www.kvremc.com

CONTACT USToll Free: 800-552-2622

Local: 219-733-2511

OFFICE HOURS 7:30 a.m.– 4 p.m. Central Time

Monday-Friday

STREET ADDRESS 8642 W. U.S. Highway 30

Wanatah, IN 46390

MAILING ADDRESSP.O. Box 157, Wanatah, IN 46390

EMERGENCY POWER OUTAGESTo report a power outage, please call 800-552-2622.

We are available to serve you 24 hours a day. When calling,

please provide the name in which your account is listed. Also, please be sure

to check your fuses or breakers.

KANKAKEE VALLEY REMC STAFFScott Sears, Chief Executive Officer

Lori Young, Executive Assistant

Angie Swanson, Office Manager

Jeff Newburn, Line Superintendent

Amanda Steeb, Communications and Marketing Director

Dave Howell, Purchasing and Facilities Manager

Eric Duttlinger, Director of Metering

Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/KVREMC

When you think of October, crisp mornings, the changing color of the leaves, and, if you’re a sports fan, football might naturally come to mind.

But October is notable for another reason. It is National Cooperative Month. During this month, your cooperative, along with others across the country, celebrate who we are and, more importantly, the member-consumers we serve.

Kankakee Valley REMC was built by our member-consumers 80 years ago to bring electricity to our rural community. Today, the REMC still works for the common good of our community. We exist to provide safe, reliable and affordable energy for you. Equally important, though, is our mission of enriching and improving the quality of life for our member-consumers and the community we serve.

As a co-op, we are well-suited to meet the community’s needs because we are locally governed. Your elected board of directors and employee team are your neighbors. We are connected to the community in which we live. As a result, we get a firsthand perspective on local priorities and needs of our member-consumers.

A core cooperative principle, “Concern for Community,” is just one of Kankakee Valley REMC’s unique attributes. We partner with local organizations that share our concerns, whether through financial contributions or the volunteer efforts of our employees. Every time we give back, we strengthen the community.

Our member-consumers help us give back too. Through the Operation Round Up program, member-consumers round up their electric bills to the next dollar. The extra change helps non-profit organizations meet local needs. Since Kankakee Valley REMC introduced Operation Round Up in 2000, member-consumers have helped us give over $1 million back to the community.

We understand that many of you think of Kankakee Valley REMC as just your electric company. When you flip a switch at your home and the lights come on you have us to thank. But we are so much more than your electric provider. We are a local business that supports the community and the prosperity of all its residents.

The co-op leadership team is committed to staying involved in the community because your electric co-op was built by the community, for the community.

SCOTT SEARSCEO

OFFICE CLOSEDKV REMC’s office will be closed on

October 11 for “Community

Day”. Check the November issue to see how KV REMC employees helped the

community and member-consumers.

By the Community, For the Community

co-op news

OCTOBER 2019 5

6 JULY 2019

From September 2019 through January 2020, Kankakee Valley REMC will be conducting a survey of residential co-op member-consumers. This telephone survey is conducted every three years, and helps our power supplier, Wabash Valley Power Alliance, determine how much power will be needed in the near future.

The survey will be conducted by Oppenheim Research, a Tallahassee, Florida, firm with experience in a wide variety of research methods as well as a strong history of satisfied customers. Co-op members will be randomly selected, and 300 completed surveys will be done for our co-op. The survey is designed to last approximately 10-12 minutes, and will primarily focus on the appliances and items in and around your home that consume electricity.

The calls will take place Monday through Friday, beginning mid-afternoon and running until about 9 p.m. If you are called and don’t wish to participate, you will not be pressured to do so. We greatly appreciate those who do take the time to help us plan better for the future! If you have any questions about the process, please call the office at 219-733-2511.

Survey OngoingData gathereD will help plan for the future.

Harvest season is just around the

corner. Kankakee Valley REMC

reminds area farmers of the

dangers that power lines pose

when you’re moving machinery in

and out of the field.

The most common risk of

electrocution for farm workers,

according to the Iowa State

University Extension and Outreach,

comes from overhead power lines.

Tall equipment, such as grain

augers, combines and raised dump

truck beds, can easily become

entangled in the lines.

Remember these safety tips to

reduce the risk of electrocution

if your equipment should meet a

power line.

• If you can, it is safest to stay

inside the machinery until

emergency personnel or

someone from the electric co-

op can disconnect service to

the area where your equipment

is located. If you must get out

of the machinery (for example,

if the machinery is on fire),

don’t touch the machinery and

the ground at the same time

with any part of your body or

clothing.

