The document summarizes Rappahannock Electric Cooperative's (REC) 2011 annual report, which highlighted the perspectives of six REC members on the cooperative's role in the community, reliability, affordability, customer service, economic development, and environmental efforts. The annual report demonstrated how REC goes "beyond face value" in enhancing members' lives and communities. One member described REC's support for local volunteer organizations through grants and donations. Another member praised REC's excellent customer service in their local offices and on the phone. A third member discussed how REC's reliable electricity is vital to the operations of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety research center.

1. Year in Review
Rapphannock Electric Cooperative
Beyond Face Value
The 2011 Annual Report was designed to share
member’s experiences and perspectives on REC
and to show that they recognize REC is more than
their electric service provider. Six members from
all corners of the service territory volunteered
to be interviewed to provide their take on REC’s
role in the community, reliability, affordability,
customer services, economic development and
the environment. 20 pages, plus cover.

3. You are a member of Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC).
REC employees are looking out for you and your best interests.
We are your energy experts, neighbors, friends and a part of your
community. We are here for you – to help prevent problems before
they occur and to resolve them if they do. We are your Cooperative.
The following six member’s want to share their perspective
on what is important to them as an REC member. We hope you
can relate to their experiences, which demonstrate many of the ways
your Cooperative goes Beyond Face Value every day to enhance
your life and improve the communities in which you live.
Community
“REC is a local business that steps up to assist volunteer organizations...”
– Brad Thomas, Chief, Bowling Green Volunteer Fire Department,
Caroline County
Reliability
“I know that I can count on my cooperative...”
– Beth Waller, Warren County
affoRdability
“Our energy costs are very important to us...”
– Mr. and Mrs. Robert Arnold, Culpeper County
CustomeR seRviCe
“I think REC’s customer service is excellent...”
– Pat Smith, Caroline County
eConomiC development
“REC has been extremely responsive...”
– Raul Arbelaez, Vice President,The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety,
Greene County
enviRonment
“We should all try to participate...”
– Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Dubee, Hanover County
rappahannock electric cooperatiVe is Beyond Face Value.
COmmunITY
RELIABILITY
AFFORDABILITY
CuSTOmER SERvICE
ECOnOmIC DEvELOPmEnT
EnvIROnmEnT
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4. “REC is a local business that steps up
to assist volunteer organizations that exist
to support the community.”
REC and its employees are committed
to the communities they serve. Their commitment
shows not only through their efforts to deliver
safe, reliable and affordable electricity, but
also in their support through volunteer work,
donations, participation in fundraisers, and mem-
bership in charitable and civic organizations.
Being on the receiving end of that com-
mitment is a good place to be, according to REC
member Brad Thomas. “REC is a local business
that steps up to assist volunteer organizations
that exist to support the community,” says
Thomas, chief of the Bowling Green volunteer
Fire Department. “Last year we received a grant
from REC to purchase a fire hose specifically for
attack lines that are used in any fire we respond
to. This grant funding is allowing us to help
the community and REC’s members.”
Each year REC awards grants to local
non-profit organizations and charities through
the Literacy, Education and Rural networking
(LEARn) program. Grants are awarded for
education, community and emergency services
initiatives. REC also awards local scholarships
through the LEARn program to students through-
out the service territory.
“During these difficult economic times,
county, state and local governments are cutting
budgets, which means volunteer organizations’
budgets are also being cut,” says Thomas.
“Donations are down, so it is great when larger
businesses can offer support. In our case, funding
from REC helped us purchase a fire hose. We
have to have fire hoses to put out fires. But it’s
great when businesses can also offer scholarships
for area kids to go to school and whatever
non-profit organizations may need.”
Employees at REC are committed to
serving area communities as volunteers. In 2011
employees from each district office participated
in the united Way Day of Caring. They also served
as coaches for youth sports, mentors to area
children, leaders in fundraising campaigns,
board members for civic organizations and other
roles for numerous organizations. Employees
contributed monetarily to the united Way
campaigns for the Rappahannock united Way,
Piedmont united Way, Front Royal and Warren
County united Way and the united Way of
northern Shenandoah valley.
“Over the years we have had multiple
REC employees who have stepped in to support
our organization as volunteer firefighters,”
says Thomas. “That’s always a plus to have
a local business that supports volunteer activities
as well.”
As an electric cooperative, REC is indirectly
helping other organizations and groups provide
additional support to their members. Thomas
hopes that is a continuous trend. “We hope to
see continued support from REC through grants
and donations, as well as from their employee
volunteers. The funds they put back into the
community are used for vital equipment and
supplies we need to do our job and effectively
provide our services.”
In 2011, REC and its employees participated
in hundreds of events and sponsored numerous
organizations. REC is committed to supporting
the communities it serves through volunteer
work, donations and educational programs.
community
300
PARTICIPATIOn In COmmunITY EvEnTS
200
REC SPOnSORED COmmunITY EvEnTS,
ORGAnIzATIOnS AnD CHARITIES
+
+
Brad Thomas, Chief, Bowling Green Volunteer Fire Department, Caroline County
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5. “I think REC’s customer service is excellent.
