July 2023
Summer is in full swing with all the popular vacation spots filling up and outdoor activities taking place everywhere you look. We get to start this month by celebrating our Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States of America. It’s a time to enjoy fireworks, cookouts, and other summer fun with our friends and family.
July is National Anti-Boredom Month, so throughout the pages of Cooperative Living you will find all sorts of exciting features to keep you interested and engaged. This includes some amazing art from our Youth Art Contest and an interesting story about the young girl from Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative’s territory who won the top prize.
Our cover story takes place in Harrisonburg, Va., in Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative’s neck of the woods. It is about a geologist, goldsmith, silversmith and jewelry maker who mines his own gemstones and then creates beautiful rings, earrings, pendants and necklaces with them.
In the Southside Virginia area, we’re very excited to recognize the 500th graduate of the Power Line Worker School program. The Association along with our 15 electric cooperative members worked with Southside Virginia Community College to get the program started seven years ago. Most graduates are immediately offered positions once they complete the training. It’s an amazing program that we are proud to be involved with.
Enjoy your time with loved ones this summer as we celebrate living in this great country, and continue to enjoy the freedoms our founding fathers established for us 247 years ago.
Brian S. Mosier, President & CEO
Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives