October is National Cooperative Month and it is OEC’s chance to shine.  We are very proud to be
a cooperative instead of an investor-owned utility.  Some of the reasons we think co-ops are better are:

Our board of directors, who govern and guide the co-op, are made up of OEC members.  Decisions they make affect themselves as well as everyone else and they are easily accessible to the membership.

We are not-for-profit.  There are no stockholders demanding a certain return on their investment.  Whatever profits we do make are returned to our members who purchased the power in the first place.

Every member has an equal vote regardless of how much your electric bill is each month.

Below is a list of ways you can celebrate National Co-op Month with Oconto Electric.

N.E.W. Credit Union, another co-op, is again working with OEC to hold the Share the Harvest Food Drive.

OEC will be serving refreshments at our office in Oconto Falls and at both of our retail locations – RadioShack also in Oconto Falls and OECellular in Cecil – from October 22nd through the 31st.  We will have coffee, cider and really delicious cookies.  Stop in at any or all three locations.

The insert in member’s October electric bills will have two entries for drawings at our retail stores.  One drawing is for a Sony 320-watt CD Shelf System with a 3 disc changer valued at $149.99.  This will be at our RadioShack store and you MUST bring the entry to the RadioShack store.  The other entry form will be for an Accurian 9" Portable DVD Player valued at $169.00.  This will be at our OECellular store in Cecil and you MUST bring the entry to the OECellular store.  (Sorry, no substitutions on prizes.)

OEC, N.E.W. Credit Union and Bay Lakes Companies, LLC together are sponsoring the Baylander Chorus who will be appearing at the Oconto Falls Performing Arts Center on November 3rd, 2007.  Since 1945, this group has entertained tens of thousands of people with their barbershop-style singing. The Baylander Chorus has more than 65 active members, ranging in age from 17 to 80. Members include men from various occupations, and, yes, they even have a barber. While most of the members live in the metropolitan Green Bay area, there are also members from such outlying areas as Sturgeon Bay, Poland, Manitowoc, Crivitz, Lena and Oconto Falls.

On Halloween (Wednesday, October 31st) Co-op Month will end with a fundraising charity lunch of warm turkey sandwiches, soda or water, chips and desert for $4.00 sold at OEC’s office. Because there isn’t a lot of room in the lobby, these are intended to be bag lunches that you can take with you.  Drawings will also be held for the Friends of the Firefighters raffle prizes.  The grand prize is $500 cash.  Tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5 and are available at OEC and RadioShack.