Peterson lobbies on behalf of members and employees
Shelly Peterson knows firsthand how dangerous electricity
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Board Director Shelly Peterson |
At only four years old, she stuck an object into an outlet and was instantly blown across the living room. She can’t say for certain what the object was … but she does remember how her arm turned black from her fingertips to her elbow.
Later as an adult, she experienced danger for a second time when a streak of lightening struck a light in her family’s backyard basketball court. The electricity traveled through an underground cable into the garage and house, and destroyed her family’s computer, television and other electronic devices.
In both cases, Shelly was extremely fortunate. She was safe.
Currently a director for Capital Electric Cooperative, Shelly knows how dangerous electricity can be. But she also knows just how important it can be in our everyday lives. From running the furnace to sending an e-mail, affordable rates and reliable service mean staying warm and staying on task, both at home or at the office.
To ensure the cooperative provides affordable rates and reliable service, Shelly works closely with other board members, keeping in mind the Touchstone Energy® values of integrity, accountability, innovation and commitment to community. Her co-op journey travels a self-proclaimed “learning curve” that started with one simple phone call.
One call set the standard
While her first experience with electricity and an unprotected outlet may have been memorable, it was not a good one. However, her first experience with Capital Electric Cooperative was also memorable—and extremely positive.
Shelly remembers a storm back in 1997 that caused a power outage. She says the employees’ response to the outage was “absolutely fantastic.”
“Employees from the co-op called my family to see how we were doing during the outage. I was extremely impressed with that little bit of contact. To this day, I still remember that phone call.”
Every vote counts
Maybe it was because of that positive experience that she agreed to run for the board of directors. Of maybe it’s because Shelly enjoyed the challenge of lobbying for and working with members, like she does at her full-time job with the North Dakota Long Term Care Association (NDLTCA). Whatever the reason, she says she ran with a qualified field of candidates in her first term who were vying for the same position.
After some hard campaigning, she won the election—by a mere six votes.
“It was kind of exciting,” Shelly admits. “It shows how every vote counts, and how each person can make a difference.”
During her first term, Shelly says she asked a lot of questions about the buying and selling of power, and about the technical side of cooperative business. She learned as much as she could from the seasoned members on the board.
“I think it’s great to have the historical value of people who have years of experience on the board. It’s also important to have a fresh perspective on the board, so that we can ask the questions that haven’t been asked in a while and reaffirm that we’re on the right path.”
Satisfaction equals service
First and foremost a member, Shelly still expects good customer service from the cooperative. And because she believes in the dedicated people who work for Capital Electric, she says that as a director, it’s partly her responsibility to reward the work force and show the employees they are valuable to the company and to the community.
“When we look at demographics and data in North Dakota, we are an aging population and our workforce is dwindling. We need to make sure we have incentives in place to recruit the best and the brightest, and keep current employees happy and satisfied. If you have happy and satisfied employees, they are going to deliver top-notch service.”
Shelly served on the Labor and Negotiations Committee during her first term of service, and says it was a difficult yet interesting experience.
“People work hard and they need to be rewarded. North Dakota isn’t known as a state with high wages and we need to change that if we want our sons and daughters to stay or return here. It’s a great place for families and we have so much going for us. We just need to make sure that we’re doing the best we can so we can attract more.”
Active at home and in the community
Family is extremely important to Shelly and her husband, Wade, who watch Shelly’s two oldest sons succeed out of state. One works as an electrical engineer in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and the other studies music at the Berkley School of Music in Boston. Wade also has a son who attends Bismarck State College, and has a daughter who goes to high school in Velva, N.D. When Shelly and Wade married in 1997, Shelly says she was excited to finally have “a girl.”
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Shelly Peterson’s family includes (back row l-r): Paden Peterson, Ryan and Troy Warner, and (front row l-r): Shelly, Wade and Sloane Peterson. |
“It’s extremely important that facilities that care for North Dakota’s aging population are adequately funded so they can deliver quality care,” she says. “A major part of my job is representing them in the legislature and advocating for funding.”
When not representing the members of NDLTCA or Capital Electric, Shelly enjoys the family’s lake home on Lake Sacagawea, which is served by McLean Electric Cooperative. They fish, hunt, work in the yard, read, and most importantly—relax. In the snowy months, you might find Shelly out cross-country skiing.
Editor’s note: While Shelly’s outlet accident happened many years ago, the staff at Capital Electric would like to use her experience to remind readers that electricity can still be dangerous, so cover those unused outlets!