Alabama Rural Electric Association

Early during a routine shift, an operator identifies anomalous VPN authentication activity originating from an external IP address. Initial log reviews provide insufficient data, leaving the full authentication history obscured. Despite a lack of reported system outages, the indicators suggest a potential compromise within the cooperative’s network.

In this moment of uncertainty, the path forward is critical: What are the immediate protocols? What resources are available? And who is designated to lead the response? An upcoming tabletop exercise, Guardian: Under Siege, will look at these questions, developed from a documented, real-world incident. April 30, 1-3 p.m. EST.

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Wrapping up our recent awards presentations, we were proud to honor two friends in the media world with the 2026 Alabama Media Excellence Award. The family of the late Desmond Wingard was on hand to accept the award from President and CEO Karl Rayborn on behalf of their son, the former news director at WSFA-TV in Montgomery. Wingard, who died last year, knew and appreciated the hard work our electric cooperatives do to keep the power on for their members and went out of his way to tell their story.  The other recipient was WTVY News 4 in Dothan, honored for their  partnership with Wiregrass Electric Cooperative and their commitment to fair and accurate coverage. Rayborn and Wiregrass VP of Member Services & Communication Stevie Sauls presented the award to General Manager Valerie Russell-Clausen.

We celebrated our Alabama electric cooperative linemen today with a special program and lunch at Dixie Electric Cooperative. Thanks to our friends Clay Scofield of the Energy Institute of Alabama, State Senator April Weaver, WSFA chief meteorologist Josh Johnson and Clarke-Washington EMC lineman Canaan Hare for speaking to the group today. Representing their co-ops were linemen from Central Alabama Electric Cooperative, Coosa Valley Electric Cooperative, Pea River Electric Cooperative, Joe Wheeler EMC, Friends of Black Warrior EMC, Clarke-Washington EMC and Dixie EC.

Safety professionals from our Alabama cooperatives are getting some valuable information this week at the NRECA and Federated Safety Leadership Summit in St. Louis, Mo. The summit provides co-op leaders the opportunity to strengthen their commitment to safety by learning from each other and networking with other professionals from across the country who are also working on making significant safety improvements.

We’re sorry he couldn’t be with us, but we honored David Atchison, construction crew foreman at Clarke-Washington EMC, with the Jack Jenkins Co-op Employee Citizenship Award at our annual meeting last week. CWEMC General Manager Steve Sheffield accepted the award for David from AREA President and CEO Karl Rayborn. The award honors a cooperative employee who goes above and beyond the normal routine call of duty and made a significant contribution to his co-op, community, and/or the state. David has worked at the co-op for nearly 50 years, and was praised for his “work ethic, integrity and passion for service.”

The late Tim Ard impacted the lives of countless cooperative employees who learned from him the techniques and skills essential for right-of-way work. On Wednesday, we honored him with our AREA Chairman’s Award,  presented to his widow, Laura, by Michael Kelley, manager of training and safety at Central Alabama Electric Cooperative, and Karl Rayborn, President and CEO of AREA. 

This morning we kicked off our PAC meeting by hearing from two of our endorsed candidates for public office, Jay Mitchell, candidate for attorney general and Wes Allen, candidate for lieutenant governor, who participated in a panel discussion with our Chief Operating Officer Sean Strickler. Thanks to both for joining us.

Our CEOs and board members have been hearing from some great and informative speakers this week, including Brian Singletary, owner of Practical Energies and NRECA instructor, who gave some helpful insights into the seven cooperative principles. And it’s always insightful when we hear from our friend Todd Stacy of Alabama Daily News who gave us an update on the Alabama political scene.  

Willie Williams’ family, members of the Clarke-Washington EMC board and CWEMC general manager Steve Sheffield were on hand for the presentation of the Ted Jackson Pathfinder Award at today’s annual meeting, presented posthumously to Williams for his longtime service and dedication to his cooperative. AREA President and CEO Karl Rayborn presented the award to his widow, Verna Williams.

Former AREA Board Chairman Randy Brannon was honored with the Bill Nichols Award at our Annual Meeting today. The award honors individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the rural electric program in Alabama. Randy faithfully served the cooperative world for more than 50 years at Pea River Electric where he retired in 2021 after serving as manager for 25 years. Joining him for the award were his daughter Kelli Lachowicz and wife Peggy. Congratulations, Randy!

Congratulations to our former CEO and president Fred Braswell who was given the AREA Eminent Service Award by CEO Karl Rayborn today for his outstanding contributions to the rural electrification program on a state regional or national level. Fred served us for 22 years and worked actively for our co-ops at the local state and federal levels.