“Do something, even if it’s wrong!”  My grandpa would yell this to me from time to time when I was on his farm.  There I was, a city kid visiting his farm, trying to help him with weekend projects.  I remember Grandpa’s odd instructions like, “Fetch me the grub hoe.  It’s in the small shed, [...]

Christmas season tops my list of favorite holidays. I love the lights, the music, the food, family gatherings and memories of Christmases past. Most of all, I love that Christmas means giving. Back in the 70’s, my sister and I would brave cold and snow to walk to downtown Cadillac from our house up near [...]

For the past decade, the Wolverine Board and senior team set aside a special day to reflect on significant accomplishments of the past year and dig into strategic questions that might shape our future. How does Wolverine continue to bring value to its members? What will Wolverine focus on next year? Where are the opportunities [...]

Nearly twenty years ago, when email was a relatively new thing, I received a curious email from our FERC attorney.  The Subject line read, “I Love You.”  I thought, “This is odd,” and then I proceeded to open the email.  Suddenly, my computer began sending emails to everyone in my contact list telling them, “I [...]

Wolverine employees set new Fitness Challenge records this summer, logging more than 8,300 miles of hiking, running, kayaking and more.  The Fitness Challenge motivated me to get back in the groove, so I committed to racing a short triathlon in Ludington.  My youngest son trained with me over the summer, and then recorded his first ever triathlon.   I have now [...]

The Wolverine Senior Team worked hard over the past ten months to deliver a revamped line worker apprentice training program.  We needed to figure out how the new program would work, develop a new Joint Apprenticeship agreement with the IBEW (Local 876), contract with a training company, and obtain approval from the U.S. Department of [...]

Last week proved to be a tough week for goodbyes.  Ron Rowe retired and Billy Crowe passed away. I also had to say goodbye to our family dog, Lily. Billy Crowe, thirty-year power plant Operator, Maintenance Operator and Chief Operator lost his two-year fight with cancer this week. Billy liked you to think he was just [...]

My grandmother emigrated from Holland at the age of 16. I often wonder at her courage and try to imagine how isolated she must have felt -- no phone, no email, no Instagram, just an occasional letter. She and her husband raised four daughters during the Great Depression, and she dealt with World War II [...]

Two years ago, Michigan cooperatives sent teams to design and string a mountain circuit in Guatemala.  This changed the lives of villagers who now have house lights, electric cooking, refrigeration, and a school with lights. The job also changed the lives of our employees who worked in the country and back home to make this [...]

The last two weeks, members of Wolverine’s senior team and communications team attended HomeWorks Tri-County’s (HWTC’s) District Meetings.  These annual meetings proudly display what it means to be part of a cooperative.  Each May, HomeWorks holds a local District meeting in each of its seven voting districts.  It takes the HWTC senior team a lot [...]