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Utility Pioneers Manage Challenges with Cooperation
At Pioneer’s Cooperative Member Meeting on May 8, 2025, we showcased how Utility Pioneers are sharing stories cooperatively to meet common challenges across the nation. Miss the meeting? You can read a full recap on our blog. Here are the highlights:
Pioneer’s 2024 Member Report
Pioneer’s Growth
Over the last year, Pioneer’s grown to help Utility Pioneers meet new challenges.
- Nineteen utilities joined the co-op, bringing the total number of Utility Pioneers to 236. Those are folks who signed up to join the co-op, but we work with many more; in 2024 we worked with 412 utilities, broadband providers and statewide associations in 42 states.
- A new editorial director with co-op roots, Chasity Anderson, took the reins after Mike Teegarden retired.
- Becky Mashburn, another team member with strong co-op roots in Colorado, joined us in the new role of VP of Member Experience.
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Editorial Director -
Vice President of Member Experience
Rising costs—and how Pioneer’s working with utilities to find savings and added value—took center stage.
Tariffs affect the cost of paper, most of which comes from Canada, and Pioneer expects another U.S. Postal Service rate increase in July.
Pioneer’s team is hard at work finding ways to help Utility Pioneers manage printing and mailing costs. Get a list of the top five USPS promotions on Pioneer’s best practices blog.
A video report from the meeting highlighted how cooperation helps meet the challenge of rising postage and paper costs.
Election results were shared at the meeting. As a utility-owned communications cooperative, Pioneer depends on members to guide the co-op. Pioneer’s Board of Directors meets throughout the year to oversee the co-op’s strategic plan and financial health. Three board seats were up for election in 2025:
- District 2, Alaska, Hawaii and Washington
- District 3, at large
- District 8, Midwest
Nominations were open through March 24. Two incumbents, District 2 Board Member Scott Peters and District 8 Board Member Kevin Beyer, ran for reelection unopposed. Members used the Pioneer Votes platform to reelect two Utility Pioneers and elect one new board member:
- District 2: Scott Peters, CEO of Columbia Rural Electric Association in Walla Walla, Washington.
- District 3: Keith Gabbard, CEO of Peoples Rural Telephone Cooperative, in McKee, Kentucky
- District 8: Kevin Beyer, General Manager of Farmers Mutual and Federated Telephone, in Minnesota.
We call our members Utility Pioneers because they are not afraid to forge new paths, build innovative ways to share their stories and connect with the communities they serve.
“We are a bigger buyer in the marketplace when we work together, and this cooperation results in shared savings.”
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Board Chair; CEO, Grand Canyon State Electric Cooperative AssociationPioneer Board Member, West District