October 2025 | Celebrating Co-op Month, Membership | Current Members Will See Bill Credit

Posted: October 1, 2025 at 9 a.m.

By Sean J. Vanslyke | sean@gosemo.com

October is National Co-op Month—a time when electric cooperatives across the country pause to celebrate the cooperative difference. For SEMO Electric, it’s also the perfect time to thank you—the members who make everything we do possible.

Being part of a cooperative is like being connected to a train system that stretches across the country. Each stop may look different, but together the lines form a network that keeps everyone moving forward. In the same way, SEMO Electric and other co-ops are tied together, sharing resources, values, and strength to better serve members. That connection helps us deliver reliable, affordable power while keeping our focus right here at home.

One of the clearest examples of the cooperative difference is capital credits. At SEMO Electric, we don’t operate to make a profit—we operate to serve. When money is left after covering power, operations, and maintenance, we return it to you as your share of the Cooperative’s financial success. This fall, we’re returning $1,054,735 in capital credits from margins earned in 1987 and 2024. Since 1995, SEMO Electric has returned more than $20 million to our member-owners.

To make the process easier—and reduce issues with postal costs and delivery—current members with $10 or more in capital credits will have the amount automatically applied as a credit on their November electric bill. Former members with $10 or more will continue to receive a check by mail. Amounts under $10 will carry forward to next year. Each year, if there’s a margin left after expenses, we allocate it to members based on their electricity use. Later, as finances allow, the Board retires those funds and returns them. It takes time, but members always benefit.

Capital credits are a unique benefit of being a co-op member. They show the difference between being a customer and being an owner. When SEMO Electric succeeds, you succeed.

Book of the Month: “You can’t make a difference if you don’t tell your story.” – From Shine Through Your Story by Michelle Prince

Be smart. Act safely. Keep pushing forward!

Sean is the Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of SEMO Electric Cooperative and GoSEMO Fiber.

SEMO Electric CEO Sean Vanslyke stands in front of the Denver train system, which carried him from the airport to downtown for just $10 compared to $60 for other methods of travel. Much like the train system connects communities across the country, cooperatives are linked together to keep members moving forward. This National Co-op Month is extra sweet because 2025 is the International Year of Cooperatives. We’re spreading the word that co-ops build a better world—and you, our members, are the key ingredient. This fall, more than $1 million in capital credits will be returned to SEMO Electric members, bringing the total returned since 1995 to over $20 million. When SEMO Electric does well, members benefit. That’s the cooperative way.