Along with the NRECA, the conference also was the annual gathering of the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative, distributor of WildBlue and DIRECT TV; the Cooperative Finance Corporation which provides financial services to cooperatives; and Touchstone Energy, which is the branding group for electricity provided by rural co-ops.

It was a conference, said Schmitz, built around the theme of “Striking the Right Balance,” the delicate balance between working toward a common goal of environmental cleanup without pricing electricity out of the reach of the ordinary citizen.

NRECA Chair Glenn English pointed out the importance of bringing co-op membership up to speed on what is happening with legislation on the local level. Issues like greenhouse gas and carbon restraints may have captured people’s interest, but do they lead to designer laws that sound good without making a real difference? And would those laws cause electricity costs to skyrocket?

English used the example of President Kennedy setting a national goal in the early 1960s to land on the moon within the decade, said Schmitz. Yet Kennedy didn’t say that fines would be the result of not making it. Today, in a similar visionary national effort, that’s what is being said to private industry.

Everyone shares the goal of cleaning up the planet and not polluting it, explained Schmitz, but at the same time electricity is a commodity that should not be just for the wealthy.

The NRECA has the opportunity to make a difference, with its 40 million customers and excellent grassroots organization, pointed out Schmitz. If that number of people across the country could get excited about the issues, then they would also have a say in how legislation develops.

Futurist Daniel Burris spoke on the baby boomer generation, and how it is a global – not just American - issue. For the first time the U.S. is seeing four generations in the same workforce. Customers look toward the cooperatives to get the most out of their energy dollar, he pointed out.

Former Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration Robert Reich also spoke along economic themes, said Schmitz. The American worker has not gained any purchasing power in the last 35-40 years, Reich claimed. Where personal spending could increase with the addition of a spouse to the workforce, putting off retirement, increase in home equity and availability of consumer credit, those options are now played out. Limiting personal spending, said Reich, will be the major driver to the economy.

However, he believes that the migration of manufacturing jobs overseas is not an issue in a global market, said Schmitz. Jobs have changed toward service, health care and technology, and employment will grow with an educated workforce.

A look at future government financing trends was given by James Andrew, administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Utilities Programs. Because of the increase in construction costs, utilities have much more equity in their infrastructure than is shown on their books. He also pointed out that the programs are not allowed to fund any new baseload generation using coal.

Other speakers included Bonnie MeElveen-Hunter, head of the Red Cross, another large organization with 35,000 employees and one million volunteers world-wide; the journalist Cokie Roberts; and, helping Touchstone Energy celebrate a 10 year anniversary, John Ratzenberger – better known as Cliff Claven on Cheers.

The annual meeting was a chance to hear good speakers and share common issues, said Schmitz. And, as always when there is an opportunity to attend a national convention, there was a lot of learning to bring home to northern Minnesota.