April 2007
Connect 2007, Brand Leadership Summit Offer Unique Learning, Networking Opportunities
Co-op Connections Program Integrates New Pharmacy Discount
Touchstone Energy Board Announces Newly Elected Officers
Co-op Connections Offers “Deal-A-Day in May” on Barnes&Noble.com
"Welcome Home" Video Draws Nearly 6,000 Views
Co-op Survivor: “Required Reading” for Co-op Communicators
Hoosier Energy, Touchstone Energy contribute to Earth Day Celebration
Share Your Brand-Building Success Stories
Connect 2007, Brand Leadership Summit Offer Unique Learning, Networking Opportunities
There’s still time to register for Connect 2007, scheduled for May 16-18 at the Miami Hyatt Regency in Miami, Fla., with pre-conference workshops on May 15. Due to the late date, attendees still without hotel reservations should contact NRECA’s Lisa Henderson at lisa.henderson@nreca.coop.
Connect 2007 provides attendees a chance to network with and learn from other co-op professionals while attending sessions on strategic communication, branding, member services, energy services, writing and editing and more.
Attendees will have ample opportunities to hear about the latest resources and tools available from Touchstone Energy during six “learning labs,” as well as learn from high-caliber keynote speakers during the pre-conference Brand Leadership Summit on May 15 and the Touchstone Energy-sponsored general session on May 17. In addition to the Touchstone Energy sessions, Connect 2007 offers 24 other learning labs during the conference, covering topics such as writing and editing, business etiquette and customer service, effective marketing and communications strategies, using technology to enhance member communications, and much more. Detailed program information is available on the Connect 2007 Web site.
Touchstone Energy learning labs include:
- "Turn the Beat Around": Maximizing your Touchstone Energy Investment
- "Taking Care of Business": Using the Touchstone Energy Brand to Help Your Community
- "Changes In Attitudes": Results of the 2006 Cooperative Difference Survey
- "What’s in Your Wallet?": Help Members Save with the Co-op Connections Card
- "South Beach Diet": Get Members to be Lean and Mean on Energy Use
- "Miami Heat": Play Like a Champion with “Best Practices” from the Pros
For the second straight year, Touchstone Energy will host a free Brand Leadership Summit as a Connect pre-conference event on May 15 from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. The summit will be highlighted by keynote speakers Mitch Gooze and Don Neal, who are nationally recognized experts in branding and customer relationships, as well as a “Back to the Future” update on the brand from COO Jim Bausell. Complimentary continental breakfast and lunch are included. Attendees can register for the Brand Leadership Summit online when they register for Connect.
During the general session on May 17, Touchstone Energy will present the 2007 Brand Champion Awards to five deserving co-op leaders who have helped build the brand locally and regionally. The session will also feature keynote speaker Scott McKain, who will focus on the concept of building a “relationship brand” and how it can equate to loyal and engaged customers.
For more information on Connect 2007 and to register for the conference, visit the conference Web site.
Co-op Connections Program Integrates New Pharmacy Discount
Big Savings Available to New Participants
The Co-op Connections member benefit program has a new feature – pharmacy discounts for co-op
members at more than 48,000 national and regional pharmacy chain stores, including Wal-Mart, CVS, Walgreens, Target and many more—thanks to a deal with New Benefits, a nationally recognized provider of noninsured health benefits.
As a result, current and future Co-op Connections cards and key fobs will need to include additional information to allow the attending pharmacist to process the discount and cardholders to take full advantage of this new national discount. Co-ops that already participate in the program and have distributed cards to their members now have the option to have their cards reprinted with the pharmacy discount information. To place an order for reprinted cards, updated with the new pharmacy discount information, submit the attached form by May 4.
For co-ops who don’t currently participate in the Co-op Connections Program, this is a perfect time to sign on. Due to the expected high volume of reprint orders, the printing cost for new cards will be substantially less. Exact costs will be determined once all orders are in. The deadline for ordering first-time cards and key fobs is May 11. To place an order for first-time cards, use the attached form.
Please note that separate forms are required for reprint orders and first-time orders. Both forms should be faxed to Dan Prijatel at 480.287.8871.
Both forms can also be found on the Touchstone Energy Web site, along with a press release announcing the new pharmacy discount. For additional questions on the new pharmacy discount and card printing, contact Cynthia Henthorn at cynthia.henthorn@nreca.coop, 703.907.5575, or Scott Bialick at scott.bialick@nreca.coop, 703.907.5627.
Touchstone Energy Board Announces Newly Elected Officers
At its spring board meeting in San Antonio, Texas, Touchstone Energy Cooperatives announced the results of recent board and officer elections.
Re-elected to the board were Max Meek, Oklahoma Electric Cooperative (Norman, Okla.); Whit Hollowell, Coastal EMC (Midway, Ga.); Charles Castleberry, Swisher Electric (Tulia, Texas); Doug Pryce, United Power, Inc., (Brighton, Colo.); and Mike Sims, Butler REC (Oxford, Ohio).
