Georgia Magazine - January 2021 - 4

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Comments from our readers * Compiled by Jennifer J. Hewett

I love my co-op!

!
GreyStone Power Corp. [based in Douglasville]
my co-op
I
cares about its members and throws an awesome
ce
rt, make a differen
co-ops have hea
Georgia's electric
[annual meeting] party every year with food, many
O
giveaways and things for your kids to do. [In 2020] of
course, with COVID-19, they had to [hold a virtual
meeting], but I'm sure they'll come back stronger [in
2021], because that is the type of company they are.
Also, I just want to say thank you to the outside
Seven cooperative principles
crew workers. They work tirelessly through the night
at times and keep our hot water going strong. When
we moved out to the country in South Fulton
County, we expected the power to go out all the time
with the many trees around us. Well, that is not the
case. We rarely have any power outages, but when the power goes out, the crews can
be seen all around.
I really care that my co-op gives back to the local communities. I read Georgia
Magazine, and I'm always seeing stories about how my power company is doing things
to help the disadvantaged. I think this is very important when you are such a large
company. Thank you.
-Tanya Cole, Chattahoochee Hills
Compiled

by Jennifer

J. Hewett

ctober is National Co-op Month! Cooperatives are important businesses in their local communities, meeting their member-owners'
economic, social and cultural needs. Cooperative businesses
are guided by seven cooperative principles (see box below) and provide
their member-owners with specialized services, consumer goods, housing
or labor. Co-ops operate in many business sectors, including agriculture,
finance, education, health care, housing and utilities.
Georgia's 41 not-for-profit electric membership cooperatives (EMCs)
serve approximately 4.4 million of Georgia's 10 million residents across
73 percent of the state's land area. They operate the largest electric distribution network in the state, with nearly 192,000 miles
of electric power lines.
To help celebrate National Cooperative Month,
Georgia Magazine readers shared stories showing
how Georgia's electric cooperatives make a difference in their communities and how co-op employees make connections with their members. Here are
a few of their stories.

1. Voluntary and open membership.
2. Democratic member control.

4. Autonomy and independence.

5. Education, training and information.
6. Cooperation among cooperatives.
7. Concern for community.

16 Georgia Magazine

COASTAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE

3. Member economic participation.

October 2020

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9/15/20 12:34 PM

Caption

We are so grateful for Oconee Electric Membership Corp. (EMC), its Foundation
[based in Dudley] and what it does for our community. The co-op has been a strong
supporter of Historic Richland Church, and Oconee EMC Foundation recently awarded our nonprofit a generous grant to help with our fund to address a significant need at
our historic church. Working with the co-op's
Foundation (Operation Round Up) board was easy
and rewarding.
MAGAZINE
As manager for this building in a very rural
part of Georgia, I have always been able to call on
75
Oconee EMC over the past 10 years of my association with them. When our board voted to increase
Explore
MAGAZINE
Columbus
lighting of the grounds, all it took was a phone call
and a meeting with an engineer, and the work was
completed in just a few days.
MAGAZINE
We are also thankful for all the support we
I love my co-op
have received over the years from Georgia
Amazing
Magazine, which is a great asset to the public. I
magicians
am particularly fond of the Calendar of Events,
which includes our events on a regular basis.
Articles on points of interest and events are always enlightening and useful.
Thank you for producing such a fine magazine and being part of a generous,
community-minded organization.
-David Middleton, president, Richland Restoration League,
historicrichlandchurch.org, Jeffersonville

Georgia
Georgia
Georgia
Celebrating the Georgia lifestyle

GEMC

Conifers for Georgia
gardens
page 32

Recipes from pitmaster
Bryan Furman
page 34
OCTOBER 2020

GEORGIA MAGAZINE

Celebrating the Georgia lifestyle

GEMC

page 28

Celebrating the Georgia lifestyle

GEMC

page 16

page 26

www.georgiamagazine.org

01_Cover_Final_1020.indd 1

9/11/20 11:19 PM

Editor's note: For more " I love my co-op " stories from readers, see page 16 of the
October 2020 issue or visit bit.ly/ilmcp20.

Share your thoughts. Email us at magazine@georgiaemc.com. Please include your name, address
and phone number. Letters may be edited for clarity and space.

Georgia Magazine

January 2021

From THE EDITOR
The new year is usually a time of
fresh starts and good intentions. This
often involves giving up something,
whether it's tobacco, sugar or whatever
your personal " bad habit " may be.
And while the idea of selfimprovement is a good one, maybe
instead of focusing on subtracting
things from our lives, we should
consider adding something: learning
something new, exploring a new place
or becoming more involved in our
communities.
With that in mind, we explore
some of these topics in this issue, starting with the idea of learning something
new. And what better place to do so
than at the institutions that are part
of the Technical College System of
Georgia (TCSG)? With 22 colleges on
88 campuses, there's a TCSG school in
nearly every part of the state. Turn to
page 16 to discover how they are
powering Georgia's workforce by
helping students succeed.
If something old is more your
thing, why not plan to visit some of the
97 shops on Georgia's Antique Trail?
This state-specific directory is part of
AntiqueTrail.com, a site that includes
nearly 1,500 shops in 26 states.
Along the trail you'll find antique
and vintage markets that will appeal to
both serious collectors and treasure
hunters. So if you'd like to shop for
items that have stories to tell, see page
30 to find out more about our state's
antiquing destinations.
One of the consequences of the
pandemic that defined 2020 is a
dramatic increase in the number of
Georgians who struggle with hunger.
Donations to area food banks have not
kept pace with the demand, so one
young couple from Cartersville decided
to help address the shortfall. Read
" Trevor's playbook, " starting on page
28, and be inspired by how they've
taken steps to help those in need.
Happy New Year!

Laurel George
Editor

http://www.AntiqueTrail.com http://www.georgiamagazine.org http://www.historicrichlandchurch.org http://www.bit.ly/ilmcp20

Georgia Magazine - January 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - January 2021