How far ahead should a co-op plan its anniversary?

A year is comfortable. Gathering old photos, finding longtime members to talk with and booking a venue all take longer than people expect.

Should the anniversary be part of the annual meeting?

It can be a good fit, since members are already coming. It works well when the celebration feels like its own part of the day, not an add-on to the business meeting.

What makes a co-op anniversary different from a company's?

The members own it. The story is theirs and their families', so a good celebration puts members, not the co-op's leadership, at the center.

Blog · Electric co-ops

Electric co-ops

How to Celebrate an Electric Co-op's Anniversary: 50th, 75th or 90th

Ideas for planning an electric co-op's 50th, 75th or 90th anniversary that honors the founders and gives today's members a reason to celebrate.

By Explainer Music Videos · October 17, 2026 · 3 min read

Quick answers

How far ahead should a co-op plan its anniversary?: A year is comfortable. Gathering old photos, finding longtime members to talk with and booking a venue all take longer than people expect.
Should the anniversary be part of the annual meeting?: It can be a good fit, since members are already coming. It works well when the celebration feels like its own part of the day, not an add-on to the business meeting.
What makes a co-op anniversary different from a company's?: The members own it. The story is theirs and their families', so a good celebration puts members, not the co-op's leadership, at the center.

An anniversary is the one time a co-op gets to tell members, out loud, where their power came from. It's also easy to let it slip by with a logo on the newsletter and a cake at the office.

Whether you're coming up on 50, 75 or 90 years, the question is the same: how do you make it something members feel part of, not just something they read about? Here's a plain plan you can adapt.

Why anniversaries matter more for co-ops

Many rural electric co-ops trace their roots to the 1930s and the years after. The federal regulations record that the Rural Electrification Administration was established by Executive Order No. 7037 on May 11, 1935, with statutory authority from the Rural Electrification Act of 1936. Neighbors organized, signed up and helped bring lines down roads that hadn't had them.

That makes a co-op anniversary different. It isn't a company celebrating its sales. It's a community remembering that it did something together, and it belongs to the members.

**We Turned the Lights On Ourselves** · A sample of The Milestone, for an example co-op’s 90th anniversary.

What each milestone can focus on

Each anniversary has its own feel. A few ideas for shaping the year:

50th: Some of the people who remember the early decades may still be around to tell it. Record their stories now, with their okay, before the chance is gone. Highlight how the co-op grew with the town.
75th: A good time to look across three generations. Feature families who have been members since the start, if they'd like to be featured, and the young families who just joined. "Then and now" photos work well here.
90th: The founding generation is gone, and their story now lives in photos, minutes and family memory. Treat it like a homecoming. Bring out the archive, invite descendants of founding members and tell the story start to finish.

Whatever the number, decide on one sentence that sums up your year. Something like "Built by neighbors, still owned by neighbors." Use it on everything.

A year of small things, and one big day

An anniversary doesn't have to be one event. Spreading it over a year gives members many chances to join in.

Early in the year: Announce it in your magazine with a call for old photos, letters and memories. Set up a simple way to share them, like a drop box at the office or an email address.
Every month: One short "from the archive" post on Facebook and in the newsletter, with a photo and a few lines.
Spring: Visit schools with a lineman and a few old photos. Kids who learn the story bring it home.
The big day: Often the annual meeting, or a summer picnic. Food, music, the photo wall, a short program and something people can take home, like a commemorative item or a printed history.
After: Thank members, share photos from the day and keep the archive posts going a little longer.

Keep it local. Use the county band, the café's pies, the church hall. People notice when their own town is part of it.

Tell the founding story well

The heart of any co-op anniversary is the founding story. Tell it in a way people can feel, not just read:

Who first went door to door signing people up, if you know.
What life was like before the lines came, from letters or recorded memories.
The day the lights came on, in the words of people who were there, if you have them.
How the co-op has kept going since: storms, rebuilds, new members.

If you don't know some of it, say so, and ask members to help fill it in. That's part of the celebration too.

Where a song fits

A song can carry a founding story in a way a printed history can't. People hear it together at the big day, and then it keeps working all year on your website, on Facebook, on local radio and in schools.

Our Milestone package ($3,900, paid once) is made for anniversaries: a 4-minute song about how your co-op started and grew, three 15-second ads for the big day, plus a 2-minute story song with a widescreen video and a 30-second jingle with a vertical video for Facebook and Instagram. You okay every word of the song before the video is made, so the history is told the way your co-op wants it told, and you don't pay until you've seen the result.

You can watch We Turned the Lights On Ourselves, a sample we made for an example electric co-op's 90th anniversary, and see more on our page for co-ops.

Fifty years, 75 or 90, the story is worth telling well. Start gathering it now.