Southside Electric Cooperative (SEC) recently received recognition in the 2017 Spotlight on Excellence national awards program, sponsored by the Council of Rural Electric Communicators and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA).

SEC received a Gold Award in Best Digital Storytelling for its “Day in the Life of a Lineman” reality show video. The video follows SEC linemen in Altavista, Crewe, Dinwiddie and Powhatan as they work and troubleshoot throughout their day.

The video serves as a complement to the Day in the Life of a Lineman program, which provides local high school students with a multi-faceted look at a career in electric utility line work. Students gain insight into the working conditions, education/training requirements, career outlook and compensation of an electric lineman.

A special reception honored the award recipients during the Connect ‘17 Conference held in Tampa, Florida, on May 2. Winning entries were displayed in the Spotlight Café during the remainder of the conference.

SEC partnered with videographer Ryan White of Tri21 Media to bring the idea to life. Lauren Irby, SEC communications specialist, coordinated the scheduling, filming and production of the project.

The annual Spotlight on Excellence Awards competition recognizes the top-rated communication and marketing efforts by electric cooperatives and related organizations. Entrants competed with electric cooperatives of similar size in several categories. Electric cooperative communicators and marketing professionals submitted more than 769 entries in the Spotlight on Excellence program, now in its 29th year.

The Council of Rural Electric Communicators was organized in 1982, and seeks to advance the recognition, education and professionalism of electric cooperative communicators and their affiliated organizations. It is a volunteer association working on behalf of more than 4,000 electric cooperative communicators across the United States.

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the service organization representing the national interests of cooperative electric utilities, coordinates the council’s activities.

Southside Electric Cooperative is a not-for-profit, member-owned electric cooperative that serves over 55,000 homes and businesses in portions of 18 counties in central and southern Virginia. Headquartered in Crewe, SEC has district offices in Altavista, Crewe, Dinwiddie and Powhatan.

Contact: Ronald O. White
V.P., Public & Member Relations
Ron.White@sec.coop | (434) 645-3211