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Discover how Tri-State and our members are embracing the opportunity to power the West in our new podcast, Western Watts!
We'll dive into the heart of energy issues, from reliability to wildfire mitigation, and share firsthand insights relevant to rural, agricultural and mountain communities across Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico and Wyoming.
This podcast may contain certain forward looking statements concerning Tri-State's plans, performance, and strategies. Actual results may differ materially because of numerous factors, and Tri-State undertakes no obligation to update these forward looking statements. We urge you to review Tri-State's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a discussion of these
Elizabeth Schilling:Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with Molly Lynn. Thanks for being here.
Molly Lynn:Thank you.
Elizabeth Schilling:So as an introduction, would you mind just letting us know your name, your cooperative, your role, and how many Tri-State annual meetings you've been to?
Molly Lynn:Sure. Thank you for having me. First of all, this is pretty exciting. I've never did something like this before, so I kind of feel special. My name is Molly.
Molly Lynn:I've been with Garland Light and Power since 2018, and I serve as the general manager. And I believe this is my seventh Tri-State Annual Meeting, something I look forward to every year, so try not to That's great.
Elizabeth Schilling:Well, we got to hear from you yesterday a little bit on the member panel. So I learned a little bit about Garland and that you are the smallest member. Six employees, is that right?
Molly Lynn:That is correct. You grew up in a
Elizabeth Schilling:family of six. So you really are like a family.
Molly Lynn:Yes. Yes. We are. So it's it's we get a lot done. We say we're small, but mighty.
Molly Lynn:You have to. It's definitely a different dynamic when there's only six of you. We wear a lot of hats so but it's what's nice about it is you know my linemen aren't afraid to pick up a phone if the phone's ringing or if the they need something out they can call to the office and we can run something out to them or help them out. So it's a very different dynamic, has challenges but some definite perks. So yeah.
Elizabeth Schilling:Requires teamwork, I'm
Molly Lynn:sure. It does, it does. And I say it's the no drama zone because we are too small. We don't have time for that. We're gonna come to work.
Molly Lynn:We're gonna get rolling and we're gonna go home at the end of the day and take good care of each other. So that's great. It works out
Elizabeth Schilling:for everybody. Sounds like a great team.
Molly Lynn:It is.
Elizabeth Schilling:And then being a smaller co-op , what is the value for Garland as being part of a larger cooperative association? What does membership in Tri State bring for you all?
Molly Lynn:Oh, absolutely. Again, a small if we were running independently, a small co-op is just a little blip on the radar. I mean, we wouldn't have say in anything. We would just be along for the ride. And by being a member of Tri-State we have a seat at the table.
Molly Lynn:Mean and it starts at the members they know that when they rep when they they elect their board members they're going to represent them well, and they know they're gonna those board members are gonna serve on boards and look out for their best interests. Just the fact that I'm sitting here says that I have just as much right to be here and our voice counts from Garland as much as the other larger ones because we're all at the same table, we're all talking about the same things, and we all matter. And that just if we were not part of that, we'd be along for the ride.
Elizabeth Schilling:Yeah. So that's huge. That shows the benefit of your members getting that voice, you all getting that voice, and just elevating or amplifying the voices and the needs of of the people in your community. Exactly. And they really are in your community.
Elizabeth Schilling:I hear you get to face them at the grocery store, search, or all of that.
Molly Lynn:That's Hear their voice. Yeah, I mentioned that a little bit yesterday. So, I mean, we all know that we work for our members. I mean, that's what we do. That's what a co-op is.
Molly Lynn:But when you're in a small community and I mean you have that very personal connection and they are at the grocery store, they are at you know when you you come out of church they'll grab you and say what's going on or you know the folks come into the after the annual meeting we have this couple that comes in and brings us candy every time you know because they just love us you know and so it's very front facing you know when I go to the gym in the morning not really awake. I don't have my coffee yet, but I have two members and they will tell they will ask me how my tri state meetings went because they are engaged and they know that when I'm gone, this is where I'm at. And so they'll catch me on Friday and they'll say, hey, what's going on? That's great. We've got a little connection.
Molly Lynn:That's it leads to a lot of responsibility. I mean when I took the position I didn't realize how strong that commitment was because I just wasn't, I knew what co-ops were but I wasn't really vested in them you know before and so when you look at these folks and they look at you and you think, Oh man, the decisions we make every day are so important. These are my peeps. I take care of them. We take care of them.
Elizabeth Schilling:That's huge. So the next question was gonna be about the benefits and challenges of the idea of being in this cooperative business model, but I think that is one of the things that highlights it right there, a benefit that you have that connection, but also the challenge of feeling that responsibility to each of your end use consumers at the end of the line. Other benefits or challenges do you see as part of being a part with Lawford is?
Molly Lynn:I think there's definitely more benefits. I mean, gosh, just the fact that we're so small, we lean into our other co-ops quite a bit because we need that support. And sometimes it comes from Tri State and sometimes it comes from other members. The Wyoming co-ops are so close. My gosh, I can't even say enough about the relationships we have.
