The cooperative way
One member, one vote
Fourteen years ago, Arlene Olson showed determination, ambition – and likely a |
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Arlene and Delbert Olson |
fair bit of confidence when she became the first woman to serve on the Capital Electric board of directors.
Since that time, she has proven she can negotiate, make decisions and serve member-owners. She has also inspired other women to volunteer their time, lead by example and work diligently for a worthy cause.
Hard work is no stranger to Arlene, who farms and ranches alongside her husband, Delbert. They raise almost 200 Angus beef cows and operate approximately 2,800 acres of land southwest of Wing. Their crops include wheat, oats, barley, flax and alfalfa.
Farming is a full-time job for Arlene, but so is her commitment to community service. Aside from volunteering as a board director with Capital Electric Cooperative, she also serves on the Burleigh County Housing Authority Board, the Burleigh County Farmers Union, the worship and music committee at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Wing, as Trygg Township Clerk, and as business manager for the Wing Rural Ambulance.
As a lifelong member of Capital Electric, she grew up valuing the cooperative philosophy of one member, one vote.
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Arlene was the first woman elected to the Capital Electric board of directors. |
“North Dakota cooperatives generate $5.2 billion dollars to the state’s economy and provide more than 9,000 full-time jobs. That’s good for rural North Dakota, and it’s good for North Dakota in general,” she says.
Cooperatives continue to provide quality jobs to hard-working people, says Arlene, who thinks highly of the Capital Electric staff.
“We have a very competent manager and great employees. That makes my job as a board member much easier,” she says.
Arlene is also proud of the cooperative’s ability to maintain stable rates. That stability has led to growth, and since the beginning of her board service in 1992, she says the cooperative has nearly doubled in member-owners.
“That is exciting to me,” she says.
That growth also provides challenges, acknowledges Olson.
“I never dreamt that Bismarck would grow the way it has,” she says. “I think Capital Electric has played a vital role in that growth because of our reliable, quality service.”
Arlene has learned many things over the years, such as how to help her cooperative accommodate for growth. She says she’s also learned that there are two sides to every story.
“I always try to figure out a win-win situation, and usually there is a win-win situation to all the questions that come up,” she says.
With 14 years on the board, Arlene’s service has been a win/win – for both herself and the cooperative. She’ll continue to help make decisions that best serve the member-owners, while watching Capital Electric grow. In return, she’ll continue meeting and visiting with fellow directors across the state and nation.
“You can learn something from every director,” she says. “The more different we are, the more alike we are.”