By Garrett Hylton, WREC Director of Communications
When Wells Rural Electric Co. gathered to discuss its annual member meetings this year, the cooperative saw an opportunity to do something different and fill a void in each of its communities.
Rather than host a cooperative-focused annual meeting in Wells or smaller events in each community, WREC decided that it would sponsor community rallies to raise support for local schools during tough economic times.
The two Wendover events were an overwhelming success, drawing 1,394 people and more than $10,000 in contributions to the two high schools and related programs.
“It’s hard for the families to come up with the money sometimes for kids to be able to do these things,” said Wendover High principal Jason Saari. “That’s money that’s going to kids being able to be on those teams or in those programs. To get money in our school without kids having to go to their parents for fundraisers, that does a tremendous amount for our school and those programs.”
“This was a great community event,” said West Wendover mayor Emily Carter at the WWHS rally. “It’s something we need more of. It’s fabulous that WREC sponsored it.”
The Wendover rallies were two of four that WREC sponsored at each area high school.
The attendance for the four rallies exceeded 2,200 people, more than half the cooperative’s membership, and WREC made significant contributions to each of the schools and their various programs. WREC members contributed hundreds of dollars more and gathered 35 boxes of nonperishable food items for local food banks.
“Our No. 1 priority is making our members’ lives better,” said, Jeff Cromie WREC Director of Key Accounts. “That primarily means providing reliable, affordable electricity, but we’re also committed to improving our communities in any way that we can. We live here, too, and we want our schools to know they have our support.”
In West Wendover on Oct. 21, smoke rose from the grill as two lines snaked from the north end zone of the football field almost all the way to the home bleachers.
More than 1,000 people waited patiently in the lines as the booster club frantically grilled enough burgers and hot dogs for the large crowd. Kids enjoyed four inflatable bounce houses that were set up around the football field as part of the carnival or played football as the sun set over the desert. Participants also showed their enthusiasm during performances from the cheerleading squad and choir.
So many people showed up that the school had to open up the kitchen to cook and organizers had to run to the local Smith’s grocery store to get more food.
“Everybody was so excited,” said Lysette Perez, WWHS Booster Club president. “First of all, they were so thankful because everything was free. In a community like ours a lot of families struggle with a lot of different things. When we hold an event of this magnitude it gives them an opportunity to have fun in our community and do it free. Wells Rural Electric is amazing for giving us this opportunity. Everybody appreciates it so much.
A week earlier at Wendover High, proud community members packed the cafeteria to support their community and enjoy a free lasagna dinner. Many of the students brought family groups of 10 and 15 people. Scheduled during parent-teacher conferences, students had a chance to show off their school to their families.
“The event was excellent,” Saari said. “We set a goal for 200 people and had more than 350. It varied from students to parents to grandparents to aunts and uncles. A variety of people attended, and I thought it was excellent for them to come and support their students.”
“Commitment to community” is one of the guiding pillars of the cooperative model. As the cooperative began exploring more effective ways to engage with its members during the annual meeting, discussion kept coming back to that pillar.
In the past, WREC’s annual member meetings were either large events based in Wells or cooperative-centered events in each of WREC’s three communities. WREC decided this year to sponsor an event that placed the focus on a community centerpiece, in this case an event in conjunction with each local school’s homecoming week or an event of the school’s choosing.
“In evaluating our annual meeting structure, we saw a huge opportunity,” Hylton said.
“These events have been amazing. We’ve been able to show our kids how much support they have in the community, we’ve been able to contribute to each school during tough budget times, WREC’s been able to talk face-to-face with hundreds of our owners and we’ve all got to enjoy some really exciting events. Everybody wins with something like this.”
Rather than have a caterer come in and feed everybody and set up each event, WREC decided to find school groups willing to help out. In West Wendover, Perez and the booster club were excited at the opportunity to cook for everyone. At Wendover High, the local FCCLA chapter put their vocational skills to good use to put together the lasagna dinner. Countless other groups got involved helping set up the events and planning entertainment. The schools helped promoting the event through mailers and fliers. That combined hard work led to a huge turnout from the local communities.
“These events had a wonderful turnout,” said City of Wendover mayor Mike Crawford, who attended both events. “This was a great way for Wells Rural to make its presence known. It was a great way to donate to both high schools. As far as events go, both were very successful. This, by far, was a better way to show member appreciation. They hit a home run on this.”