E N D
1985 – 201025 Years! Eric Albertson -September 22, 2010
August 29, 1984 • Rural Electric Managers Association met • Motion made and seconded to set up a “REC Engineering and Operations Meeting” • General Manager Advocates • Allen Schrupp – Kandiyohi • Wade Hensel – FROST-BENCO • Donald Larson – Steele Waseca
September 12th, 1984Meeting held at UPA Wade Hensel – GM Frost-Benco Al Schrupp – GM Kandiyohi Kirby Posthuma – Engr Mgr, AEC Steve Green – REA Field Rep Also present…
…and given an assignment Dick Hiniker Dave Nelson Eric Albertson
Mission Expand Planning Committee, with Dick Hiniker as Chair Conduct a REC Engineering and Operations Meeting for ½ day- full day-½ day, March 5-7, 1985 Location: Sunwood Inn, St. Cloud Establish Agenda by 12/01/84
Planning CommitteeOctober 23rd, 1984 - AEC Dick Hiniker Dave Nelson Eric Albertson Doug Hughes – Steele Waseca Robin Hvidston – Agralite Dan Mairs - Star Federation Tim Weir – Northern EC
Final Steps November 7th, 1984 Agenda finalized Speakers Lined Up December 3rd, 1984 Letter of intro and meeting info sent to all MN Co-ops from Al Schrupp and Don Larson January 14th, 1985 Meeting agenda and registration forms sent
1st REMA Engr & Opr Meeting March 5-7, 1985 • Sunwood Inn, St. Cloud • Attendance - 62, 71, 56 • Topics • Neutral-to-Earth Voltages • Meter Tampering • System Protection • Metal Oxide Arresters • Single-Point Grounding • Transformer Sizing • Mechanical Pole Strength • V Reg Compensation Settings
Meeting Results • Attendees rated 4’s and 5’s (1-poor to 5-Excellent) • Several Comments • Combine with Line Superintendents • Keep it going, really needed • Make it less technically overwhelming • Keep it away from “short-sided” Managers
Final Report to REMA • Planning Committee met and formed recommendations on April 11, 1985 • Formally submitted recommendation to create REMA Engineering and Operations Section – May 24, 1985 • REMA authorized the creation of the section – Fall, 1985
A long way from 1985… Documents created on typewriters Few dot-matrix tractor-feed printers Only some of us used a PC – no mouse, no “Windows”, no spell-check Correspondence was done by snail-mail or desk phone (no e-mail) Pointers were collapsible car antennas Only “Title” needed on mailings and name tags: “Mr. …”
Many Changes • Digital Clocks and Appliances • Customer Expectations - Reliability • Better Compound Material/Insulation • Affordable Computer Software Solutions for Nearly Everything • Large Loads with Critical Requirements in Rural Areas (Ethanol, Casinos) • Rising Costs – Do more with less.
Some things stay the same… • The “Cooperative” Spirit • Privilege and Obligation to provide electrical energy to our members • Service to our customers • Service to our communities • Sharing • Values • Knowledge • Experiences • Resources
Happy 25th Anniversary!REMA Engineering & Operations Wishing you many more!