Touchstone Energy Day was August 30, 2019 at the Morrow County Fair!
There were on the hour giveaways from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. and our caricature, balloon, and face painting artists from noon – 3 p.m.
Join us next year, just look for the Consolidated Cooperative flags by the Senior Fair office next year on August 28, 2020.
As a valued member of our cooperative, we’re excited to provide you with an exclusive, free membership that has countless benefits.
The Co-op Connections Card offers you valuable discounts on prescriptions, products and services at local businesses, as well as on hotels, rental cars, and more across the U.S. Best of all, it’s FREE for members.
Also, if you are a local business and would like FREE promotion, sign up as a discount provider by emailing service@consolidated.coop.
Every Consolidated Cooperative member receives a free Co-op Connections card. If you are in need of a card give us a call, stop in and pick one up, or print off a temporary card online!
Membership really does have its privileges!
Alesia Tobin and Kate Schmidt, both from Cardington, attended the Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives Youth Tour to Washington, D.C., from June 14-20, as delegates representing Consolidated Cooperative.
The Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives Youth Tour is an annual youth leadership program for high school sophomores and juniors from families served by electric cooperatives. On the trip, delegates visited the nation’s capital and its many famous and historic sites. They also learned about the cooperative business model and met members of Ohio’s congressional delegation on Capitol Hill.
Tobin, the daughter of Nina Cantrell and Ashley and Paul Tobin, and Schmidt, the daughter of Georgeann and Michael Schmidt, were two of 31 delegates from the state of Ohio – and 1,833 delegates from electric co-ops across the country – who participated in this year’s Youth Tour.
Sites on this year’s Youth Tour included the United States Capitol, the Vietnam and Korean War memorials, the Abraham Lincoln and World War II memorials, the Smithsonian Museums of Natural History and American History, the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Center, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the Gettysburg battlefield.
Consolidated Cooperative’s President & CEO, Phil Caskey, hosted a Virtual Townhall Meeting for residents of the Village of Ostrander and the Meadows of Mill Creek. The event took place Thursday evening, June 13, with 55 attendees logging in for the meeting.
The topic of discussion for the townhall meeting was Consolidated’s expansion of natural gas service into the Village of Ostrander. The status of the project was discussed, and Caskey responded to questions from attendees. A full replay of the meeting is posted here.
The introduction of co-op scholarship winners and youth tour attendees was a highlight of the most recent Annual Meeting of Members.
Scholarship winners were Madeline Weisburn, Paige Milhon, Nathan Johnson, and Jonathon Gartner; and youth tour winners were Alesia Tobin and Kate Schmidt.
Also, we would like to extend special recognition to Alexa Draper, currently a senior at Buckeye Valley High School. She was awarded a Consolidated scholarship but had to decline it after receiving a full tuition scholarship from Miami University.
Congratulations goes out to Gracie Hinkle for winning the new $500 educational scholarship offered at the meeting. To be considered for the scholarship, entrants had to be a high school senior with their parent or guardian an active member of the co-op, and they had to be present at the annual meeting to win.
During Consolidated Cooperative’s 83rd Annual Meeting of Members, Assistant Secretary Michael Struck announced the results of the recent trustee elections.
• District 1: Kent Kramer
• District 2: Don McCracken
• District 3: Dick Miller
Trustee Struck also thanked election committee members Phil Edwards and Darrin Reiter. Chairman Larry Roof (District 5) then introduced the remaining trustees:
• Don Breece – District 4
• Michael Struck – District 6
• Mike Schuster – District 7
• Mike Huston – District 8
• Mary Fuller – District 9
Economic development initiative designed to help communities plan for dramatic growth in next 30 years
MOUNT GILEAD—Consolidated Cooperative is taking an active lead in local economic development efforts, most recently by participating in the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission’s Insight2050 Academy.
Consolidated Cooperative Economic Development Executive Brad Ebersole attended the six-week series that focused on small and rural communities. Insight2050 is the commission’s effort to prepare Central Ohio for a population influx of more than 1 million people and 300,000 additional jobs in the next 30 years.
“The Insight2050 Academy provided the tools and data about future trends in population, demographics, housing, and land use that I can share with communities to help them plan for smart growth,” Ebersole said. “Consolidated has been involved in local economic development for a long time, but taking part in Insight2050 will allow me to be another important resource for the communities we serve.”
