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There are so many facets to this strategic objective, it almost deserves being two or three objectives on its own. Many of you who read these OPALCOGRAMS and the vast majority of the long-time residents of San Juan County understand that OPALCO is a member-owned cooperative, which means that everybody who buys power from us is a member and has an equal voice in the decisions of the cooperative, and any margins (profits) OPALCO makes are allocated back to our members as their share of the company. Unfortunately, far too many of our newer members view us as "the power company". We are coming up on the OPALCO Annual Meeting. I have observed, during the seven annual meetings that I have attended, that it is the long-time OPALCO members who make up the predominant number of attendees. We need to do more to make our newer members understand that OPALCO is a cooperative and what it means to buy power from a cooperative. We need to work harder to get our newer members to attend the annual meeting and participate actively in the affairs of the cooperative. We work hard to be efficient in signing up new members who need power. I think we do a very good job getting them in and out the door in a hurry. Maybe we need to spend 15 minutes of their time to explain about OPALCO and its history, to talk about our submarine cables, and explain why our rates are higher than nearby utilities. We have considered making a video that we could loan to our new members to explain about OPALCO. Another facet to this strategic objective is to be more in tune with the needs and desires of our members. In the last OPALCOGRAM, we talked about changing the due date for our bills. There are several other things that we are doing and contemplating that will hopefully make OPALCO more "user friendly.? For example, we have recently signed agreements with other businesses - including Shaw and Lopez - where you can pay your PTI and OPALCO bills without having to come to our offices or mail them to us. A third facet of Member Relations is to find out what our members really thing about OPALCO and the services that we offer. This year, we have budgeted for a member opinion survey to find out what you really think of the job that we are doing. What do we do particularly well? What don't we do well enough? Once we have identified our strengths and weaknesses, we will know where we need to spend additional time and effort. There will be more on this strategic objective next time. Right now, let me leave you with a reminder that if you have any thoughts on the 10-day due date on your bills that we discussed in the last OPALCOGRAM, please let me know.
Doug Bechtel
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