Joe McElroy Presented Leroy M. Vanderpool Award
MECA Safety Director, Joe McElroy, was recently presented the Leroy M. Vanderpool Recognition Award at the January Quad State Instructors Winter Conference. “I am beyond humbled to receive this award,” McElroy said, “there are multiple people within the Quad States group who are more deserving to be chosen.” Leroy Vanderpool was a pioneer in [...]
TEC Linemen Respond to House Fire
Two Thumb Electric Cooperative (TEC) journeyman linemen recently put their safety training into action when they responded to a house fire on Atwater Road, between Ubly and Parisville. On the afternoon of October 3, Jim Vogel and Shane Maurer were returning from a jobsite when they noticed what appeared to be flames coming from [...]
MECA Introduces New “Co-op Foundations” Workshop
MECA celebrated National Co-op Month with a series of "Cooperative Foundations" workshops in October, which focused on co-op history, principles, and purpose. "We used to offer a similar half-day workshop in partnership with NRECA," says Doug Snitgen, Executive Vice President at MECA. "But, when we discovered that NRECA no longer offers their course, Great [...]
Mutual Aid Teams Restore Power After Devastating Windstorms
More than 864,000 Michigan households were left without power last week after multiple rounds of severe windstorms rolled through the state. Gusts of up to 104 mph leveled hundreds of trees and launched trampolines and other debris into the branches of those left standing. MECA Safety Director, Joe McElroy, was stranded at a Safety [...]
Michigan Co-ops Participate in the 2021 NRECA Legislative Conference
More than 1,500 electric cooperative leaders from across the country participated in the NRECA Legislative Conference this week (April 20-23). While the annual conference typically includes a full schedule of in-person meetings with members of Congress in their Washington, D.C. offices, ongoing coronavirus restrictions required all appointments to be held virtually this year. Michigan [...]
Filling A Gap: Michigan Co-ops Bring Electric Vehicle Chargers to Rural Communities
The remote town of Onaway, Michigan—population 880—is not an obvious pick to install a new electric vehicle (EV) charging station. While most EV charging stations today are in urban areas or along expressways, Michigan’s electric cooperatives are planning for a different future. Placing chargers in rural areas will allow EV drivers to visit smaller [...]