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Teresa E. Sampson
Project Title
Project Description
The purpose of the Duck River EMC Employee Orientation to Electric Cooperatives
project is to provide an overview for newly hired employees at the cooperative on three areas:
A brief history of rural electrification, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and Duck
The Basics of power generation, transmission, and distribution to homes and businesses
The Seven Cooperative Principles and how they define an electric cooperative
Background
It has been found that new and current employees are lacking in knowledge of what it
means to work for an electric cooperative in Rural America. DREMC is member-owned and
operates within TVA’s footprint in the Tennessee Valley. The cooperative serves over 74,000
members in parts of sixteen counties in southern Middle Tennessee. There are approximately
170 employees that work throughout DREMC’s eight offices. I work in the headquarters office
in the engineering department. My primary responsibilities include interacting with our largest
commercial and industrial members as well as economic development. I am also one of the core
members of the cooperative’s Balanced Scorecard Committee. Our CEO’s goal is for DREMC
to become the best electric cooperative in the nation. Member satisfaction is the key
performance indicator of how we are standing in that regard. As part of the balanced scorecard
process, we have identified key drivers that impact our member satisfaction. We feel that one of
those key drivers is informing and engaging our cooperative employees, which will have a
CAPSTONE PROJECT TITLE AND STATEMENT 3
positive impact on how we engage with and satisfy the needs of our members. My goal for this
project is to help DREMC employees understand the significance of working for an electric
cooperative and what it means for our members as well. In consulting with our CEO and other
stakeholders, additional training outside of the scope of this project is desired to further impact
Available Resources
I will be incorporating resources from various avenues into my project. I have obtained
permission from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) to use available
materials from their website. Videos and other resources will be used from the internet as well
Most of the material that will be used from NRECA was required knowledge for a
certification that I obtained last year. I will consider myself a subject matter expert in some
regard for that material. There will also be at least four other subject matter experts or mentors
that may contribute to the project. They include the CEO, Director of District Services, Member
Demographics
The project addresses two audiences: New hires and the DREMC management team.
New hires will complete the training, while the management team will evaluate and make
employees participate in the project so that consistent training may be administered throughout
the cooperative. This will lead to a more informed and engaged workforce.
Timeframe
CAPSTONE PROJECT TITLE AND STATEMENT 4
A fully-developed project should be completed and ready for a trial run no later than
January 22, 2018. Based on feedback from the formative, summative, and confirmative
evaluations, the project will be continuously updated to better meet the needs of employees and
the cooperative. It is expected that the first iteration of the training will be attended by our
management staff before it is rolled out to all new and current employees.
1. Employees will understand an overview of the history of rural electrification, TVA, and
the cooperative.
2. Employees will understand the basics of power generation, transmission, and distribution.
3. Employees will understand the seven Cooperative Principles and incorporate them into
their interactions with members, peers, the community, and other cooperatives.