How will you make your voice matter?

In the fourth grade, I ran for judge.

My campaign platform? Bringing back “fairness in the classroom.” To this day, I’m not entirely sure what that meant. I suspect it had something to do with kickball teams and who got extra recess. But what I do know is this: even then, I wanted a say in my surroundings. I cared about how decisions were made.

Somewhere along the way, that instinct to participate gets easier to ignore. Maybe it can start to feel overwhelming, or on the other end of the spectrum, even irrelevant to our daily lives.

But being involved doesn’t start in Washington, D.C. It starts locally. The reality is, many of the decisions that most directly affect our lives happen close to home. That may be at school boards, city councils or, yes, cooperative board tables. These decisions impact the roads we drive, the classrooms our kids sit in and the reliability of the electricity that powers our homes and businesses.

Electric cooperatives were built on the belief that the people who use the service should help guide it. Every member has a voice. Every member has a vote. Directors aren’t appointed from afar; they are elected from among the membership to represent their neighbors.

Your electric co-op’s annual meeting is a reminder of that foundation. It’s more than prize drawings and updates, though those are certainly part of the fun. It’s where members gather to hear how their cooperative is performing, to ask thoughtful questions and to elect directors who will help shape the future.

These are individuals who take their responsibility seriously. They study complex energy issues, review financial decisions and think long-term about reliability and affordability. They’re balancing today’s needs with tomorrow’s challenges. That’s governance. And it works best when members are engaged.

When we disengage because something feels overwhelming, we surrender the very influence we wish we had. When we assume our participation won’t make a difference, we underestimate the power of local involvement.

I’m proud I could tell the fourth-grade version of me that my desire to have a say in my surroundings never left. Today, that commitment shows up in supporting strong cooperative governance and encouraging members to stay engaged.

As annual meetings approach, I’m asking you to show up, listen, question and vote. Consider serving, if you feel called.

You don’t have to run for anything to care about fairness. But you do have to decide your voice matters.

By Nicki Fuller

General Manager | Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives