“Social distancing,” “Zoom”-ing, the “new normal.” If your social media feeds and personal conversations are filled with new things that feel anything but normal, you’re not alone. We’re all trying to figure out how to get through this crisis and what our lives will look like on the other side.

Cherryland is no different. If you’re a regular reader of Michigan Country Lines, you know that co-ops don’t just provide electricity, we give our members a voice. We are owned and governed by those we serve.

While we’ve had to adjust some things, our governance model has never been stronger.

Your board of directors is meeting monthly via videoconference. Members can still provide input or ask questions by emailing or calling them. Both forms of contact are listed in the magazine or in the governance section of our website.

We’re in the midst of a board election. Fifteen years ago, restrictions on event attendance may have meant you couldn’t vote. Not today. Today, you can vote by mailing in the ballot that was mailed to you in the May issue of the magazine or by logging in to your SmartHub account and voting online.

One of our most sacred governance rituals is our Annual Meeting. For the last several years, we’ve held it at Incredible Mo’s and turned it into a real party. This year, we’re not able to do that. But the annual business meeting will still happen!

We’re going virtual with the Annual Meeting this year. You can tune in to the Annual Meeting via Facebook Live or YouTube Live at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 11, or you can call in and listen to it. See the Annual Meeting section of our website for more details.

This may not be an Annual Meeting like you’re used to, but you will still get updates from your general manager and board of directors, hear election results live, and get a chance to ask questions and give feedback.

Change can be hard, but it can also be good. While we will miss seeing all our members at Incredible Mo’s in June, the virtual Annual Meeting format gives us a chance to include members who may not have been able to attend in the past.

Imagine an Annual Meeting where a busy father of three young kids tunes in from his cell phone while waiting for baseball practice to finish up. Or, a grandmother of 15 watches from her laptop while recovering from hip surgery. Attending alongside them, a grocery clerk on her lunch break listens in before heading back to finish her shift. We don’t have to imagine it; we’re going to make that happen.

Our governance model isn’t about location, it’s about staying true to our values. That’s not a new normal, that’s just our normal. This year our normal got a little more tech-savvy. And, I suspect that might be a good thing.

Looking forward to e-seeing all of you at the Annual Meeting on June 11.