Rural Missouri - July 2022 - 5

Missouri
RURAL
Volume 75 | JULY 2022 | Number 7
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, designer
ajones@ruralmissouri.coop
ADVERTISING:
Mary Davis, production manager
mdavis@ruralmissouri.coop
Editorial:
Rural Missouri
2722 E. McCarty St., Jefferson City, MO 65101
573-659-3423 info@ruralmissouri.coop
Advertising:
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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
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shall be in the sole discretion of the editor.
Rural Missouri (ISSN 0164-8578) (USPS 473000)
is published monthly by the Association
of Missouri Electric Cooperatives, 2722 E.
McCarty Street, Jefferson City, MO 65101, Caleb
Jones, CEO/executive vice president. Individual
subscription rate: $12 per year or $25 for three
years, taxes and postage included. Group rate for
members of participating RECs $2.64, plus taxes
and postage, paid from equity accruing to the
member. Delivery as specified by subscriber. If not
specified, delivery will be by periodical class mail
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paid at Jefferson City, MO, and additional mailing
offices. Copyright 2022, Association of Missouri
Electric Cooperatives. Call for reprint rights.
Circulation of this issue: 580,552
RM | PERSPECTIVES
When calls my wife
by Caleb Jones | cjones@amec.coop
A
s one who married way above
my paygrade, I've watched
more than my share of Hallmark
movies. So many, in
fact, that I'm pretty sure I can write
the plot for one. Hallmark, this one's
for you ...
On her way from Chicago to Kansas
City, an up-and-coming account
executive with a Windy City ad firm
breaks down in Gower, Missouri. She
drives a Tesla, and it turns out that
parts for the electric vehicle are on a
slow boat from China.
Frustrated and crying, she gets
help from a local farm couple who
takes pity on her and offers her a
spare bedroom on the edge of town.
Here she waits for Randy's Repairs to
fix her car. Gower Days, the annual
summer festival, is underway. She
eats her first funnel cake made by
the ladies from the Ebeneezer United
Methodist Church. She witnesses her
first cornhole tournament and gets to
judge the annual Chili Contest.
Just when this high-powered executive
starts to fall in love with the
slow pace and generous people in this
northwest Missouri town, she gets
a call from Randy's with news that
her car is ready and all charged up.
She has just enough time to drive to
Kansas City and make her winning
presentation.
Unknown to her, a crew from
United Electric Cooperative has the
only road out of town blocked while
they replace a downed electric pole.
That's where she meets a rugged and
handsome lineman for the co-op (they
tell me that's the only kind there is).
He apologizes for the delay and suggests
she logs on to United Fiber's
gigabit internet service and make the
presentation via Zoom.
Now, she never expected to find
gigabit internet service in a town this
small, much less folks who leave the
keys in their pickup in case you need
to use it. She gives the presentation,
but in the middle of it realizes she
never wants to return to Chicago.
She marries the lineman, has a
Lindsey and I like visiting Chicago, but only
when the Cardinals play at Wrigley Field.
gaggle of kids, becomes a KC Royals
fan, borrows the funnel cake recipe
from the church, sets up an online
store to sell funnel cakes and lives
happily ever after in Gower.
In 2020 PC Magazine featured 10
places in the U.S. that combine lowcost
housing and gigabit internet
service, making them the perfect locations
for remote work. One area cited
was St. Joseph and its surrounding
small towns, including Gower.
If they knew what they were missing,
I think most city folks would
move to the country.
Whether they are installing it
or finding partnerships to make it
happen, your electric cooperative is
doing its part to try to get broadband
internet into every corner of rural
Missouri. It's not just to get city folks
to move there either. It's because it
is what you, our member-owners,
deserve.
I would like to write more, but I've
gotta go. Lindsey says it's time for
" When Calls the Heart. "
Caleb is the executive vice president
and CEO of the Association of Missouri
Electric Cooperatives and a member of
Boone Electric Cooperative.
JULY 2022 | RURALMISSOURI.COOP 5
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Rural Missouri - July 2022

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