Running head: CAPSTONE PROJECT TITLE AND STATEMENT 1

Capstone Project Title and Statement

Teresa E. Sampson

Trevecca Nazarene University at Nashville, TN

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Capstone Project Title and Statement

Project Title

Duck River EMC Employee Orientation to Electric Cooperatives

Project Description

The purpose of the Duck River EMC Employee Orientation to Electric Cooperatives

project is to provide an overview for newly hired employees at the cooperative on three areas:

 A brief history of rural electrification, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and Duck

River Electric Membership Corporation (DREMC)

 The Basics of power generation, transmission, and distribution to homes and businesses

 The Seven Cooperative Principles and how they define an electric cooperative

Background

It has been found that new and current employees are lacking in knowledge of what it

means to work for an electric cooperative in Rural America. DREMC is member-owned and

operates within TVA’s footprint in the Tennessee Valley. The cooperative serves over 74,000

members in parts of sixteen counties in southern Middle Tennessee. There are approximately

170 employees that work throughout DREMC’s eight offices. I work in the headquarters office

in the engineering department. My primary responsibilities include interacting with our largest

commercial and industrial members as well as economic development. I am also one of the core

members of the cooperative’s Balanced Scorecard Committee. Our CEO’s goal is for DREMC

to become the best electric cooperative in the nation. Member satisfaction is the key

performance indicator of how we are standing in that regard. As part of the balanced scorecard

process, we have identified key drivers that impact our member satisfaction. We feel that one of

those key drivers is informing and engaging our cooperative employees, which will have a
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positive impact on how we engage with and satisfy the needs of our members. My goal for this

project is to help DREMC employees understand the significance of working for an electric

cooperative and what it means for our members as well. In consulting with our CEO and other

stakeholders, additional training outside of the scope of this project is desired to further impact

the culture of the organization.

Available Resources

I will be incorporating resources from various avenues into my project. I have obtained

permission from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) to use available

materials from their website. Videos and other resources will be used from the internet as well

as some internal documents.

Subject Matter Experts

Most of the material that will be used from NRECA was required knowledge for a

certification that I obtained last year. I will consider myself a subject matter expert in some

regard for that material. There will also be at least four other subject matter experts or mentors

that may contribute to the project. They include the CEO, Director of District Services, Member

Services Manager, and Human Resources Manager.

Demographics

The project addresses two audiences: New hires and the DREMC management team.

New hires will complete the training, while the management team will evaluate and make

recommendations for improvements to the training. It is recommended that all DREMC

employees participate in the project so that consistent training may be administered throughout

the cooperative. This will lead to a more informed and engaged workforce.

Timeframe
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A fully-developed project should be completed and ready for a trial run no later than

January 22, 2018. Based on feedback from the formative, summative, and confirmative

evaluations, the project will be continuously updated to better meet the needs of employees and

the cooperative. It is expected that the first iteration of the training will be attended by our

management staff before it is rolled out to all new and current employees.

Project Learning Objectives

1. Employees will understand an overview of the history of rural electrification, TVA, and

the cooperative.

2. Employees will understand the basics of power generation, transmission, and distribution.

3. Employees will understand the seven Cooperative Principles and incorporate them into

their interactions with members, peers, the community, and other cooperatives.