The new year came in like a lion, with an eventful January. Closing out the month was the winter version of the co-op director training known as the Winter RoundUp. Hosted at the VMDAEC headquarters in Glen Allen, 16 directors from eight member co-ops gathered for a full day of development led by NRECA instructor Kevin Sump. The topic was “ESG and the Cooperative Difference.”
Electric co-op boards are operating in what many describe as the most challenging business environments any generation of directors have ever known. Training was focused on defining concepts of energy transition; environment, social and governance (ESG); and Beneficial Electrification from the board perspective. Directors learned to recognize how each of these independently impacts electric cooperative board decision-making. They also left with the ability to identify the relationship between each of these concepts and how they may affect strategic decision-making in the board room.
“With the emphasis being placed on ESG by the business community, directors need this course to understand their role,” says Northern Neck Electric Cooperative Director Rusty Brown. “The course and instructor were excellent.”
Each director who attended achieved credit toward NRECA certification, such as Board Leadership Certificate and Director Gold credential, which was created to recognize directors committed to continuing their education beyond the BLC and Credentialed Cooperative Director Certificate. The Director Gold credential accommodates those who desire a tangible credential that demonstrates their ongoing commitment to advancing their knowledge and performing their fiduciary duty to the best of their ability.
–Report by Jim Robertson, Manager of Member Services, VMDAEC.