My family and I are big fans of the Mission: Impossible movies and Impossible Missions Force agent Ethan Hunt, played by Tom Cruise. The action is over the top, and the characters larger than life. Hunt was described in 1 movie as “uniquely trained and highly motivated. A specialist without equal.”
Let’s be truthful. Even if you’re not a secret agent, who wouldn’t want to be described that way?
The employees at the electric cooperatives I am privileged to represent don’t spend a lot of time saving the world from nuclear destruction like Agent Hunt, but they are some of the most talented people I’ve ever met.
They may be linemen who help turn the lights back on in an ice storm. They may be specialists in low-income assistance or energy-efficiency and weatherization programs that cooperatives offer their members. Or they may manage these organizations, providing dynamic leadership in a rapidly changing industry. I constantly call upon these professionals to help me do my job. Their expertise and dedication to their profession always impresses me.
There is no doubt we need to do something about the exodus of our future generations to the cities. That is why I was so heartened to hear a Youth Tour student at a recent electric cooperative annual meeting tell the crowd about her trip to Washington, D.C., and how she wants to work at the cooperative when she grows up. Her mission—if she chooses to accept it—is to explore all the challenging career opportunities that working for an electric cooperative can provide. She would be joining an elite group of cooperative professionals who, in my estimation, are without equal.
Working for an electric cooperative is a profession to be proud of. It is also safer than battling evildoers while hanging out of a helicopter.
Ted Case
Executive Director