CEO’s Message – January 2023

All In Favor of a Happy New Year, Say Aye!

New Year’s Day means different things to different people. I think American columnist and author William Vaughan captured the feelings of many when he said, “An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.”

The good news there is that both the optimist and the pessimist are indeed looking forward to a happy new year in their own way, and so shall we.

To our way of thinking, a happy new year means things like no rate increase for you, our members, in 2023, as well as no new debt for Columbia REA. We can all celebrate that!

And it’s a happy new year for all of our new fiber-optic internet customers in the Touchet area, as Columbia iConnect, our broadband internet subsidiary, continues to bring new customers on board every day for the fastest internet there is…backed by the best customer support in the industry.

On the electric system upgrade side, we are happy to announce that we have installed a new transformer at our Fishhook substation. We are always upgrading our system to keep the entire network as safe and resilient as a possible, but this was a big one, and much needed. The new transformer will provide more efficiency in the step-down process and a greater level of safety and operational dependability over the long-term.

And we will continue to embrace the rediscovered joy of public gatherings with Columbia REA’s 85th Annual Meeting, which again will be held in our Warehouse in Walla Walla, on April 20. Look for more details about the Annual Meeting, as well as our Board of Directors election, academic and lineman scholarships, our 2023 More Powerful Together Community Grant, and more, in the coming weeks.

Finally, as always, we will celebrate and support this community, your community, throughout the year in so many ways. We will once again be involved with the Walla Walla Sweets Baseball club, youth sports, FFA, 4H, the Ducky Derby, the Balloon Stampede, and countless community fairs, festivals and other fun stuff.

We also want to invite you to join us in celebrating and supporting this community right along with us…at all the stops along the way, and in any other ways that work for you. You are our members, and you are the community, and when we celebrate, we celebrate you. We are indeed more powerful together. And together is how we will make 2023 another great year.

Happy New Year,

Scott Peters
CEO