Electric Cooperatives: Going Beyond the Wires

By McKinley Thomas, Grundy County High School, 2018

At the Southaven High School in Tennessee, students can get away with almost anything until the administration reaches a breaking point. At this moment, four unlikely students have ended up in detention with the punishment of cleaning out the basement. To break the silence, Miles Stone speaks up, “Way to go, James! You got me in trouble and now I can’t play in the district games. I thought you were smarter than that.”

Inflamed, James Cullen answers back, “Well, maybe next time you should do your own work, so I won’t have to use my assignments from last year. Now we're both in trouble for plagiarism. By the way, why are you two here?” James asks the two girls scanning the basement.

“Well, I’m here for using Facetime during class. I really don’t see why it’s such a big deal,” Katherine Gold says innocently.

“I’m only here for not participating in Coach Cawyer’s games in gym class,” Betty Harshman adds shyly.

“Woah, guys! Come look at this.” Revealing the video game he found under a pile of dust, James plugs in the game console. The screen reads Electric Cooperatives: Jumanji. “Hey, let’s try it out.” Leading by example, James chooses an avatar and the others follow reluctantly. “Are y’all ready?” he asks as he presses the start button in the middle of the controller.

“James! What did you do?” Miles frantically screams as the students’ bodies begin to disintegrate into the television. Waking up in the middle of a run-down power plant, they realize they are now the avatars they chose. Failing to understand their situation, they rely on an electric lineman who serves as a guide for the game walking them through their mission to save the Electric Cooperative’s title.

“The objective of the game is to actively experience four different paths to gain knowledge to understand the title, ‘Electric Cooperatives Going Beyond the Wires.’ Each path will yield a piece of the title. Together, each of you will drop your piece inside the generator to escape the game. To help you, we have transformed you into co-op employees to expand your understanding. Have fun, but remember our company is in your hands.” He then reveals four divergent paths that each will journey alone.

Accepting his fate, Miles takes the first step down the path. After a moment of hesitation, the others do the same, each taking a different route. Miles nervously walks for what feels like hours until he comes across electrical lines running along the path. Nailed to one of the posts is a note that reads, “For the safety of their customers, all electric cooperatives take the time to trim trees that may cause problems like falling on or growing around the lines. Will you do the same?” Miles has never used a chainsaw in his life, but he knows he needs to get home. His cooperative worker instincts kick in naturally when he picks up the chainsaw. The rest of the way down the path, he trims and cuts trees that could cause problems along the lines.

On the next road over, Katherine notices many papers hanging from the trees. She looks at the first paper which explains, “These are the bills of our members and the applications for assistance that have been submitted to the office. Each month we round our participating members’ bills up to the nearest dollar and deposit the difference into an account that gives back to the community. The ‘Round-Up’ Program provides financial help to those in need and local projects. Read each application and decide grant amounts.” The whole way down, she stops and reads each story hanging from the trees. In the role of a worker, she feels the stress of dividing the amounts, but also the joy of helping the community. To Katherine, it is astonishing.

On Betty’s trail, she finds a table with materials and a note. It tells her to create exhibits for each event in which the company participates: youth trips, camps, classroom visits, and other events that improve the knowledge and experiences of the members. With the information, she produces many exhibits to line the pathway. Katherine had no idea cooperatives are so active in the community!

On the last path, James finds the ground littered with money. Having read the note at the beginning of the path, he knows exactly what to do. He must count all the money along the path and divide it among the economic development projects the cooperative has helped obtain loans for. When finished, James recognizes industries, buildings, and businesses that have been improved or created thanks to the cooperative.

As each person now holds a puzzle piece, all four have the same thought running through their head: I never knew. These words describe completely how the kids feel after their journey toward enlightenment. Fulfilled by their voyage, the group races to the generator to join the pieces and drop the title into the generator.

Smiling at each other through their determination, the unlikely group finishes the significant phrase, by reciting together, “Going beyond the wires.” Their bodies disintegrate once again into the sky heading home to their lives, each student knowing more than ever about electric cooperatives and how they “go beyond the wires” to serve their members.