The Buzz

During her career as a journalist, Teresa Snow Voeller often reported on how Boone Electric Cooperative prepared for Mother Nature's curveballs. Now completing her first year as a BEC Director, she's received a crash course in the technology and training working behind the scenes to deliver electricity to nearly 29,000 co-op members every day. Teresa joins the show to discuss the balancing act bet...

Boone Electric Cooperative's Annual Meeting is just around the corner! BEC Board President Kim Ponder discusses the importance of annual meeting to members and changes to this year's format. We hope you'll join us on Thursday, Sept. 10 for this year's meeting!

Two longtime Boone Electric Cooperative directors, Frank Glenn and Joel Bullard, are retiring after more than 50 combined years of service to the co-op and its members. On a very special episode of The Buzz, we sat down with Frank and Joel to hear about their early days of learning the cooperative business, the challenges that arose on the board room table and their words of wisdom for the future...

Boone Electric Cooperative's 2026 Annual Meeting is just around the corner, scheduled for Thurs., Sept. 10, 2026. In this month's episode, we discuss the voting process at annual meeting and also hear from the candidates — incumbents and challengers — running in this year's election for the Boone Electric Cooperative Board of Directors.

In the second part of our series on Boone Electric’s most frequently asked member questions, BEC Assistant General Manager Vicki Kemna returns to the studio to wrap up our discussion about some of the co-op’s most misunderstood facts. In part two, we discuss members versus membership, how voting rights are determined for annual meeting, what a proxy is and why clearing an easement with neighbors i...

When a business has been around for 90 years, it must be doing something right. But, not everything a cooperative does is self-explanatory. Boone Electric Cooperative Assistant General Manager Vicki Kemna joins the show for the first in a two (or more!) part series about the most frequently asked questions — and most misunderstood facts — members have when it comes to their co-op.

If you're a member of Boone Electric Cooperative, you recently received a notification about your allocation. Boone Electric's Turner Adams joins the show to tell us what allocations are, why members receive them and how they figure into the math of capital credits.

If you've ever wondered how you can make your home more energy efficient, Boone Electric Cooperative is here to help - but we're not the only resource! Central Missouri Community Action's Ben Burgett and Molly Carmichael join the show to discuss the many ways CMCA helps Boone Electric members and other central Missouri residents afford crucial weatherization and energy efficiency upgrades just in...

One of Boone Electric Cooperative's most popular new events returns in 2026 — Night at the Movies! This month, BEC's Laura Baker and Stephanie Shoffner discuss our fourth outing at Lakeside Ashland where our members can join us for a free movie, popcorn and soda, as well as talk with employees and directors about their electric cooperative. Registration is open now at BooneElectric.coop, and we ho...

This month we're diving deeper into the Boone Electric Community Trust with BEC Trustee Morgan Corder. Morgan shares his journey from being familiar with co-ops at a young age to joining the Trust as a reader and trustee. Along the way we discuss how readers aid the funding process, how committee chairs review applications and how residents in Boone Electric Cooperative's service territory can bec...

This month we're once again going beyond the pages of Plugged In to speak with Boone Electric Cooperative Director and Board Secretary Michelle Motley. Michelle discusses her background in agriculture, what she learned about the electric cooperative industry when she became a director and protecting the assets of Boone Electric members.

This month, deadlines arrive early for high school seniors applying for the Bob Alderson scholarship through Boone Electric's Community Trust. BEC's Laura Baker and Dusty Weter join the show to discuss the cooperative commitment to community, CYCLE, Youth Tour and more.

It's that time of year again when Boone Electric Cooperative members may notice a credit on their account or a check in the mail. Why is your electric utility returning money to you? It's a fundamental part of the electric co-op way of doing business called capital credits. BEC General Manager and CEO Todd Culley and Chief Financial Officer Ryan Euliss join the show to discuss what capital credits...

