You probably have heard our story. Co-ops serve because it’s our mission. It’s our core value. It’s how we began – bringing electricity where no one else would. We saw a need and we filled it. But that’s not the only reason we serve. We serve because it’s our calling. It’s why we’re different. There are […]

As owner and CEO of Community Options, Inc., Grace Peterson understands that where there is freedom and independence there is also dignity and hope. Community Options provides these and more to the individuals it serves in northeast Oklahoma. The Chelsea-based company offers residential and vocational placement for nearly 60 special-needs individuals. Its mission, explained Peterson, […]

It took less than a day for the phenomenon of scooters to roll across the local college town of Stillwater, home to Oklahoma State University and 25,000 students. The electric scooter company, Spin, allows students and residents mobility across the 30-square-mile town by placing rentable scooters throughout Stillwater and OSU’s campus.  Many students walk to […]

We live in an age where access to technology influences nearly every aspect of our lives. From work, education and even health care, access to reliable high-speed broadband services enhances how we live. “Internet’s considered a utility,” said OEC Fiber’s Fiber Optic Technician Jeremy Shives. “You’ve got to have it.” Before the days of rural […]

Lake Region Technology and Communications, a subsidiary of Lake Region Electric Cooperative based in Hulbert, Okla., has built over 3,000 miles of fiber-optic cable to serve rural areas in Cherokee, Wagoner, Muskogee, Rogers, and Mayes counties.  With 90% of U.S. adults using the internet these days, we believe fast internet is no longer a luxury, […]

Connectivity is one of the core aspects of a healthy community for both residents and local businesses. In today’s day and age, it is difficult to imagine a business running smoothly without stable internet access. Keeping track of finances, processing credit card payments, and taking orders over the phone all require some sort of internet […]

For their jobs.For their access to medicine. For their children. For a better way of life.  This is why we serve. In 1937, Arkansas Valley Electric Cooperative Corporation (AVECC) gave light to rural Arkansans who were left in the dark, helping transform the River Valley into a prosperous, industrial, and leading agricultural region of the United States.  […]

Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy. They comprise 99.9% of all U.S. businesses, over two-thirds of the net new jobs created since 2000 and employ roughly half of America’s private sector workforce according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 2021). However, even as vital as small businesses are […]

By definition, cooperatives are built on cooperation. To be ‘cooperative’ means to work together towards a common goal. Cooperatives are centered in people. They are owned, controlled and operated by their members and prioritize quality of life for those they serve. Co-ops are not owned by shareholders, the benefits of the services they provide stay […]

Some eight miles from the nearest town lies a small church down a quiet country road in Haskell County. Surrounded by rolling hills with pastures, and sitting next to a small cemetery, West Liberty Baptist Church has been a fixture of this area since 1894, and people have been worshiping there ever since.  The Covid […]