We hope the newsletter keeps you informed about employee and member updates. You will receive Between the Lines every three months. Each issue will feature employee anniversaries, birthdays, upcoming meetings and events, and more.
We want to hear from you!
Do you have information to include in the newsletter or an idea to improve communication? Send feedback, information, and photos to Jade at jadeg@butlerrural.coop.
The co-op will host birthday breakfasts once per quarter to celebrate employees who have birthdays within that quarter. The first breakfast will be in February for employees with birthdays in January, February, and March. More details coming soon!
We will host a March Madness bracket competition among employees this year. More details coming soon!
You should receive Changing Currents by email every two weeks. Changing Currents is created and published by Ohio's Electric Cooperatives, the service organization owned by the electric co-ops in our state. The emails contain news and information from electric co-ops across Ohio.
If you don't receive Changing Currents, let Julie, Missy, or Kim in Human Resources know and they will sign you up to receive the emails.
THURSDAY, APRIL 24
Butler Rural Electric Cooperative’s annual meeting will be held virtually this year. We will reevaluate the annual meeting options when planning future annual meetings. More details coming soon!
We will host a chili and soup cook-off after our health screening February 12. More details coming soon!
It's important to report hazards in the field if you see something that looks off when you're outside the office, like when you're on your way home after work.
If you see something that could be dangerous, report it. One of our employees will inspect the problem and fix it if needed.
Report these problems even if you're unsure it's impacting an electric line or if you don't know if the electric line is in our territory. Doing so will keep our employees and the public safe.
Shown here is snow and ice on our roof. Please be careful when entering and exiting our building. If you see this near one of our entrances, report it to physical facilities.
JANUARY
Julie Abbott
January 11
Adam Osborn
January 22
FEBRUARY
Kelsey James February 6
Missy Moore
February 9
Darlene Thompson February 21
Cheryl Mathews
February 26
Lisa Broermann
March 4
Larry Hornung
March 12
Bob Conrad
March 24
Evan Rauch
March 28
Congratulations to William Schaefer of Schaefer’s Farm Market and CSA, who is the winner of Butler Rural Electric Cooperative’s 2024 Hometown Holiday Lights Contest! He received a $50 bill credit and a giveaway basket for his impressive holiday display. The farm is on Jacksonburg Road in Wayne Township.
Schaefer’s family has been members since 1992. Their business is a working family farm that produces grain crops, livestock, and specialty crops, including produce and flowers. They offer farm-raised products and an abundance of other local goods at their farm market year-round.
Riley Salyers
January 6 5 years
Kelsey James January 9 2 years
Daniel Chaney
January 17 25 years
Andy Denny January 18 4 years
Kyle Fagin January 23 2 years
Alyssa Maurits January 23 2 years
Mason Miller January 27 5 years
Rick Zhang February 1 4 years
Seth Fricke February 8 9 years
Wade Bullock February 12 1 year
Kevin Maddock February 12 18 years
Adam Bens
March 4 1 year
Jeremy Hill March 5 18 years
Steve Abrams March 7 3 years
Curt Loewenstine March 14 14 years
Tricia Blevins March 21 9 years
Youth Tour
High school sophomores and juniors whose parents are co-op members can go on an allexpenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. on the National Electric Cooperative Youth Tour June 15 through 21. Applicants must complete an application by February 3 and a virtual interview February 10 through 14 to qualify.
We offer college scholarships to high school seniors whose parents are members of the co-op. Applications are due at our office February 3. The top applicants will participate in interviews with judges and will receive a scholarship from Butler Rural Electric Cooperative. Scholarship judging is at our office March 5.
Alyssa Maurits
MARKETING + KEY ACCOUNTS REPRESENTATIVE
Marketing + Key Accounts Representative Alyssa Maurits completes Certified Key Account Executive program
Marketing and Key Accounts Representative Alyssa Maurits recently completed the Certified Key Account Executive, or CKAE, program. This program helps key account executives and their electric co-ops construct and implement a winning key accounts management program. Alyssa received the CKAE certification after completing coursework and assessments and creating a key account business plan and member engagement plan.
Congratulations, Alyssa!
Butler Rural Electric Cooperative proudly provide us and our families with comprehensive retirement and health benefits through a traditional definedbenefit plan (NRECA Retirement Security (RS) Plan), a defined-contribution plan (NRECA 401(k) Plan), and the NRECA Group Benefits Trust. NRECA uses America’s Electric Cooperatives PAC to help elect and support Members of Congress who care about legislation that safeguards our retirement and health benefits.
