Co-op connections paint entire picture
Ten years ago, Blaine Doppler didn’t know what he was getting himself into. |
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Blaine Doppler, director |
Residents in his neighborhood of southeast Menoken approached him and asked him to consider serving on the board of directors for Capital Electric.
Living on the family farm that had once belonged to his grandfather, Blaine was familiar with the cooperative. And he had a basic understanding of electricity – but not much knowledge of the industry.
He says he must have had more support than he realized at the time, because he was elected in his first run for the position, after receiving an overwhelming number of votes.
Blaine quickly learned the importance of the role the board plays in the actual governance of the cooperative.
“The first three years were kind of a whirlwind,” he says. “There were so many different aspects to the actual electric side of the business, such as our interconnection with other cooperatives, and the grid that provides a partnership between Capital Electric and Basin Electric Power Cooperative.
“It really is, ‘from the mine-mouth to the member-owner’ -- an interconnected system that we all share and use,” he says.
Blaine learned as much as he could those first few years by attending regional and annual meetings, both at co-ops and at the North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives.
“There’s a vast amount of experience and knowledge, that as you interconnect with those people, you become more aware of the entire picture that we are part of,” he says.
And that entire picture, as Blaine so surely knows, starts with the member-owner.
“As an electric cooperative, it’s our obligation to provide the best service we can to the members within our service territory,” he says.
Blaine says he finds serving the members, using modern technology to provide better service, and visiting with members and listening to their concerns rewarding. As current secretary-treasurer of the board, he understands the importance of planning ahead to accommodate for tomorrow’s growth.
While creating a long-range plan can be a challenge, another is saying goodbye to seasoned veterans who have contributed to the cooperative’s decades of stability.
“We have employees who have been here a long time. They have a lot of experience and have done an excellent job. It’s going to be hard to replace those people and their experience after they’ve retired,” he says.
With a decade of his own in volunteer service to the cooperative -- and now knowing full well what “he’s gotten himself into,” -- Blaine hopes to continue serving on the board as long as the membership feels he contributes.
Outside of Capital Electric Cooperative, Blaine operates a small grain farm with his wife, Dorothy, and son, Allan. He works for Fischer Contracting in Bismarck, and serves as assessor for the Boyd and Telfer Township. In his free time, he enjoys spending time on the family farm.
Over the past 10 years, Blaine has exemplified the Touchstone Energy® values of integrity, accountability, innovation and commitment to community. Capital Electric Cooperative thanks Blaine for his dedicated service, and for supporting the employees and their efforts to serve their members.