December 2007
NET2008: There’s Still Time to Register!
Touchstone Energy Adds 25 New Member Co-ops in ‘07
Wyndham Hotels Offer Co-op Connections Discount
Distinguished Service Award Nominations Due Jan. 14
Place Co-op Connections Card Orders by Feb. 8
Happy Holidays from Touchstone Energy!
Share Your Brand-Building Success Stories
NET2008: There’s Still Time to Register!
Hotel Deadline is Dec. 28
Online registration is still open for Touchstone Energy’s New & Emerging Technologies Conference (NET2008). The discounted hotel rate of $179/night at the Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa is only available until Dec. 28, 2007.
NET2008 takes place in Hilton Head, S.C., Jan. 30-31, 2008. Pre-conference events, including the Key Accounts Summit and a new Energy Managers Summit take place on Jan. 29. The agenda for the conference includes sessions addressing agribusiness, power supply, and co-op relationships with builders, developers and key accounts. The conference will provide plenty of opportunities for attendees to mingle with peers and customers during an evening reception at Hilton Head's Harbourtown and post-conference fishing and golf outings.
A complete list of general and breakout sessions and speakers can be found online. Contact Kathryn Momot at kathryn.momot@nreca.coop for more information. See you there!
Touchstone Energy Adds 25 New Member Co-ops in ‘07
Touchstone Energy begins 2008, its tenth anniversary year, with a record number of member co-ops. The brand gained 25 new co-ops in 2007, elevating total membership to 660 co-ops.
New member co-ops for 2007 include:
BARC Electric Cooperative, Virginia
Bartlett Electric Cooperative, Texas
Clinton County Electric Cooperative, Illinois
Cordova Electric Cooperative, Alaska
Craighead Electric Cooperative, Arkansas
Diverse Power Incorporated, Georgia
Fort Belknap Electric Cooperative, Texas
Grand Valley Rural Power Lines, Colorado
GreyStone Power, Georgia
Hart EMC, Georgia
East Mississippi EPA, Mississippi
Lamar County Electric Cooperative, Texas
North Plains Electric Cooperative, Texas
People's Electric Cooperative, Oklahoma
Pointe Coupee EMC, Louisiana
Sam Houston Electric Cooperative, Texas
Sandhills Utility Services, North Carolina
Sequachee Valley Electric Cooperative, Tennessee
SEMO Electric Cooperative, Missouri
Southwest Tennessee EMC, Tennessee
Tennessee Electric Co-op Assn.
Tombigbee Electric Cooperative, Alabama
Tri-County Electric Cooperative, Florida
Twin Valley Electric Cooperative, Kansas
United Electric Cooperative, Idaho
Welcome, new co-ops!
Wyndham Hotels Offer Co-op Connections Discount
Wyndham Hotel Group, one of the largest integrated hotel companies in the world, is now part of the Co-op Connections member benefit program. With 10 hotel brands representing nearly 6,500 hotels and more than 535,000 hotel rooms on six continents under the Wyndham, Wingate by Wyndham, Super 8, Days Inn, Ramada, Travelodge, Howard Johnson, Baymont Inn & Suites, Knights Inn and AmeriHost Inn brands, Wyndham hotels comprise more than 10 percent of domestic hotel rooms.
Co-op Connections cardholders are eligible for 10 percent off the “best available rate” at all Wyndham Hotel Group participating hotels. Unlike other discount programs that offer discounts off rack rates, the Wyndham Hotel Group/Co-op Connections deal offers the discount off of the best possible room rate.
Accessing the discount is simple. Visit the Co-op Connections website and select the property where you’d like to book a room. Dial the corresponding toll free number and give the agent the Co-op Connections discount ID number 1000004709. The Co-op Connections discount is applied at the time of reservation. To book online, simply log into the Co-op Connections website, click on the hotel brand you want and follow the simple steps to make your reservation. The website also provides hotel descriptions and directions.
Contact Scott Bialick at 703.907.5627 or scott.bialick@nreca.coop for more information.
Distinguished Service Award Nominations Due Jan. 14
Nominations are being accepted for Touchstone Energy Cooperatives' highest honor, the Touchstone Energy Distinguished Service Award, through Jan. 14, 2008. The award is presented annually to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the Touchstone Energy brand on a national level.
Nominations for the 2008 Distinguished Service Award must be submitted to Erin Keogh, Touchstone Energy communications and PR Advisor, by Jan. 14. Up to two awards will be presented at the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Annual Meeting in Anaheim, Calif., which will be held in conjunction with the NRECA Annual Meeting Feb. 25-27, 2008.
Please use the attached nomination form and award criteria.
For more information, please contact Erin Keogh at 703.907.5572 or erin.keogh@nreca.coop.
Place Co-op Connections Card Orders by Feb. 8
Looking for a great way to deliver savings to members while building your co-op's brand and identity at the
same time? Plan to join the 138 Touchstone Energy co-ops already taking advantage of the Co-op Connections member benefit program during the upcoming card and key fob production run.
With tremendous participation from local businesses in co-op communities and over 50 national discount deals, nearly 10,000 businesses currently offer discounts to members of Touchstone Energy co-ops. With the new pharmacy benefit, co-ops are saving their members thousands of dollars per month on prescription drugs at more than 48,000 retail locations.
Orders for the first production run of the year are due February 8, 2008, and cards and key fobs are set to deliver in early May. The proposed pricing is available to help with the budgeting for the launch of the card. You can print the attached order form and fax it in as soon as your co-op is ready to place an order.
Learn more about this program by visiting the Co-op Connections section of the Touchstone Energy website. Contact Scott Bialick with questions about the program and production run at 703.907.5627 or scott.bialick@nreca.coop
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 2008!
Editor, Erin Keogh
erin.keogh@nreca.coop
703.907.5572