(Pictured above: Inside the United States' Capitol Rotunda) Chris Ball, Michelle Clements, and I, recently accompanied Craig Borr on a three-day trip to Washington D.C. to learn more about hot-button issues facing co-ops, and to advocate on our members’ behalf. Click here to read about our first day as we engaged with ACRE and NRECA on [...]
Pictured above: Chris Ball, Wolverine director of IT; James Curtis, Wolverine director of communications; U.S. Congressman John Moolenaar; Michelle Clements, Wolverine director of accounting While the city of Washington D.C. buzzed with the clamor of Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game and the din of the daily political news last week, a group of Wolverine Power Cooperative [...]
In my last blog, I explained the origin of Grandpa’s instruction, “Do something, even if it’s wrong!” He detested inaction and encouraged me to learn from doing, as much as he valued learning by thinking. I naturally thought of him as I reflected on our new Senior Team structure we implemented in the fall of [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Today is Administrative Professionals’ Day. I usually don’t pay much attention to these types of declared special days, and I don’t really understand who gets to declare a special day, anyway. I think Wolverine’s Administrative staff ranks as exceptional, so today merits a moment to pause and tell them, “Thank You!” Wolverine and MECA [...]
This week, President Trump issued a sweeping Executive Order on energy policy. This Order, entitled Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth, may reverse several important environmental actions issued by the Obama Administration. One item of particular interest is that the Order requires a review of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan Seven years ago, the Democrat-controlled White [...]
Guest Blogger, Craig, and his views on the Failed Second Attempt at the Ptarmigan Traverse) Gratitude. As we walked out of the Cascade Mountains 24 hours overdue--knowing there were worried family members to call, flights to rebook, and meetings to reschedule--the strongest feeling I recall is gratitude. Gratitude for the opportunity to experience mountaineering in a way that [...]
I felt like a nobody. We just finished a failed second attempt at a difficult high mountain route in Washington called the Ptarmigan Traverse, and we made a mess of things. Now three trips into my early climbing career, a disappointing reality smacked me in the face. My skills didn't measure up to my expectations. [...]