We LOVE our community

By
Posted on Feb 04 2020 in Orange County REMC
MATTHEW C. DEATON
General Manager/CEO

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, What are you doing for others?” 

This quote from Martin Luther King  Jr. reflects the special bond and obligation that ties Orange County REMC to the community we serve. With Valentine’s Day approaching, we can’t think of a better time to express how much we love this community and serving you, the members of the co-op.  

We know when we helped to bring electricity to rural Indiana many years ago, the quality of life improved for all. Through the years, other issues needed to be tackled, like access to high-speed internet, and we have been at the forefront of helping to address some of those issues. We want to help meet the long-term needs of our community to ensure it continues to thrive — because just like you, we live here too.

While our top priority is to provide safe, reliable and affordable energy to you, equally important is our mission to enrich the lives of the consumer-members (that’s you!) that we serve. This focus to benefit the larger community is central to the way we operate as a cooperative. Orange County REMC knows that electricity and access to high-speed internet are critical  needs for modern-day life, but it takes more than poles, power lines and fiber optics to make a community.

Over time, our co-op has evolved to meet the changing needs of our community, thereby improving the quality of life for everyone. And that can mean many different things.  

It can mean programs for Orange County REMC’s youth, such as Touchstone Energy Camp (for middle schoolers) or the Indiana  Youth Tour, where we take our community’s brightest high school students to Washington, D.C. for a week-long immersion to experience democracy in action. It also means facilitating the distribution of more than $500,000 to our community through Operation Round Up, a program that helps local groups and organizations fund worthwhile projects. (You can see more details about these great programs on the following pages.)

Over the last eight decades, our community-focused programs and other giving projects have built and made repairs to community buildings, funded equipment for fire departments, purchased educational supplies for schools, and so much more – and we couldn’t do any of this without you, our members. 

We all benefit from these programs because of you and your neighbors. You empower Orange County REMC through your membership and through your participation in and support of these programs. 

As a local business, we are proud to power your life and bring good things to our community. While the larger environment in which we operate is constantly changing, fueled by evolving technology and consumer desires for more options, one thing remains the same. By working together, I’m certain that we can continue to do good things for our community.