Consolidated Cooperative is often looked to as a trusted advisor for communities, public officials, landowners, and developers, Ebersole said, so the co-op frequently takes advantage of opportunities to expand the expertise those groups rely on.
For more information about Consolidated Cooperative’s economic development initiatives, visit www.consolidated.coop/business/economic-development, or call the co-op at 800-421-5863.
For more information about Insight2050, visit www.morpc.org/program-service/insight2050.
Using these landscaping tips can keep your energy costs down and make your yard more environmentally friendly. Sitting under a shade tree on a hot day makes you cooler, and standing by a wall on a cold, windy day makes you feel warmer. It seems pretty obvious. What’s less obvious is that you can landscape your yard to offer your home those same benefits. It just takes a bit of planning in the way you site trees, fences and other elements. Make your landscape a cool, shady retreat on hot summer days.
Vines can also shade walls during their first growing season. A lattice or trellis with climbing vines, or a planter box with trailing vines, shades the home’s perimeter while admitting cooling breezes to the shaded area.
Shrubs planted close to the house will fill in rapidly and begin shading walls and windows within a few years. However, avoid allowing dense foliage to grow immediately next to a home where wetness and continual humidity could cause problems. Well-landscaped homes in wet areas allow winds to flow around the home, keeping the home and its surrounding soil reasonably dry.
To ensure lasting performance of energy-saving landscaping, use plant species that are adapted to the local climate. Native species are best, as they require little maintenance once established and avoid the dangers of invasive species. To find the best choices for your area, call the Consolidated system arborist, at 419-949- 2919.
Consolidated is a tree certified utility
The Tree Line USA® program is sponsored by The Arbor Day Foundation™ in cooperation with the National Association of State
Foresters and recognizes public and private utilities across the nation that demonstrate practices that protect and enhance America’s urban forests. We are pleased to announce that Consolidated is a Tree Line USA® certified utility.
What does this mean to you as a member? Consolidated supports the idea set forth by Tree Line of having a dual goal of dependable utility service, and abundant, healthy trees in our communities.
Our home and energy habits need to adapt to each season. Here are a few suggestions to consider for the coming warmer weather season.
A heat wave assaults the senses. You can feel the extreme warmth on your skin, odors intensify, and you can see the heat rising from the pavement, bending upward in the sizzling temperatures.
And what’s that you’re hearing? It’s your air conditioner running and the sound of your bank account drying up.
Heating and air conditioning your home can account for almost half of your home’s energy use, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Here’s how to cut those costs during the summer:
Improve plantings around your house
Most heat that accumulates inside a house comes directly from the sun shining on the roof or through windows. Planting leafy trees around the exterior of your house helps block the sun from heating the inside of your home.
Even for the cost of going to the nursery and buying a 15- to 20-foot-tall tree, this is still the best value.
If the trees or shrubs shade your air conditioner, you could increase your AC’s efficiency by up to 10 percent according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Invest in window screens
Solar screens, or mesh-like window screens, intercept up to 70 percent of solar energy before it gets into the house. Window screens are particularly effective on east- and west-facing windows, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Window films are another option. They are transparent, metalized sheets that reflect heat before it can be transmitted through glass. However, windows must be shut for window films to work, while solar screens do double duty, keeping sun and insects out even with windows open.
Skip the boiling and baking
Skip the stove-top boiling and oven baking during hot spells. Reduce indoor heat by making microwave nachos or eating a cool salad. If you must boil pasta for tomorrow’s potluck, cook in the evening.
After cooking, turn on the kitchen exhaust, and turn on the bathroom exhaust fan after a hot shower.
Pay attention to speeds
Put the AC fan speed on high, except on especially humid days, says the U.S. Department of Energy. On humid days, place the speed on low. The slower air movement through the air-conditioning equipment removes more moisture from the air, improving comfort in your home.
Don’t be quick to switch it on
Step in the shower, spray yourself with a water bottle or use a cool cloth on the back of your neck. And if you don’t chill out right away, don’t give up. Your comfort range depends on the temperatures you have experienced in recent days and weeks; changing habits takes time.Source: http://www.bankrate.com/personal-finance/
Ask your Energy Advisor
Let us be in your plan for energy efficiency. Has your energy use been fluctuating? Are you looking for a practical way to save on your electric bill?
A home energy audit’s purpose is to identify places in the home where energy is being wasted and prioritize the projects needed to fix them. Call Consolidated today at 800-421-5863 to find out more about the Energy Audit program.
