From the CEO
We’ve made it to May, and although not numerically the middle of the year for us here at the cooperative we’ve made it through the annual meeting, and we’re looking ahead to spring storm season, the heat of the summer, and then how we’ll end our year. We’ve got a bit of time ahead of us in 2021 and I wanted to take just a few moments to talk about where we are because the year so far has already been full of some surprises.
I want to first thank everyone who joined us for the virtual annual meeting. We missed seeing our members in person, but we’re grateful for those of you who logged on and took part in this very important event we hold each year. We’re confident we’ll be able to meet with you all next year and celebrate another successful year. If you missed the annual meeting live, you can check out our YouTube channel and watch the meeting on demand.
We have been continuing to communicate with members about the February polar vortex that had a significant impact on the entire middle of the country. We are starting to just get in some data that will help us determine how it will financially impact both the cooperative and each one of our members. We have provided more information on this issue for each of you as we continue to gather more data.
The other item I wanted to bring up is our upcoming member survey. FreeState has officially kicked off our member survey. Your cooperative is committed to continually improving our programs, services, and the way we serve our members. There is always room for improvement and there are questions that we think we know the answers to but want to know for sure. Questions like, “are we doing a good job serving our members?” “Are there things we can do better?” “Are we meeting member expectations?” Every business has these questions as they work to maintain the essential relationships that make a business successful.
Starting May 1, 2021, FreeState will begin surveying members with our trusted partner, Inside Information. We will be reaching out to members in one of two ways. You may get a phone call from Inside Information, or you could see an invitation to participate via email through our digital member survey. Inside Information is a trusted vendor of FreeState that will be conducting our biennial member survey to gather information to serve each of our members better. Both phone and digital surveys are identical, but there are two ways we will collect the data.
Participation in the member survey is entirely voluntary. Our third-party vendor, Inside Information, will gather all responses. No personally identifiable information will be associated with your answers. We would appreciate your input and encourage you to be candid and forthcoming with your feedback. It’s the only way we will know what we need to work on and how we can do better moving forward. It will help us determine what priorities should be and where opportunities lie.
FreeState members are our No. 1 priority, and there is no better way to get feedback than to go straight to the source. We hope you’ll take a few minutes to complete the survey if asked to do so. We look forward to hearing what you have to say.