Thank you to the 28 employees who contribute to PAC!
ATTN: Someone
National Information Solutions Cooperative
123 Fake St.
Apt 1
St. Louis, MO 12345
Capital credits checks were mailed to members in November. Members who have not cashed or deposited their checks will receive notices by mail and email asking them to promptly do so. The first notice will be sent February 14 and a second notice will be sent March 7. Below is an example of the first notice.
January 17, 2024
Dear ,
According to our records, your capital credits check from Butler Rural Electric Cooperative has not been cashed or deposited as of February 15, 2024. The check was mailed to you in November 2023. Please cash the check immediately or choose one of the options below and return this letter.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
Evan Rauch Manager of Accounting and Finance/CFO
Butler Rural Electric Cooperative, Inc.
_____ Please issue a duplicate check.
_____ Apply the capital credits amount to my electric bill.
_____ Automatically apply my capital credits amount to my bill each year.
_____ Donate my capital credits check to Butler Rural Community Connection.
To
Signature of Payee
Title (if for a corporation) Date
When: Wednesday, February 12
Where: Community Room
> Blood Pressure
> Blood Draw
> Goody Bag
> BMI
Know your numbers
Attendees will be registered to win a gift.
Thank you to those who donated to the 2024 Holiday Harvest Food Drive! We received 1,524 items this year. These donations assisted many local families during the holiday season.
During the food drive, employees and members brought non-perishable food to our office, where employees organized items and checked expiration dates. Then, we passed the items to local food pantries and churches because they have a better understanding of the needs in our community. Butler Rural Electric Cooperative donates $1,000 worth of non-perishable items to the food drive each year.
Peace Church in Hamilton, and St. Aloysius Church in Shandon received items from the food drive. Thank you to these organizations for responding to the needs in our community.
The winner of the $50 bill credit for donating to Holiday Harvest is member Kathleen Kihm from Harrison Township.
Above, from left, Mark Fitzgerald from Open Hands Food Pantry, Butler Rural Electric Cooperative’s Manager of Facilities and Maintenance Larry Hornung, Deb Fitzgerald from Open Hands Food Pantry, Butler Rural Electric Cooperative’s Warehouse Clerk Riley Salyers, and Butler Rural Electric Cooperative’s Mechanic Ryan Kerr.
We welcomed new leadership at Ohio's Electric Cooperatives, or OEC, in January. Pat O’Loughlin retired this month after serving at OEC for 22 years. We welcomed Craig Grooms as the new CEO January 6.
Grooms has served OEC and Buckeye Power since 2004. He previously served the organizations as chief operating officer, vice president of engineering and operations, and director of resource scheduling. A rural southern Ohio native, Grooms has also worked in a variety of roles at NRG Energy and Dayton Power & Light.
DRUG FREE WORKPLACE TRAINING FOR DRIVERS AND SUPERVISORS
January 24
BOARD MEETING BOARD CANDIDATE VIDEO FILMING + HEADSHOTS
January 29
SCHOLARSHIP + YOUTH TOUR APPLICATIONS DUE
February 3
YOUTH TOUR VIRTUAL INTERVIEWS
February 10 through 14
OPERATIONS + ENGINEERING CPR TRAINING
February 11
HEALTH SCREENING + CHILI COOKOFF
February 12
SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING
February 13
BOARD MEETING
February 26
SCHOLARSHIP INTERVIEWS
March 5
COMMUNITY CONNECTION BOARD MEETING
March 12
BOARD OF TRUSTEES ELECTION BEGINS
March 24
BOARD MEETING
March 26
At Butler Rural Electric Cooperative,
We're working with NRECA Market Research Services to complete member satisfaction surveys by phone and email. The surveys are random, so not every member will be contacted. Members will receive the surveys beginning in April.
The survey results will give us our ACSI score. ACSI stands for American Customer Satisfaction Index. ACSI scores are calculated for companies across all industries and measure overall consumer satisfaction.
This year, we are running a campaign to show members the value of their cooperative membership. Examples of the campaign are above. Other campaign resources members will see include Ohio Cooperative Living ads, bill inserts, SmartHub banners, web banners, webpage content, and social
media graphics and content.
Campaign messages include information about the topics below. These factors are the most important to members according to our 2024 ACSI survey results.
> Electric service
> Social responsibility
> Electric cost
> Employees
> Member service
> Communication
> Bills
> Payment options
The goal of the campaign is to increase member awareness of the value of their co-op membership and increase our ACSI score.
