ORECA President and Wasco Electric Director Ron Holmes likes to fly above the clouds. On the ground, he knows how to navigate the corridors of power.
By Ted Case
Growing up in Kent, Oregon, Ron Holmes knew nothing about the event that would serve as a beacon for his life’s calling—even though it occurred a half-hour drive from his family’s farm. But later, as a Sherman County farmer himself, he learned about the devastating freeze in 1924 that threatened future Columbia Basin wheat crops because they had no access to seed. More importantly, he learned how the local wheat growers decided they needed to control their own future.
In 1926, 250 people attended a meeting in Moro, including farmers, bankers, millers, and even representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Out of that session arose what is now known as the Oregon Wheat Growers League—the first commodity organization for wheat in the United States. It would serve as the grassroots voice of wheat farmers, ensuring they would be at the table when decisions were made in Salem or Washington, D.C.
Holmes not only understood the historical significance of this action, but he also wanted to build upon it.
“What these leaders did made me think about what I could accomplish with advocacy,” he said.
As it turns out, Holmes could accomplish a lot. But first, he needed to take a slight detour through the clouds.
After taking flying lessons as a teenager, Holmes set off for Oregon State University on an ROTC scholarship, convinced he was going to become a pilot. But OSU was not the right fit at the time. Holmes left school, ultimately working in Alaska before making his way back home and onto a tractor.
“Farming is what I was called to do,” he said.
Holmes also wanted to be part of something bigger. In 1993, he landed a spot on the local grain co-op before positioning himself for a board opening with Wasco Electric Cooperative, a 4,700-member co-op headquartered in The Dalles. His opportunity came in 2008 when he succeeded Jean McKinney, a rancher who also served as Oregon’s representative on the board of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
Holmes saw opportunities to use his talents beyond his local electric co-op. But not before he mastered the intricacies of a complex industry.
“I had no clue of all the regulations and all the things you needed to be on top of,” he said. “I realized I needed to learn everything I could.”
He was ready by 2012, joining the board of the Northwest Public Power Association, a regional association of more than 150 public utility districts, electric co-ops, and municipalities throughout the West and British Columbia. The position broadened his experience of the electric utility industry.
“NWPPA represents both rural and urban utilities,” he said. “It gave me a perspective on the wide range of utilities in the West.”
In 2019, the NWPPA board appointed Holmes its president. Through that role, he became a leading advocate for public power in the halls of Congress.
“Ron has an uncanny ability to represent the member at the end of the line,” said Nicole Case, an NWPPA lobbyist. “Members of Congress trust what he says.”
In the meantime, Holmes returned to a long-dormant passion—flying. He earned a pilot’s license and flies to association meetings throughout the West in his Cessna 180, eager to share the passenger seat with other electric co-op leaders.
“It is an absolute blast to be up there,” Holmes said.
Veteran Wasco Electric Director Michael Collins, an official with the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, has flown with Holmes and believes his calm, unflappable presence makes him a skilled pilot and an important presence in the boardroom.
“He sets you at ease,” Collins said. “Ron’s very deliberate and makes sure everyone has a voice.”
Fellow Wasco board member Stacy Eakins agrees with her colleague.
“Ron is a great mentor to the rest of us,” she said. “He brings us along.” Now, Holmes is charting a new course as president of the Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
“ORECA is coming home,” he said. “That’s who I am.” The man he recently replaced, Salem Electric Director Joe Van Meter, believes Holmes is the right person at the right time.
“With Ron’s deep experience, ORECA is in good hands during challenging times,” Van Meter said. To meet those challenges, which include attacks on the federal hydropower system and the existential threat of wildfire, Holmes needs to tap into his county’s long heritage of advocacy and his own ability to navigate choppy air.
Wasco Electric General Manager Lindsay Forepaugh is certain of what kind of course he will chart for ORECA. “Ron Holmes will make sure we are at the table,” she said.
