Storyconnect The Podcast

Flint Energies has started a matching grant program with artists and community groups to paint murals in towns around its service territory. In addition to adding beauty to the community, they’re seeing positive economic impacts.

Hear how a Kansas utility delivered 159 TONS of food with a branded van, school competitions and coordinated, consistent messaging over the last 10 years.

Want more people to apply for lineworker jobs? Show your story to high school seniors! Learn how Community Electric Co-op’s “Day in the Life of a Lineworker” student experience raises awareness of utility career paths and lineworker scholarships every spring.

Starting in kindergarten, the team at Oklahoma Electric Co-op offers educational programs to students throughout their school experience. Hear how the programs developed and why engaging children became a strategic focus for the utility over the last decade.

Energy efficiency is a story that can feel stale. Hear how Louisiana Utility Pioneers rebranded existing resources with an owl mascot and cohesive storytelling to help both staff and members be Power Smart.

For the second year in a row, price was not the No. 1 concern for respondents in Innovative Systems’ annual broadband survey. What is it that matters most? This episode also includes notes on bundling, social media platform usage, streaming options and communication preferences.Special: Recorded LIVE at StoryConnect 2024!

Internal communications is a critical part of storytelling, but one we often forget. At Medina Electric, Katie Haby's using the CliftonStrengths training program to help staff focus on strengths to build cross-department teams and happier, more engaged employees. Hear how the program’s helping the co-op strengthen its internal storytelling approach!

Allison Young and the Kauai team just won an NRECA Spotlight award for their internal newsletter and intranet. What's their secret for engaging internal communications?Special: Recorded LIVE at StoryConnect 2024!

Icebreakers, scholarships and character building — meet EmPOWER, a youth leadership program for high school juniors in South Dakota and Minnesota. Learn about Sioux Valley Energy’s long-term investment to build future leaders in its community.

Do you have a local network of cooperative storytellers? From his dual roles as an economic development manager at People's Energy and board member for Cooperative Development Services, Marty Walsh’s has a unique take on co-op education and how Utility Pioneers can turn the cooperative difference into shared storytelling opportunities to foster member success.

In under three years, Central Rural Electric Co-op moved from breaking ground to 85% buildout of their broadband service, CentraNet, in Oklahoma. During a break from the Calix event, Larry Mattox shares how the small team managed this growth, a new brand and evolving member expectations.

In an effort to move beyond features like speed, CL Tel has begun discussing its broadband based on what their service can do for specific customer profiles of personas like gamers, remote workers and families.Special: Recorded LIVE at NTCA

Now that the rules have been finalized, Dereck DeVries, of Vantage Point, shares the latest on what marketers, communicators and executives need to know about the where, what and when of broadband labels.

Sioux Valley Energy's staff LEAD program builds a culture of cooperation across the utility, creating a competitive edge when recruiting talent. Learn how projects from the leadership program improved volunteerism programs, removed silos and strengthened the co-op's internal communications.

Food co-ops, credit unions, utilities and other types of co-ops may serve different needs, but we share many of the same stories. Cooperative educator Cathy Statz talks about the power of sharing the cross-sector co-op story with young people, then offers advice for building your local cooperative community.

Chris Pietsch, director of photography for Gannett Newspapers in Oregon, shares tips on "making — not taking" better photos while previewing the sessions he will lead at StoryConnect in April.

Teddy Feinberg, managing editor at the Idaho Press, gives us a preview of his sessions at StoryConnect 2024, where he will be the writing instructor. In this episode, Teddy focuses on the value of concise writing and gives tips on how to improve your writing by self-editing.

John Marling has been conducting market research for almost four decades. In this episode, he shares insights on what marketers and communicators need to think about in order to get meaningful, actionable data from their research. Learn more at pioneer.coop/surveys.

Today's jobseekers are watching your utility's communications to see what kind of organization you are. And while your primary audience will almost always be your members or customers, Weston Putman says it's crucial to signal to potential new hires that your organization is a place they would want to work.

With a story-packed career spanning three different types of co-ops, WCTEL’s Mary Miller shares ideas for co-op culture-building, effective campaigns and co-opportunities for growth.