It's the season of giving, and once again Boone Electric Cooperative is partnering with Q106.1's Secret Elf Toy Drive to bring some holiday joy to kids at MU Children's Hospital. Head elves Q106.1's Damon Knight and Children's Miracle Network Assistant Director Kristen Fritchie join the show to discuss the 16-year legacy of this homegrown initiative, the best gifts to give this holiday season and...

Our journey through the 7 Cooperative Principles comes to a close with Concern For Community. Boone Electric Community Trust President Kelly Sharp joins us to discuss the Trust's history of giving in mid-Missouri, how grant applications are reviewed and the scholarships available to high school students in the Columbia area.

This month we go back beyond the pages of October's issue of Plugged In to speak with Boone Electric Cooperative Director Caroline Andriano. Caroline shares her experience during the first year of being a member of the board and learning the director's perspective on the co-op's culture of service.

Boone Electric Cooperative's 2025 Annual Meeting is coming up next Thursday! BEC Director Caroline Andriano shares her experience on the ballot as a director candidate in 2024, some changes in this year's meeting format to honor the anniversary of Sept. 11 and her experience as a candidate on the ballot in 2024.

Welcome to The Buzz — Boone Electric Cooperative's 2025 Annual Meeting is just around the corner, scheduled for Thurs., Sept. 11, 2025. In this month's episode, we discuss the voting process at annual meeting, who is eligible to vote and when voting is available to members of the cooperative. We also hear from the candidates — incumbents and challengers — running in this year's election for the Bo...

Welcome to The Buzz - Boone Electric Cooperative Manager of Operations Jimmy Goodnight returns to discuss one of the most important ways electric co-ops lend a helping hand: mutual aid. From power restoration after a storm to electrification in other parts of the world, Cooperation Among Cooperatives is a driving force behind the cooperative business model. We also discuss the safety culture surro...

Welcome to The Buzz — This month we go beyond the pages of Plugged In to have a longer conversation with Boone Electric Cooperative Director Joel Bullard. The former BEC Board President and recent Missouri Institute of Cooperative Hall of Fame inductee shares his history with the co-op, the issues the board tackles at the table each month and his philosophy about making sure the members always hav...

Welcome to The Buzz — This month, Boone Electric Cooperative’s member service technicians – Wes Fewell and Chuck Nichols – explain how to save money on your electricity bill! It’s all part of Cooperative Principle No. 5: Education, Training and Information. Learn how a simple review of your home’s basic features can help you keep cool in the summer or stay warm in the winter – and save some dollar...

Welcome to The Buzz — Registration is open for members to join Boone Electric Cooperative at our second Night at the Movies event! Join us for family-friendly fun, free food and drinks and of course a movie! Lakeside Ashland Manager Meagan Hodges joins the show to discuss the guest experience at Night at the Movies, what’s new at Lakeside Ashland and what visitors can expect from the venue in 2025...

Welcome to The Buzz — Spring is just around the corner (we hope) and that means storm season in mid-Missouri. Boone Electric Cooperative’s Manger of Operations Jimmy Goodnight and Manager of Engineering Andrew Petri share how the co-op plans and prepares for bad weather and what it takes to turn the power back on in the event of an outage. Along the way, we find out how outages are prioritized, wh...

Boone Electric Cooperative Journeyman Lineman Clay Nolte shares his story of an electrification mission to Viucalvitz, Guatemala — part of an ongoing project by the Missouri International Program. Clay along with his fellow linemen spent more than two weeks in December 2024 building a power system and wiring homes in a remote part of the jungle mountain countryside. Clay shares what it's like doin...

Mizzou student Case Melzer joins us in the studio to discuss his experiences as a delegate to the Youth Tour and CYCLE programs. Case also shares how his background growing up on a fifth-generation dairy farm in Harrisonville put him in touch with the cooperative business model at a young age, and how his high school experiences with electric co-ops have helped shape his educational pursuits and c...