Gathering Together

Salutations and laughter emerged as old friends recognized one another across the room.

As the smells of a fresh barbecue dinner wafted into the community room of Possum Kingdom’s Chamber of Commerce, United members came together for a community meeting to learn more about their cooperative.

The evening would be an informal discussion, said United CEO Cameron Smallwood. So much so, that the members would take the lead choosing the direction the evening’s conversation would take.

“You can start thinking right now, whatever question you want to ask,” Smallwood said. “Whatever you want to talk about, we’ll talk about.”

Starting with a left-fielder question about water pressure, to which Smallwood replied, “we deliver the electricity to the water company, and they’ve got their own issues, I guess,” members began asking questions about the progress of United’s high-speed internet project.

The topic has become a favorite starting point for discussions at the past three community meetings.

“About half the room wants to know, ‘When is my internet coming,’ am I right,” Smallwood asked. “So, let me answer the question: We are putting the finishing touches on creating a new construction map for the remainder of the project. We’re about 65 to 70 percent done with the project. So, if you’re part of the 30 percent that don’t have it, I apologize. We’re going through the process and continuing to do construction.”

Smallwood explained that after realizing that the wireless internet planned for much of the western half of the service territory wouldn’t suffice in quality or reliability in real-world applications, the co-op decided to provide fiber-to-the-home to all members for which it is unavailable, he said. This extended the build-out by about two years.

The co-op is also pausing in some rural areas as it applies for federal funding to help defray costs of providing internet. If the cooperative continues with buildout before receiving the funding, that will guarantee the funding will go elsewhere, he said.

“We haven’t stopped,” he said. “The board is fully committed to getting this thing done. The question is when. The when is, we’re working on the map right now, based on the funding that we think we can put together for the next three or four years, and we’re scheduling that out. We’re trying to be fair with everybody that’s left and do some in each different area, and we don’t have that new map complete just yet.”

After the meeting, Smallwood said community meetings like this one help spread the news on a variety of topics in an informal and comfortable setting.

“I always enjoy these kinds of meetings, because I get to meet the members face-to-face and answer their questions,” he said. “We try to always meet the members where they’re at with all our communication. But this gives us the opportunity to give and receive at the same time.”

In-person community meetings help members and leadership alike in understanding what is going on at the cooperative and how changes are playing out for members, said Jeff Pannell, vice president of business & community development.  The smaller group setting allows United’s staff to encourage thoughtful conversations with members.

“This meeting is for our members,” he said. “No question or concern is off the table. This approach allows us to educate our members on what is important to them, such as internet timelines, rate concerns and the securitization from Winter Storm Uri. The comments we receive both during and after these meetings have shown us that our members truly appreciate the opportunity to have open and honest discussions in person with United’s CEO and the rest of the United team.”

The discussions aren’t limited to just community meetings, he said. The member advisory committees, such as those gathered to discuss rate adjustments or provide guidance on United’s internet project, help United’s staff make important decisions that can impact our entire membership and, in many cases, cooperative policies have been updated or created based on this important feedback that we receive from our members, he said.

“We learn about both real and perceived issues that our members face, and policies and procedures have changed because of the feedback we receive from our members,” Pannell said. “I can remember many years ago hearing our members start asking more and more questions about their co-op providing high-speed internet. A few years later, we put it to a vote, and it was an overwhelming YES. That is the value of having these community meetings. United members have a say in their co-op.”

Jo Lynn Miller is a Realtor in the Possum Kingdom area. She said she was impressed with number of members at the meeting and their questions during the event.

“I thought it was really good,” Miller said. “It seemed like we had a really good turnout, especially in a small area like Possum Kingdom Lake, where we no longer have a newspaper. I think it’s really helpful to have ways for people to feel a little more in touch, because we have a lot of older citizens that don’t necessarily do social media. I think it actually was really well managed. I didn’t feel like anybody felt like they didn’t get their questions answered.”

Member Patti Parro attended the community meeting for Bluff Dale and Tolar earlier this summer. The best part about United’s community meetings is the ability to meet real people and experience human interaction, she said.

“I thought the meeting itself was informative, and it went very well,” Parro said. “It puts a face on the company, and it’s more personal. It’s not like dealing with some great big, huge corporation. I know it’s a cooperative. It’s not like we were dealing with Nicor up north. You know, we were lucky if we could just get to talk to anybody. So yes, I think this form of communication is great. I find it valuable.”