Molly Lynn:The managers get along, the boards get along and if I need something I know that I don't have to recreate the wheel, I can call somebody, I can throw an email out and say, hey, what do you guys are doing? Or have you ever seen this before? Or whatever. And I'm not just sitting up there by myself with this, you know, various limited staff. We'll work it out.
Molly Lynn:There's nobody that says, Well, I'm not going to share that with you. Yeah. We've done it. Now you can do the hard work. They just fired off whether it's to me or my staff or whatever they just so when I I think I just think the benefits are huge.
Molly Lynn:I came from a from a banking industry where it wasn't where it wasn't like that. You know, there was just more competition. There was just a different feeling. And so when I was blessed enough to become part of a co-op , I just thought, wow, what a gem. I mean, you actually come to people, come to these meetings and they're happy to see you and they're all like that.
Molly Lynn:The board, my annual meeting is the same way. I mean we just had our annual meeting in March. We had over 200 people. Wow. And they were just happy to be there.
Molly Lynn:They loved the meal. They were happy to see all of us. It's just a community thing. It's more of something to do, and they come and they visit with their neighbors and their friends. They've learned what's going on in their co-op.
Molly Lynn:And so I
Elizabeth Schilling:think they get it. They get it. It really does make sense, like, cooperatives being more about people than profits, and it feels like it plays out in all the things you do. When you think about strategic decisions at Garland, how does that idea of, you know, people versus profit play into how you move forward?
Molly Lynn:Oh, So that's on the top of our minds every day. I think all co-ops run really lean. That's why we have six employees because we just choose to wear many hats and it keeps those costs down. But when you're looking forward, we're looking at how are we going to pay for things because we have a very small member base to spread those costs out. And so we have to be strategic on how, what are we going to dive into?
Molly Lynn:How are we going to pay for it? How long is it going to take? How do we spread those costs over this membership, the future membership, things like that. So for example, we've tossed around a new shop remodel. We needed some extra space and and we batted it around for several years because it's expensive.
Molly Lynn:Yeah. And so we looked at new buildings and all of this, the different options. And at the end of the day, the boards and we were completely on board as let's do the best with what we have. It's not great, but we can do this. We can take what we have.
Molly Lynn:We can make some adjustments and we'll be fine. And so we did. And last year in March, we started a new shop project and finished it up and we were actually able to kind of get rid of a grassy area that served no purpose whatsoever because you don't need grass out there. And we put a shop in there and we made some other adjustments and flipped the roof and just and it's all it looks beautiful. I mean, if somebody were to come into town, you would think that it was built that way.
Molly Lynn:And so now we have, but we did with, you know, we kept it minimal and our members are very supportive, you know, they never said, oh my god, what are you guys doing? Are you, you know, they were they looked at it. It was something they could be proud of and they understood why we did what we did. So now we're done. Now it's the next project.
Molly Lynn:And like I mentioned, have to do we need to get to AMI. So how are we gonna do that? And again, it comes down to cost. And so it's just a balancing act Yeah, constantly, but it's worth it. I mean, because you always go, you always think how is the membership going to, you know, how can is this something they're going to accept understand or is this something they're gonna say no this is a bad idea.
Molly Lynn:So it's a daily thing that you factor in.
Elizabeth Schilling:Yeah, well I mean and you have to be looking to the future. What's the technology needed for the future? What's the space needed for the future? So you're making decisions with that in mind, knowing the co-op needs to be around.
Molly Lynn:Yes, for as far as the eye can see.
Elizabeth Schilling:Yes, exactly. That makes sense. Yeah. I'll just give you one more final question. I know you talked about Garland's annual meeting and you're here at Tri-State's annual meeting.
Elizabeth Schilling:What do in person meetings like this mean for you? How does it add value?
Molly Lynn:Oh, they're super. You just, you get everybody in one room for a couple of days and you just, first of all, it's that family feeling, you know, everybody's glad to see each other. But the information that gets shared at annual meetings, whether it's a small one in Powell or whether it's down here, that information is so important because everybody's paying attention to what's going on in the industry. My folks in Powell are wondering how are all these changes going to affect us? And so when I can come to these meetings and I can go back and say this is Tri-State, this is our power supplier, this is what they're doing and when Tri-State folks show they love it when they show up because this is them.
Molly Lynn:These are the people that are making these decisions on your power and so it's invaluable. I mean, have enjoyed the last couple days because you kind of hear it throughout the year but when it's everything comes together right now and you just come you leave feeling good, You feel like you're in good hands. You feel like you can go back to your members and say, we're doing the best we can. We're going to take care of you. Yeah, we're on the right path.
Molly Lynn:So Definitely. I love it.
Elizabeth Schilling:Well, we're glad to have you here, and thank you
Molly Lynn:for taking the time to chat with me. Thank you. We'll wrap it up for today and let you get back to the meeting. Thank you so much. Thank you.
Molly Lynn:Excited.
Elizabeth Schilling:Thanks for tuning in to Western Watts. You can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcast, YouTube, or on our website at TriState.coop/wwpod. We'll catch you next time.