VMDAEC celebrates 80 years
October 2024
Although their tenures at VMDAEC overlapped, the combined careers of Richard Johnstone, Janet Bailey, right, and Debbie Swiderski, left, represent more than 80 years at the Association. (photo by Gregg MacDonald)
by Gregg MacDonald, Staff Writer
In 1964, when U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman proclaimed Co-Op Month a nationally recognized event to be celebrated annually each October, the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives was already celebrating its 20th anniversary. Formed in 1944, VMDAEC is celebrating its 80th year in 2024.
“One of the primary reasons the Association was formed in 1944 was the difficulty in purchasing line materials during WWII,” says retired VMDAEC CEO Richard Johnstone. “So, working together as a group to purchase needed materials was a foundational reason that co-ops got together and formed the Association.”
Johnstone, who worked at VMDAEC for 36 years, from 1985 until 2021, says cooperatives also initially recognized the need to work together to negotiate wholesale power supply purchases. “Another reason to collaborate was to share best practices and to have consistent, uniform training for the line crews, to ensure their safety and that of the public,” Johnstone adds. “That and the recognition that the cooperatives needed to have a presence at the General Assembly, to protect the interests of co-op member-consumers and to advocate for legislation that would treat rural areas fairly and equitably.”
Today, VMDAEC continues to serve 16 member-owned electric cooperatives in these same capacities. Thirteen in Virginia, two in Maryland, and one in Delaware are currently members, serving more than 2 million people overall.
“I’ve been working for VMDAEC for 24 years now, and I’m proud to work for an organization that — while undergoing many changes over time — has not lost sight of its founding mission,” says Cooperative Living Deputy Editor Laura Emery. “We exist to serve the member-owned electric cooperatives in the three-state area, and that’s as integral to the operation of our organization today as it was when it was founded 80 years ago.”
Emery’s 24-year (and continuing) tenure is not unheard of at the Association, as it tends to attract long-term employees who develop deep loyalties to the Association and the cooperatives it serves. “My 30-year career with VMDAEC was among the highlights of my life,” says Janet Bailey, who retired in 2021 as Cooperative Living’s production manager.
“I was so fortunate to be part of the electric cooperative family and I treasure many happy memories of working for and with truly wonderful people,” echoes Debbie Swiderski, who retired as vice president of safety training and educational services after working at the Association for 24 years.
“The Association really is a ‘cooperative of cooperatives,’ a great example of the power, influence, effectiveness and efficiency gained when people work together in common cause, creating a whole much greater than the sum of its parts,” says Johnstone.