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 doing line work the hard way, traversing volcanoes and what he experienced helping bring electricity to new co-op members in another country. Bonus material: The one essential item he packed in case of emergency!

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 career aspirations.

Welcome to The Buzz — Boone Electric Cooperative CEO and General Manager Todd Culley joins us for an in-depth Cooperative Principle No. 4. (Autonomy and Independence) and how the origins of the electric cooperative movement still affect how co-ops of all kinds do business almost 90 years later. Members being able to shape their own destiny, it turns out, makes for a strong community with a bright future.