They join James Coleman, Shelby Electric Cooperative (Shelbyville, Illinois); Steve Healy, Pierce Pepin Cooperative Services (Ellsworth, Wis.); Nelle Hotchkiss, , North Carolina EMC (Raleigh, N.C.); Martin Lowery, NRECA ; Loren Noess, Central EC (Mitchell, S.D.); Kenneth Ritchey, Tipmont REMC, (Linden, Ind.); Floyd Robb, Basin Electric Power (Bismarck, N.D.); and Skip Strickland, Berkeley EC (Moncks Corner, S.C.).
Mike Sims was elected President, Charles Castleberry was elected Vice President, and Tom Jones was elected Secretary/Treasurer. Doug Pryce was selected to fill the at-large position on the executive committee, while Steve Healy was chosen for a position on the budget committee. These officers will serve one-year terms.
Co-op Connections Offers “Deal-A-Day in May” on Barnes&Noble.com
Barnes&Noble.com, a Co-op Connections Program national discount provider, has a special offer in store for participating co-ops and their members during the month of May. From May 1-May 31, Co-op Connections program participants can take advantage of additional discounts up to 50 percent off a different item for every day of the month. Discounts will be available on items such as books, game, movies and crafts. This special offer is available in addition to the permanent discount available through www.connections.coop.
Cardholders should check the special Co-op Connections program Web site at Barnes&Noble.com, also available by linking through www.connections.coop, to learn about daily discounts.
For questions on this special offer, contact Scott Bialick at scott.bialick@nreca.coop.
"Welcome Home" Video Draws Nearly 6,000 Views
“Ping Pong” Spot Catches On, Too
Welcome Home, Touchstone Energy’s special tribute to the men and women of America’s military serving
overseas, has now been viewed nearly 6,000 through YouTube.com, the popular video-sharing Web site.
Introduced in March at Touchstone Energy’s 2007 Annual Meeting, Welcome Home delivers a message of gratitude to the men and women of America's military, and their families, from the members of their Touchstone Energy cooperatives. The tribute is available as a two-minute video, perfect for co-op annual meetings and community events, and as a 60-second TV spot, perfect for use in local and regional media buys.
The story line in the video and 60-second spot comes to life through the recent homecoming of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force from its one year tour of duty in Iraq. The spot captures the emotional reunions of the soldiers and their families at Camp Pendleton, California. No actors or actresses are employed in the video, which was shot in "real time" as the homecoming event occurred.
Please continue to help spread the word and boost the number of views by sending friends and family to the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbmwPyx7Wrs
Through the powerful reach of the cooperative network, the hope is that thousands of consumers all across America will be drawn to the video. The more consumers that view the video at the link above, the greater the chance the video will win "front page" positioning on the YouTube Web site, where millions may see it.
In the coming weeks, all Touchstone Energy cooperatives will receive a DVD copy of Welcome Home, containing both the two-minute video and 60-second TV spot. Touchstone Energy Regional Representatives will receive Beta SP copies. Both the video and the 60-second TV spot are available with blue ending slates, ready for local co-op tagging.
Touchstone Energy has also posted all five of the “Straight Talk” campaign’s 30-second TV spots alongside Welcome Home. The “Brighter Tomorrow” spot, better known as the “Ping Pong” spot, has now been viewed more than 2,000 times.
Co-op Survivor: “Required Reading” for Co-op Communicators
Orders can be placed online at www.dopeydogs.com for Co-op Survivor, the story of Harrison Rural Electrification Association and its incredible eight-year journey from seemingly insurmountable challenges to its current status as a co-op success story and a co-op sought out to serve large commercial and residential developments. Author Keith Crabtree, who helped bring the co-op through its troubled times, tells readers how Harrison REA embraced the Touchstone Energy brand and became a trusted community partner. Crabtree will donate a portion of the proceeds from the sale of each book to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to help fund MS research projects.
"In more than a quarter century of experiences in the electric industry, I may not have seen another clearer, stronger story of the "cooperative family" than is detailed in Co-op Survivor...[it's] great reading and necessary to the bookshelf of every rural electric communicator..."
--Jimmy Autry, Vice President of Marketing, Flint Energies, Georgia
Get Charged! Sale Still Going
There's still time to take advantage of discounted pricing on 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.
- 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, contact Scott Bialick at scott.bialick@nreca.coop or 703.907.5627.
Hoosier Energy, Touchstone Energy contribute to Earth Day Celebration
Several Hoosier Energy employees and family members joined representatives of other Touchstone Energy Cooperatives in helping youngsters make rainsticks from recycled materials and passing out red oak sapling trees during the Indiana Earth Day Celebration April 28 in downtown Indianapolis.
Volunteers also handed out temporary tattoos with earth-friendly messages and allowed visitors to try out a stationary bicycle equipped with a generator that turned their pedaling into electricity to illuminate light bulbs. Mascot 'Freshwater' handed out environmental education materials and activity books.
“We love to see everyone enjoying the opportunity to learn more about our environment and how to do our part in protecting it when we can,” said Hoosier Energy Environmental Team Leader Michalene Reilly. “This event not only provides an educational and awareness opportunity each year, it also gives environmentally conscious people another outlet to donate unneeded items to be recycled in the Earth Day booth.”
Editor, Erin Keogh
erin.keogh@nreca.coop
703.907.5572