Whenever I visit the local office or call to speak
with a representative, everyone is so nice.”
REC prides itself on delivering outstanding
customer service from caring people. That is
the Cooperative’s signature statement, and one
that its employees keep in mind during every
interaction with their members.
Pat Smith, a member from Port Royal is
happy about the service she receives. “I think
REC’s customer service is excellent,” says Smith.
Whenever I visit the local office or call to speak
with a representative, everyone is so nice. They
are quick and efficient in answering my questions
or connecting me with the people who can.”
more than 72,000 visits were made to
REC’s four local offices in 2011. Customer service
representatives assisted members in Blue Ridge,
Bowling Green, Culpeper and Fredericksburg
in the member lobbies. Representatives in the
Contact Center also answered nearly 350,000
phone calls last year as members called to
transact business.
“Having a local electric cooperative with
employees that I can count on is so important
to me,” says Smith. “I also appreciate the
programs and services REC makes available,
like the monthly member magazine and the
Co-op Connections Card program. The variety
of information available in the magazine is
useful, and I look forward to it every month.
With the Co-op Connections Card, I am able to
use it at local stores in my community. It feels
good to know they are looking for ways to
help me save.”
It is essential to everyone at REC that
members recognize that they are more than
just customers. To understand its members’
expectations and to find out how it is doing,
REC routinely conducts surveys by phone,
email and mail. The information is gathered
and analyzed to improve the service employees
are providing and to enhance the overall
member experience.
customer serVice
“Every year when I receive my Capital
Credits from REC, I really feel like a member
and like my Cooperative is working for my best
interest,” says Smith. “I am able to use the
money I saved through the credit on my bill
to treat myself to something that I will enjoy.
It’s additional money from my budget that
I am able use for fun or for other things. It is
also important to me that I have a voice in
my Cooperative and can vote for the Board
members who represent me. It feels good
to me to be an REC member.”
REC has four offices conveniently located in Blue Ridge,
Bowling Green, Culpeper and Fredericksburg staffed by local
employees. Members can find answers to their questions
by speaking with customer service representatives over the
phone or in person or by visiting the Cooperative’s website.
140,000+
mEmBER vISITS TO LOCAL OFFICES
2.5MILLIon +
RETuRnED In CAPITAL CREDITS
350,000+
mEmBER CALLS AnSWERED
Pat Smith, Caroline County
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6. REC is an electric cooperative that can
support the needs of all of its users−large or
small. REC delivers reliable service to its residential
members and also meets the large power demands
of commercial and industrial members located
throughout its service area. Electricity is a
necessity for members to enjoy their day-to-day
lives, and, for the businesses served by REC,
it is essential to their daily operations.
“The electricity we receive from REC is
extremely vital to the work we do here,”
says Raul Arbelaez, vice president for the
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)
vehicle Research Center in Greene County.
“It powers everything from our laptops to
testing our dummies for operations during
crash tests and to our lights that support high
speed motion photography for research.”
Like many of the commercial and industrial
members served by REC, the IIHS depends on
large amounts of electricity to operate important
functions for its business. REC’s strong electric
distribution network allows the Cooperative to
meet these demands for electricity. Knowledgeable
employees at REC also offer energy expertise and
support to the businesses they serve to enhance
the relationship between the two companies.
“REC has been extremely responsive to us,”
says Arbelaez. “Whenever we have questions,
they have helped us resolve any issues regarding
our facility infrastructure and suggested energy
improvements that we can make. Having that
relationship is important because it allows us
to pick up the phone, get questions answered
quickly, and to make decisions to improve our
future operations.”
By being able to provide for the needs
of large commercial and industrial members,
REC is able to support the local economies
it serves. From providing the means for
companies to expand and develop more jobs
for local residents to supporting local vendors,
REC’s economic development efforts further
demonstrate its commitment to the communities
it serves.
“Our business benefits the local economy
through the supplies and equipment we purchase
from local vendors, but we also influence not
only the safety of the population around us but
the entire country,” says Arbelaez. “As a direct
result of the work we do here, the vehicles and
occupants in them are safer. If REC can continue
supporting us through reliable service, then
they are indirectly doing good work for the
nation as a whole.”
REC’s ability to support the needs of business members
of all sizes is important to enhancing our communities.
Many of the businesses served by REC, like the Spotsylvania
Regional Medical Center (left) and the Virginia Inland Port
(above), are providing much needed services and benefits
to REC members.
economic deVelopment
66nEW BuSInESS COnnECTIOnS In 2011
THROuGHOuT THE 22 COunTY REC SERvICE REGIOn
“If REC can continue supporting us through
reliable service then they are indirectly doing
good work for the nation as a whole.”
Raul Arbelaez, Vice President, The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Greene County
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