You may have heard us talk about grassroots efforts at Tanner Electric Cooperative. The term "grassroots" may seem vague and scary when you are asked to speak up in the political arena. The truth is you engage in grassroots efforts and probably don’t even realize it.
When you participate in a grassroots effort, you do so because you are familiar with the issues and they are important to you. Any time you join others to speak to a governing body of any kind you are part of a grassroots effort. If you sign a letter seeking a change at your children’s school, you are part of a grassroots effort. If you join a group of your neighbors in seeking some service from your town or county, you are part of a grassroots effort. The same goes when you cast your ballot in any election. We participate in grassroots activities all of the time.
The same is true with the grassroots program here at Tanner Electric. Some of your fellow Tanner members are engaged in grassroots activities on behalf of your electric cooperative. Those activities can be as simple as sending a quick email to an elected or as involved as traveling to Olympia to discuss our issues with state legislators.
Our goal at Tanner Electric is to be an integral part of the communities we serve, while providing safe, reliable and affordable electricity. But that doesn’t come easily. Legislative and regulatory pressures can quickly erode the cooperative’s ability to fulfill its goals. As cooperative members, we have to remind our elected officials on a regular basis that the decisions they make can have a significant and sometimes negative impact on Tanner.
WIth your permission, we will add your name to a list of other Tanner members who want to be “in the know” when it comes to the political and regulatory issues that affect your electric cooperative. Periodically, we will send you information so you are familiar with the issues. How you exercise your grassroots activities – sending email messages or making personal visits — is totally up to you. I guarantee that if you give us your email address for Tanner’s grassroots program, we will only use it to communicate information to you about the legislative and regulatory issues facing your electric cooperative.
The Tanner Electric Cooperative grassroots program is one of the most important grassroots efforts you will ever be part of.
Visit vote.coop to join the grassroots efforts on behalf of YOUR electric cooperative and let's make a difference.
Steve Walter
CEO
Other informative Links:
Legislation and Grassroots at Washington Rural Electric Cooperative Association (WRECA)
