10 years ago, I wrote the book “Power Plays,” a political history of rural electrification profiling the giants who have shaped our industry. These leaders were broad-shouldered pioneers and inspiring orators with immense political talent. They had something else in common: They were all men.
My sequel will have more diversity, thanks to the recent election of Lane Electric Director J. Ingrid Kessler as a board officer for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). Not only is Dr. Kessler the first Oregonian to be a board officer, but she is also the first woman officer in the 82-year history of the association.
The board officer position is extremely consequential. For Oregon electric co-op leaders, there is no shortage of critical Western issues. The future of our federal dams and the constant threat of wildfires are at the top of the list. It is undeniably helpful for us to have a leader in the room when important decisions are made about the priorities of a national trade association representing 900 electric co-ops.
Dr. Kessler’s election, however, goes far beyond political clout. While Oregon electric co-op leaders are immensely proud of her for making history, I believe there is another group of people who would have basked in this moment, too.
8 decades ago—when 1 out of 10 farms in this country had electricity—the women of rural America lived a life right out of the Middle Ages. Every day was a great hardship: cooking with wood, handwashing clothes, and hauling heavy buckets of water from a well until their shoulders were permanently stooped.
It was out of their toil that electric co-ops and NRECA were formed, serving the places big power companies bypassed because they could not make a profit. Dr. Kessler’s election undoubtedly would be a point of pride for those who sacrificed so much waiting for electricity to come to their farms.
Dr. Kessler also brings a unique personal story to the position. She is a successful veterinarian and an Ironman triathlete who has been, unsurprisingly, a tireless advocate for electric cooperatives. She may not be as broad-shouldered as those who came before her, but she is the right person at the right time to carry an enormous responsibility 82 years in the making.
Executive Director Ted Case
