Ongoing education and training opportunities are cornerstones of the cooperative way of doing business. Once again, cooperative directors and employees cumulatively invested thousands of hours in training programs throughout the year. Thirteen new directors joined cooperative boards during the past year and participated in courses covering topics ranging from an industry orientation program to coursework focused on outlining directors' roles and liabilities.

As part of IAEC's education and training package, annual conferences for cooperative managers, accountants, communicators, member services, and superintendents and foremen, were held in the spring and fall of the year.

Some of the Hot Topic Workshops in 2005 included topics covering Management Finance Training; Human Resources, Board and Manager Relationships; and a customized workshop for administrative assistants.

The IAEC also offered an in-depth workshop in three different locations to review the recently adopted RUS requirements regarding Emergency Restoration Planning (ERP) and vulnerability and risk assessments for electric cooperatives receiving grants or loans. These workshops, facilitated by IAEC's Regulatory and Safety departments, provided cooperatives with information to comply with performance of a vulnerability and risk assessment.

In an effort to enhance member and public education about renewable energy resources, the IAEC facilitated and participated in a number of workshops discussing the cooperatives' involvement in renewable energy projects.

When it comes to delivering power, safety is the number one concern. Iowa's electric cooperatives focus on the safety of our employees, member-consumers and the public. In the spring of 2005, cooperatives came together for the first annual Safety Summit. The Safety Summit explored issues and trends from a strategic perspective that has the potential to affect our business.
Feedback and outcomes of the meeting are being incorporated into an updated statewide model safety plan.

As part of our ongoing effort to educate the public about safety issues involving power lines, the IAEC coordinated its annual spring and fall safety campaigns focused on farm safety. Each four-week series aired on radio stations reaching member-consumers across Iowa.

Iowa's electric cooperatives - focused on advancing education and training opportunities for cooperatives.