Wireside Chat

It's that magical time of the year again — no, not the holidays, but time to return capital credits to our members! This year, we've made an important change to the way capital credits are being distributed. Manager of Member Services Jennifer Gillan joins this month's podcast to discuss that and much more.

It's the time of year when we collectively stop and reflect on all the things for which we're grateful — even if sometimes we aren't feeling it. In this month's episode, host Nathan Grimm highlights some of the things he's giving thanks for this year, from roller hockey to musical theater and, of course, electric cooperatives.

The Southwestern Electric crew returned to this year's Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives (AIEC) Lineworker's Safety Rodeo with double the number of competitors — and with its own friendly intracompany competition between the two teams. In this month's episode, hear from the apprentice linemen who took part in this year's event, what they gained from the experience and who holds bragging rights between them and their journeyman linemen colleagues.

On Sept. 6, 2025, Southwestern Electric Cooperative held its 87th Annual Meeting of Members at the American Farm Heritage Museum in Greenville. In this month's podcast, hear the addresses from CEO Bobby Williams and Board President Jerry Gaffner in their entirety.

In conjunction with our third-annual Safety Day event for Southwestern Electric Cooperative employees and their families, the cooperative was able to raise $3,370 for two Court Appointed Special Advocate organizations that operate in our service area. Tawny Rodriguez, the Bond and Madison County Volunteer Coordinator for CASA of Southwestern Illinois, joined this month's podcast to tell members about CASA, where that money goes and how they can get involved if they're interested in volunteering.

A lot about September's 87th Annual Meeting of Members will look the same, but one thing will be different — the person running the show. Manager of Member Services Jennifer Gillan joined Southwestern Electric Cooperative in May, meaning this will be her first annual meeting in charge of the event. Jennifer joined the podcast to discuss her background, her acclimation to the cooperative and what we can expect from the meeting itself.

Electric cooperatives and the Future Farmers of America go hand in hand. Southwestern Electric Cooperative and the Illinois Association FFA are no exception, and the cooperative was recently recognized for 75 years of support for the statewide organization. In this episode, go inside the 97th annual FFA State Convention in Springfield earlier this month and hear from Southwestern CEO Bobby Williams and director Jared Stine about the importance of the cooperative's longstanding dedication to the FFA.

Cooperatives are guided by a set of seven principles that help shape their actions and policies. In this solo episode of the podcast, host Nathan Grimm details those seven cooperative principles and how they relate to Southwestern Electric and its members.

For the third consecutive year, Southwestern Electric Cooperative sent a few select high school-aged members to Springfield, Illinois for the Illinois Electric and Telephone Cooperatives Youth Day. Southwestern Executive Assistant Brooke Scott served as the chaperone for the trip this year, and she joined the podcast to discuss the experience.

On September 26, 2024, Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Gulf Coast and quickly made its way across the Southeastern United States. In total, seven states felt the effects of Helene and another 17 states provided mutual assistance to those affected.

Among those affected was Satilla Rural Electric Membership Corporation, an Alma, Georgia-based electric cooperative that's one of the biggest east of the Mississippi River. Satilla manages more than 7,000 miles of power lines in serving more than 59,000 members across nine Georgia counties. And in Helene's wake, nearly all of those 59,000 members were without power.

When Satilla needed help getting back on its feet, Southwestern Electric was among those ready to answer the call. In the weeks that followed, two separate Southwestern crews comprised of 12 different SWECI employees made the trek to southern Georgia to aid in the recovery efforts.

Dustin Kemp, a journeyman lineman with Southwestern Electric, was one of those men who traveled to Alma to help get the lights back on, and he graciously joined the podcast this month to discuss the experience.