We offer a variety of programs and services to help members save energy and money. See below for more details.
We offer rebates to help members live a more efficient and comfortable lifestyle.
Geothermal rebates
> $1,200 rebate for new systems
> $600 rebate for replacement systems
Members receive a geothermal credit of 2 cents per kilowatt hour for geothermal use between 1,001 and 2,501 kilowatt hours from September through May.
Air source/dual fuel heat pump rebates
> $600 rebate for new dual fuel heat pumps
> $300 rebate for replacement dual fuel heat pumps
> $300 rebate for new or replacement air-source heat pumps to an existing electric back-up system
Members with dual fuel receive a 2 cent per kilowatt hour credit for heat pump use from September through May.
Water heater rebates
Members building a new home or replacing a fossil fuel water heater can receive rebates after purchasing a Rheem Marathon® electric water heater from the co-op.
> $350 rebate for 50 gallon water heaters
> $550 rebate for 85 gallon water heaters
> $650 rebate for 100 gallon water heaters
Level 2 EV charger rebate
We offer a $1,000 rebate to members who own or lease an EV. The rebate covers installation of the charger, which can be completed by the cooperative’s licensed and insured electricians. Members must be on our EV rider or time of day rate for 36 months to qualify. Limit one rebate per household.
Smart thermostat rebate
Members can receive up to $150 for a new qualifying smart thermostat. The rebate may not exceed 50% of the thermostat unit cost (excluding tax and installation costs). A maximum of two rebates will be paid per member residence per year.
The co-op finances loans at a low interest rate for members making home efficiency improvements.
Geothermal loans
Includes labor, duct work, excavation, pipe, and materials of up to $25,000.
Air-source heat pump and central air conditioning loans
Covers ENERGY STAR® rated heat pumps of up to $25,000 at locations that do not have air conditioning.
Energy efficiency loans
Covers insulation, weather stripping, caulking, storm and thermal windows and doors, and clock or electronic thermostats of up to $25,000.
Electric improvement loans
Includes upgrading services, meter pole changes, rewiring projects, power quality equipment, backup generators, and correcting unsafe electric conditions of up to $25,000.
KOHLER standby generator loan
Qualifying residential members can receive a loan of up to $20,000 to install a KOHLER® standby generator through the cooperative. This lowinterest loan can help members finance such a major investment. Members can also purchase a KOHLER standby generator from the cooperative without receiving a loan if they choose.
The cooperative leases L.E.D. dusk-to-dawn outdoor lights for $10 per month with a 36-month agreement. The monthly charge, billed on the electric bill, covers installation, electric consumption for the light, and maintenance. If an additional transformer is required for the light, the monthly charge is $12.60. A light can only be installed on a cooperative-owned pole.
We offer the ability to purchase a behind-the-meter transfer switch called a Trifecta from Global Power Products. A Trifecta is a meter base mounted transfer switch with a cord to use with a portable generator to power parts of the home, like a sump pump and refrigerator. The cooperative provides free installation for these switches.
Price list:
> 30 Amp Trifecta – $728.59
> 40 Amp Surge Protection – $861.72
Price includes 20 foot cable and taxes. Additional cable is available in 20 foot increments for an additional charge. Butler Rural Electric Cooperative can order a 50 Amp device if requested.
Our licensed and insured electricians can help with electric repairs.
These help members pinpoint problems in their home. The audit includes a blower door test, infrared camera images, and a walk-through of the home to find ways to improve comfort and efficiency. Energy audits are $150 and the cost is applied to the following month’s electric bill.
We lease meter socket adapters to protect against damage to standard appliances. We also offer surge arresters to protect appliances and household electronics.
Members have extra time to pay their electric bills during the winter season, when higher than normal bills are common due to increased heating system use.
From November 1 through April 15, members have
10 extra days to pay their bill without disconnection. These 10 days begin the day after our due date, which is typically the 20th of the month. If the 20th falls on a weekend or holiday, the due date is moved to the next business day. If you have questions about this program, please see Darlene.
with Talawanda Middle School
Monday, May 19
Friday, July 11
at Indian Ridge Golf Club
Friday, August 15
Do you have information to include in the employee newsletter or an idea to improve communication? Send feedback, information, and photos to Jade at jadeg@butlerrural.coop.
Our mission
To be a dynamic, progressive organization guided by cooperative principles and to provide energy and other value-added services to its members. The cooperative will participate in its communities, providing leadership and support to improve the quality of life for all of its citizens.
BUTLER RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE
BUTLER RURAL ELECTRIC