Meeker Cooperative Celebrating 90th Anniversary

Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. The co-op will have an appreciation event next Wednesday, May 21st, following the annual meeting for its electric customers and the Vibrant Broadband subscribers from 12:30-to-6 p.m.

Meeker Cooperative CEO Luke Johnson says local farmers and area leaders formed the co-op back in 1935. He says cities had electricity, but not the rural residents and it was quite an effort with all of the labor done by hand and with money being in short supply.

Johnson says Meeker Cooperative has evolved over the years with the latest big development being the installation of Vibrant Broadband fiber optic infrastructure beginning in 2018 to provide internet to rural areas and other under-served areas just like the electricity installation 90 years ago. He says Meeker Cooperative has 8,000 electric customers and over 6,600 Vibrant subscribers, and they will have exhibits and demonstrations for them to see next Wednesday – along with door prizes.

Meeker Cooperative Executive Coordinator Mary Alice Holm says next Wednesday’s event from 12:30-to-6 will include Wattenhofer pork chops, beans, potato salad, chips, cookie and water – served at the warehouse at 1725 East Highway 12 in Litchfield. She says they will have their safety demonstration trailer there and other interesting displays.

Holm says one of the programs started at Meeker Cooperative in the 1990s was Operation Round-up in which customers may round up their bills and employees may round down their paychecks with the money going into a fund which is then distributed in grants to various non-profit groups and school scholarships around the area. She says over $1.1-million has been given out over the years, and the application deadline for the latest round of grants is approaching July 3rd.