Missouri Electric Co-op Executive Wins Industry Award For Leadership In Communication

Contact:
Eleanor Miller, NRECA, 703-907-5721
Amy Rosier, WRVEC, (417) 335-9231

Chris Hamon (r), CEO of White River Valley Electric Cooperative, Branson, Mo., receives the J.C. Brown Award from NRECA CEO Glenn English. At left, Nell Withers McCauley, Peace River Electric Cooperative, Wauchula, Fla., presided over the ceremony, sponsored by the Council of Rural Electric Communicators.

MARCO ISLAND, FLA., January 13, 2009 – Chris Hamon, chief executive officer of White River Valley Electric Cooperative (WRVEC), Branson, Mo., won the 2009 J.C. Brown CEO Communication Leadership Award conferred by the electric co-op industry’s Spotlight on Excellence Awards program.

Hamon was honored here today during the CEO Close-Up, an annual conference for chief executives and general managers held by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). The award recognizes a CEO who advances communication in the electric cooperative industry. Hamon was cited specifically for “demonstrating a clear understanding of and commitment to the strategic role of communications in employee, member and community relations.”

The competition’s judges praised Hamon’s strong advocacy of the cooperative business model in both internal and external communication activities. All departments are involved in telling or demonstrating the co-op story.

Emphasizing its member ownership, WRVEC seeks constant feedback from its consumer-members, both residential and commercial, through several surveying techniques. For example, the judges praised the cooperative’s consistently high member satisfaction scores of 85 or better – sustained even when WRVEC raised its rates – as further indication of the success of Hamon’s commitment to open and constant communication between the co-op and its consumer-members. His nomination portfolio detailed WRVEC’s at least once-a-year participation in the American Customer Satisfaction Index managed by the University of Michigan Business School and sponsored by the American Society for Quality. It measures customers' satisfaction in 16 major industries and 190 leading corporations.

Also noteworthy was Hamon’s leadership in galvanizing the WRVEC staff to engage the co-op’s consumer-members in the Our Energy, Our FutureTM campaign through holding all-employee meetings, providing tools to staff to achieve consumer involvement, focusing on the campaign at the co-op’s annual meeting, and committing to continue the effort. Results to date total more than 84,000 messages from WRVEC’s territory asking U.S. Senators and Representatives about the nation’s energy and climate policy.

All judges cited Hamon’s inclusion of the communication function and goals in the co-op’s strategic plan. He also was praised for enlisting every department to help define and support WRVEC’s communication goals. One judge summed it up this way: “Hamon’s inclusive method of strategic planning and attention to communication throughout are exceptional.”

Hamon received accolades for building the Member Services staff and devoting significant budget resources to support internal as well as external communication programs. In addition, the co-op maintains a proven commitment to staff education, professional development and certification.

The J.C. Brown CEO Communication Leadership Award is a major component of the Spotlight on Excellence Awards, which recognize electric cooperative excellence in communication and marketing. The Spotlight program is sponsored by the Council of Rural Electric Communicators, a volunteer group of communication professionals working with NRECA and other national co-op organizations to advance the recognition, education and professionalism of electric cooperative communicators. The Council also sponsors a National Orientation for New Communicators, and established the Certified Cooperative Communicator (CCC) credential, a certification program administered by a separate board of certified communicators.

The award memorializes the late J.C. Brown, a true champion of cooperative business. Brown served as editor and publisher of RE Magazine and Rural Electric News Letter, the predecessor of Electric Co-op Today, and retired from NRECA in 1993 as publications director. Earlier he was chief executive of North Carolina’s association of electric cooperatives and edited the statewide magazine Carolina Country. He died in 1999. Brown is best remembered for his unwavering dedication to communication as a vital link connecting electric cooperatives with each other and with their consumer-owners, and to advancing the cooperative business model.

The panel of judges consisted of communication and management experts in academia, business and industry, including cooperative electric utilities. Presenting the award to Hamon were Nell Withers McCauley, vice president of marketing and member service, Peace River Electric Cooperative, Wauchula, Fla., and a member of the Council, and NRECA CEO Glenn English.

NRECA is the national service organization that represents the nation’s more than 900 private, consumer-owned electric cooperatives, which provide electric service to more than 40 million people in 47 states. NRECA coordinates the activities of the Council and the CCC Program.

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