Every June, something happens that I don’t think gets enough credit. A thousand Cherryland members show up.

They drive in from Northport, from Manistee, from all across northern Michigan. They vote in our board election. They listen to a state of the cooperative address. They ask hard questions and expect real answers. Then they take their kids to bowl and eat too much pasta and cookies, and somehow all of that together is exactly what a cooperative is supposed to look like.

I never take that for granted.

Most electric customers in Michigan have no equivalent moment. No vote. No room to walk into. No CEO they can connect with by the arcade with a question about their bill. They are customers of a company that owes them power and not much else.

You are members of a cooperative that owes you something harder to deliver—genuine transparency and accountability. And every June, you show up to collect it. I love that about us.

My first job at Cherryland was building our social media presence. I believed in it—the idea that a cooperative could show up online and have real conversations with real members. I still believe in that, and we still see plenty of it. Members who share kind words after a storm. People who ask thoughtful questions because they genuinely want to understand. Folks who hold us accountable and engage in productive, honest ways. That matters, and I’m grateful for it.

But the overall tone of those spaces has changed. Too often, it feels like people aren’t looking for answers; they’re looking for somewhere to deposit frustration. Social media has become less about dialogue and more about grievances, regardless of truth. I’ll be honest—that breaks my heart a little.

While I can’t salvage the state of civility on social media, I’m also not willing to give up on our core values of transparency and engagement. Which is part of why the Annual Meeting matters more to me than ever. In a world where we’re constantly battered by vitriol, half-truths, and mistruths, this is our chance to come together. To ask hard questions, disagree in good faith, and actually listen to each other.

We have a lot to discuss at our Annual Meeting this year. The world in which we operate your cooperative is increasingly complex. Reliability requires long-term investment in both power supply and your local grid. Affordability is under pressure from inflation, supply chains, and regulation. The choices we make over the next decade will shape your electric service for years to come.

There’s a lot to cover. And there’s more coming this summer that I’m genuinely excited to share with you.

For now, I hope to see you at Incredible Mo’s on June 11. Come with your questions. Come with your skepticism. Come for the food.

Just show up and engage thoughtfully with us. You’re good at it.