Happy Tuesday, Rotarians.

Need to Know

1. Our Romance Raffle appears to have netted approximately $15,400. Thanks to everyone who helped with the event.
2. Upcoming Speakers: Jason Pace of the MO Highway Patrol will speak to us; on March 7^th, Terry Cantrell will speak to us.
3. Per Scott Jones, the Service Projects Committee is working hard on the SCORE project. They are looking for entrepreneurs to train later this year. See Scott if you have any suggestions.
4. The Easter Egg Hunt will be on April 1^st at Hubble Elementary.
5. Our 2^nd Annual Color Run is scheduled for May 6^th. Sponsorship levels will be at $100, $250, and $500.
6. DARE graduation for Marshfield will be in May 4^th.

Meeting Recap

Our guest today was visiting Rotarian/former member Doug Burnett.

Our sympathies go out to Don Stockton for the passing of his father over the weekend.

Our speaker today was club member Tom Houston who talked about Webster Electric and the Webster Electric Foundation. Webster Electric Foundation began in 1998 and is funded mostly by co-op members who participate in “Operation Round-up”. The average participant contributes approximately $6.00 per year, and the program raises about $70,000-$80,000 per year from members. The Foundation gives out approximately $80,000-$100,000 per year for a variety of projects in the Webster Electric service area. A 9-member board chooses the grants. The Foundation prefers projects that are “joint funding” where the applying organization puts forth money for the project, rather than projects where the Webster Electric Foundation is the sole source of funding for the project.

Webster Electric is a co-op with 37 full-time employees, 20 of which are devoted to line maintenance. It has a coverage area of over 1200 square miles, primarily in County. Electric has some of the lowest electric rates in the state, and rates have only been raised approximately 2% in the last 5 years. All customers are charged a fixed “availability charge” regardless of kilowatt usage to cover maintenance expenses. At this time, Electric is not looking to enter the broadband business like other electric co-ops, in part because there are already competitors in that industry in Webster Electric’s coverage area.

Final Thoughts

No quote today, sorry, but will you settle for a Muppet video?

Scooter and The Electric Mayhem with “Mr. Bassman”:

https://youtu.be/SnieQ7hUcN8

Marshfield Rotary Club: Raising the bar through leadership, giving and education.

Yours in Rotary Service,

Kristin Grace Krebs