward to another exciting and productive year in 2007.
Get Charged! Kits On Sale Through Jan. 31
Effective now through Jan. 31, 2007, discounted pricing will be applied to all Get Charged! kits and 10-pack
student activity book orders.
The comprehensive Discovery Channel School Get Charged! kits are filled with high-quality educational materials that help teachers educate students about electricity and fulfill a requirement of the National Science Education Standards. The kits also provide a great opportunity for Touchstone Energy cooperatives to boost their connection to schools and parents and highlight their commitment to community. To date, more than 6,000 kits have been distributed in classrooms (grades 5-9) nationwide.
Now through Jan. 31, 2007:
- Get Charged! Kits are available at $10 apiece, shipping and customization fees included
- Additional 10-Pack Student Activity Books are available at $20 per pack, shipping and customization fees included
All orders can be placed online.
For more information, please contact Scott Bialick at scott.bialick@nreca.coop or 703.907.5627.
Co-op Connections Print Deadline is Jan. 26
A growing tally of national discount deals makes this a perfect time to join the 88 Touchstone Energy co-ops building member loyalty and demonstrating the cooperative difference with the Co-op Connections member benefit card. With more than 5 million cards and key fobs in circulation, Co-op Connections is delivering savings to co-ops and members nationwide.
To participate in the first print run of 2007, register by Jan. 26 on www.advancingthebrand.coop.
For more information on the next print run and Co-op Connections, contact Cynthia Henthorn at cynthia.henthorn@nreca.coop, 703.907.5575, or Scott Bialick at scott.bialick@nreca.coop, 703.907.5627.
Editor, Erin Keogh
erin.keogh@nreca.coop
703.907.5572