Almost every profession has its moments in the sun. In the accounting profession, the first two weeks of April are when they get media attention because of tax season; media has their award show season or summer release period; and the car industry has its annual release of their new models. These are great spotlights of positive moments for those industries.
 

However, some industries like ours, seem to get their moments only in a time of crisis. Public power has shown brightly during the past several years, when storms and other events have threatened our customers. We have responded quickly and professionally. This has been a great source of pride and deserved praise. Public power reliability is unparalleled. 

While it is great to have people come out and thank you when you have restored their power, we need to find more opportunities to promote ourselves along with the the great things we do and what fantastic community members we are. 

For years, APPA has coordinated a national Public Power Week. NEPPA is returning to its roots and wants to help coordinate and promote the heralding of our industry in New England. Public Power Week is always the first full week in October. I know this is a late reminder of the week and we will do better going forward. Nonetheless, if you are interested, here are some resources for you (provided by APPA):

Like any good organizer, APPA has provided a tool kit for you: Public Power Week Tool Kit. Included are logos, web resources and samples (proclamation, news release, letter to business customer, employee recognition and letters to public officials). For those of you who have already begun, many of these resources may not be needed, but they will give you a good reference for your efforts.

There is also a Public Power Week brochure which can be found here: Public Power Week Brochure. These can be duplicated and disseminated or just put out on your counter. Courtney Crouse, our Communications Manager and Newsline Editor, will be visiting utilities this week to record and report on the various efforts. If you have an event, please let Courtney know (ccrouse@neppa.org). 

While our industry doesn’t have the promotional budget of some of the industries mentioned, we do have a great distribution of members, which is the core of a strong grassroots campaign. We all love what we do, so in essence, what we are doing is organizing a week where we shout it out. With enough of us shouting at the same time, we can make a roar that is heard.

Photos and information will be used for the November Newsline to highlight all of your promotions. Content will also be used for us to get an earlier jump on next year. 

Let’s see if we can build Public Power Week into the same level of promotional event as the annual auto shows or promotional periods organized to highlight other industries. We have one advantage that other industries don’t: We are community-owned, and so we are asking our customers to be proud of themselves. That should be an easy sell.