Rural Missouri - January 2018 - 4

| C O O P E R AT I O N

Welcome to
the new
Rural Missouri

photo by Jim McCarty

Volunteers for Phase 1 of the Brighter Bolivia Project include, from left, Jonathan Schussler, Osage Valley Electric; Eric Peeper,
NW Power; Tim Gilbert, Boone Electric; Craig Moeller, AMEC; Jared Kelley, SEMO Electric; Casey Schwartze, Three Rivers
Electric and Danny Derry, Grundy Electric.

Volunteers brighten Bolivia
International project brings power to unserved mountain community

n December, eight electric cooperative employees
from Missouri boarded a plane bound for Chapisirca, Bolivia, a tiny community in the Andes
Mountains. Their mission: to build power lines
for residents of the village who have never known
the beneﬁts of electricity.
This was the second time Missouri's electric
cooperatives sent a team of lineworkers to Bolivia.
In 2016, another group of volunteers traveled to
Riberalta to build power lines for two villages.
The effort is a project of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association's International Program with additional funding from the Cooperative Finance Corporation. Begun in 1962, NRECA
International sought to "export" the success of the
U.S. rural electriﬁcation program to developing
nations. Over the years, individual electric cooperative employees from Missouri have worked on international projects in faraway places such as Hayti,
South Sudan and Guatemala. A new approach in
recent years has seen states put together teams of
linemen to take projects from beginning to end.
The latest effort in Bolivia presented some unique
challenges for the Missouri lineworkers. The project took place at an altitude above 13,000 feet. The
highest point in Missouri is 1,772 feet. Needless to

say, the work had to be done at a much slower pace
than it would have been done back home.
The project involved building 3.5 miles of line
with 70 to 80 poles across the mountain top. A local
nonproﬁt utility, ELFEC, helped with the project by
setting the poles.
This was the ﬁrst phase of the project. In late
January, a second team will build a similar project
to extend service to more Bolivians. Chapasirca is
located near the large city of Cochabamba. It is estimated that more than 285,000 people in the region
do not have access to electricity.
Worldwide, more than 1.6 billion people live
without electricity. NRECA International seeks
to brighten the lives of people living in developing
nations by building power lines and donating vehicles and materials no longer needed by U.S. electric
cooperatives.
Past experience with these projects shows that
electricity lets children attend school on a regular
basis. It raises the standard of living for the entire
family by lightening the burden for adults and providing the potential for running water, refrigeration
and sanitation previously unavailable. It also saves
money for families that otherwise might rely on
expensive generators.

ver since the day the ﬁrst issue of this
publication rolled off the presses in
1948, Rural Missouri has been printed
on newsprint. No doubt those early editors longed for nicer paper to better showcase
their photos. That certainly has been the case
for the current editors who put high value on
visual communication.
That's why we were so excited putting
together this issue of Rural Missouri. This will
be the ﬁrst one printed on high-quality, magazine-grade paper.
It's also the ﬁrst printed at LSC Communications based in Liberty. We are thrilled that
many of the employees working at LSC also
are members of Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative.
The new presses are heat-set, meaning
after the ink is applied it is baked on in a hightemperature oven. That means the ink is less
likely to rub off on your hands. It also means
a big improvement in the quality of our photo
reproduction.
We also wanted to improve the look of the
pages that are exclusive to your local electric
cooperative. Local co-ops now have access to
full color photographs instead of the black
and white or spot colors typically used in past
issues.
You will ﬁnd the local pages in the center of
each issue, except on the month when Rural
Missouri serves as your ofﬁcial notice of the
annual meeting. Then we will move the local
pages to the outside to let our cooperatives
take advantage of the perforated cards you
can tear out and bring to the annual meeting
for quick registration.
Your local electric cooperative will have
many more ways to communicate with you in
the new Rural Missouri.
The best part of all the changes is that none
of this will cost your cooperative any more
money. The price is still about 11 cents less
than the price of a postage stamp.
That is thanks to our many advertisers
who recognize that Rural Missouri - with its
550,000-plus circulation - is the best way to
reach rural people. In the coming months, we
hope to reach out to you in more ways.
We want our communications efforts to
be a two-way street. Be sure to check out
our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/
RuralMissouri, too.
We'd like to wish you all a Happy New Year
and hope that the coming year is a healthy,
happy and prosperous one.

EDITORIAL STAFF: Jim McCarty, editor, jmccarty@ruralmissouri.coop
Paul Newton, managing editor, pnewton@ruralmissouri.coop | Heather Berry, associate editor, hberry@ruralmissouri.coop
Megan Backes, creative director, mbackes@ruralmissouri.coop | Zach Smith, ﬁeld editor, zsmith@ruralmissouri.coop
Angie Jones-Wheeler, co-op page designer | Dusty Weter, co-op page designer
ADVERTISING: Mary Davis, production manager, mdavis@ruralmissouri.coop

"Devoted to the rural way of life"
Rural Missouri is published monthly by the Association of
Missouri Electric Cooperatives, Barry Hart, CEO/executive vice
president. Individual subscription rate: $10 per year or $22 for
three years, taxes and postage included. Group rate for members
of participating RECs $2.22, plus taxes and postage. Delivery
as speciﬁed by subscriber. If not speciﬁed, delivery will be by
periodical class mail at subscriber's expense. Periodical Class
postage paid at Jefferson City, MO, and additional mailing ofﬁces.
Copyright 2018, Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives.
Call for reprint rights.

RURAL MISSOURI | JANUARY 2018

Postmasters: Send address changes to Rural Missouri, P.O. Box 1645, Jefferson City, MO 65102.
Subscribers: Report change of address to your local cooperative. Do not send change of address to Rural Missouri.
Advertising standards: Advertising published in Rural Missouri is accepted on the premise that the merchandise and services offered are
accurately described and sold to customers at the advertised price. Rural Missouri and Missouri's electric cooperatives do not endorse
any products or services advertised herein. Advertising that does not conform to these standards or that is deceptive or misleading is
never knowingly accepted by this publication.

Editorial: Rural Missouri, P.O. Box 1645, Jefferson City, MO 65102
573-659-3423 | info@ruralmissouri.coop | www.ruralmissouri.coop
Advertising: mdavis@ruralmissouri.coop | 573-659-3400
National Advertising Representative: American MainStreet Publications;
611 S. Congress St., Suite 504; Austin, TX 78704 | 573-659-3400

USPS 473-000 ISSN 0164-8578

Circulation of this issue: 556,258

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - January 2018