Editorial

The BSC lineworker training program provides a great introduction to this critical trade, but completing the program is just the beginning. Learning continues throughout a lineworker’s career, both on the job and with advanced technical and safety training. Continuing education, training and safety programs are offered in special schools and by organizations like ours, the North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives (NDAREC). NDAREC hosts a safety training program for the state’s electric cooperative workforce.

Today, I am a parent to young wrestlers, and I’m also a “dance dad.” Both of these sports join a long list of extracurricular activities available to youth through schools and clubs that teach valuable life lessons and build character, but don’t always grab the headlines.

No matter the activity, whether it be athletics, music, speech, drama, student government, a service club, or you name it – each has an appeal and a community of committed folks that teach, inspire and help others belong.

My recent nudge or “aha!” moment came as I was paging through a compilation of all 12 issues of North Dakota Living from last year. If you have a free moment, find the compilation at www.ndliving.com, or pull out your 2020 magazines, and see it for yourself. Combing through the month-to-month features, photos, articles and columns, the collective story told through the magazine in 2020 was powerful.

One dark, subzero December night, I was driving alone. The roads were slick. After three hours on the road, I suddenly felt the urge to accelerate, in hopes I would find a restroom…fast. Big mistake. I veered slightly off the road. I was stuck. Not in deep snow, just a fresh dusting, but underneath was solid ice. My car was immobilized. No traction.

Have you ever thought about the month of November? It’s a big month for America.

Election Day. Veterans Day. Thanksgiving. (And deer opener, if you’re a North Dakotan!)

By the time you read this, it is likely you (if you are of age) have already voted. Perhaps we even know the outcome of the November election.

Our focus has shifted, as much of our marketing emphasis is on internal communications and helping community leaders across the state “Be Safe, Be Smart and Be Ready” for recovery. We are also reprogramming our marketing campaigns to align with the current environment – and the fastest path to once again invite and host visitors. Our sales team continues working with our customers, tour operators, travel media, influencers and representatives, strengthening relationships and improving awareness. And, yes, we will still celebrate National Travel and Tourism Week May 3-9!

Let me tell you a story.

One of my daughters, 3-year-old Olivia, was sitting in the living room and heard one of her siblings mention “coronavirus.” Her ears perked up, and she said, “Oh, the virus. I will draw it.” The others didn’t pay much attention until a few moments later, when little Olivia returned with her drawing of the “Verona virus,” as she called it (see below). She said she was going to give it to her grandma as a birthday gift – the drawing, that is.

This happened. And the reality hit my wife and I like a freight train.

The desire for improved convenience is human nature. Over the course of history, some of the most impactful technological breakthroughs occurred from an innate will to continually improve our quality of life.

I’ve come to view high school sports through a different lens. One doesn’t have to be wearing a jersey to see there are many things to appreciate about high school sports.

Witnessing the comradery in sports is something to behold. Athletes working together as a team, learning how to win – and how to lose. Even more, high school sports bring communities together. Multiple generations line bleachers to support the dreams of those currently in the “game,” on the court, field or mat.

The pressure we put on ourselves to make, and keep, New Year’s resolutions can be daunting. Rather than resolutions, some instead choose a theme for the year ahead, a sort of guide for action. In 2020, I’m choosing to do the same.

When I think about who we are and what we stand for as cooperatives, the theme “The Power of Us: Cooperative – Community – Connection” seems to fit quite well.

Together, North Dakota’s electric cooperatives have built an incredible system – one that would have been unimaginable to our early cooperative pioneers.