08/31/2026
🔦 Co-op Spotlight: Butler Rural Electric Cooperative
Electric cooperatives don't just keep the lights on, they invest in the next generation of co-op workers and leaders, often right in their own backyard.
This semester, Butler Rural Electric Cooperative in Oxford, Ohio, partnered with Miami University's Advanced GIS class on a hands-on drone and mapping project. Thirty students split into three teams to gather real data from co-op poles over 11 weeks, and Butler Rural is now using that work to guide actual repair and maintenance decisions in the field.
It's a good example of what co-ops across the country are doing: giving college students real, resume-worthy experience long before graduation.
As an Electric Cooperative Youth Tour alum, you already know what that co-op spirit looks like. Click the link in our comments to learn more!