• With the door open, prepare

to jump. Stand up, elbows

tucked into your stomach

and your hands held close to

your chest.

• Jump out and away from the

machinery, taking care to

land with your feet together

and touching. Don’t stumble.

• Shuffle away with your feet

touching. Don’t stop until

you’re at least three tractor

lengths away from the

machinery.

• Call 911 and ensure that no

bystanders come within 40

feet of the machinery.

• Once away from the

equipment, never attempt to

get back on or even touch the

equipment.

Kankakee Valley REMC hopes you

have a successful harvest season.

Please take care when moving

equipment to make sure you

are looking up and down when

moving and operating harvest

equipment. If you see something

that concerns you, please contact

our office at 219-733-2511.

Power lines and farm equipment: Know what to do

6 OCTOBER 2019

6 JULY 2019

It is becoming more common

to see electric vehicles on the

roadways. The new advanced

technology has people wondering,

is this the right car for me?

Kankakee Valley REMC recognized

this growing trend and saw an

opportunity to be an information

resource for our membership. At

a recent Electric Vehicle Test Drive

Experience event hosted at the co-

op, members were able to test drive

the cooperative’s Chevy Bolt.

“The idea behind the event wasn’t

to promote any specific model of

car, but was to help our member-

consumers understand that their

lifestyle doesn’t need to change as

an electric vehicle owner,” stated

Dave Howell, event coordinator.

The feedback from the

membership was great. People

were impressed with the space

available in the car, the acceleration

and the distance that they could

travel between charges.

If you didn’t get a chance to attend

the event, contact our office

anytime and request a drive. We

always enjoy the opportunity

to share the electric vehicle

experience with our membership.

Is an evfor you?

OCTOBER 2019 7

Cooperative Calendarof Student Art

Member-consumers will not be receiving

a Cooperative Calendar of Student Art

with their October magazine. Those who

wish to receive a calendar can call the KV

REMC office or pick one up. There is a

limited quantity available.

AARON AGOPIANLYNN ALKIREMAX BEIERTIFFANY BOROLOVDIANE BRAUNDANIEL BRUCESAMUEL Y. CONDESALI DASHTISCOTT DUPREETRACY R DWYERSHARON FLETCHERTHOMAS A. FORDLYNN FOSTERDAVID FRAZIERILINA GJIKOSKIABIGAIL GREGORYKEITH HALLANGELA HARDINMARCUS HARER. T. HARRISSTACEY HUTNICKCOURTNEY & MARK HYLEKMATTHEW JOHNSONRICHARD KALMASTRACY KOCHANCHUNSHENG LILOANCAREFRANCISCO LUEVANOCHRIS LYNNM D CONSTRUCTIONFANNIE MAEROBERT MARTINEZKELLY MCKEEHANCHARLES METCALF

JOSEPH MICHAELSRICHARD MILLETTENATIONSTAR MTG LLCDAVID & SUSAN NEGRELLIDANIEL NITUASHLEY NOREMPATRICIA O’NEALJEREMIAH PATRICKFREDERICK PATTERSONDON V PERKINSNICHOLAS PETRONEDOROTHY PITTSTONYA PRATEREDWIN T. RAINBOWRICHARD RAINBOWALEKSANDER RISTEVSKICHERYL SANTANAPHYLLIS SHAFFERAVERY & JULIE SMITHMARENE SOBKOWIAKDANIEL J. & NANCY SOLTISANTHONY SPARKSRODNEY S. STOLLEDWARD STRAUSSMARK THOMPSONTIMBER SEALNANCY L. VANGEMERTBRIAN VOGTJEFFREY S. WHITEROBERT LWHITTENPORTIA WILLIAMSMICHAEL WRONSKI

Do you recognize any of these names?Kankakee Valley REMC accounts for the following individuals and businesses have credit balances that were left when electric service was discontinued. If you know anyone on the list, please have them contact our office during normal business hours of Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. or you can email cmeyers@kvremc.com

Since 1995, Indiana’s electric cooperatives have supported the Ronald McDonald House of Indiana in blue ribbon fashion. To date, cooperatives have donated more than $134,000 and have enabled Ronald McDonald House Charities to continue providing needed services to Indiana families.

This year, as part of our efforts, KV REMC is hosting a supply drive to collect some of the “most needed” items on the House’s wish list.

And we need your help!

Ronald McDonald House Charities

Wish List Drive

FOR MORE INFORMATIONand a complete list of items on the wish list, visit

kvremc.com

Central Indiana

Please drop off your donations to the KV REMC office by Friday, Dec. 6.

8 OCTOBER 2019