 Ozark Border Electric Cooperative was organized
in May, 1938 by a group of concerned citizens who saw a need for
electric service in our area. In just over six decades the Cooperative
has greatly expanded and currently serves 37,500 members in 11 Southeast
Missouri counties.
The Cooperative, like many other cooperatives across the nation, was formed to
provide electric service to areas where private power companies and municipals
did not want to go because of the financial committments and concern for profitability.
As cooperatives developed and the consumer base grew, private power companies
and municipals then became interested in the developed areas of cooperatives--after
the local efforts had proven it could be done.
Ozark Border has grown
through the years because of the dedication of its boards of directors and the
hard work of its employees. With it's roots in the communities it serves, the
Cooperative has always put its concern for the electric needs of the consumer
first. At Ozark Border we truly are owned by those we serve. 
The Cooperative's members are actually owners. The benefit of belonging
to a cooperative is that, as a consumer, members share in the quality of service
and in lower rates. As an owner, each member's investment is returned in the form
of capital credits. The Cooperative exists in order to provide service to its
members; however, it must make a profit if it is to continue to exist. Any year
in which the Cooperative has revenues greater than its expenses, a portion of
revenue that exceeds expense is referred to as margins or capital credits. Those
margins are assigned to members receiving service during the year in proportion
to the amount each member paid during the year.
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| The First Pole ...
On May 2, 1939, Ozark Border Electric Cooperative installed its first pole, which
was placed in the ground at Ellsinore, where P.G. Wingo, first president of the
co-op, lived. The pole on the left was topped out with an American flag. |
Since it's beginnings in 1938, the Cooperative has made numerous improvements
as it has grown and as new technology has been introduced. Most recently, two
new substations have been added along with related feeder lines. The Fisk Substation
was built along Highway B, about two miles west of Fisk, Missouri. The Doniphan
East Substation was built along old Highway 142 near the Missouri Forge Industrial
Plant east of Doniphan, Missouri. Both improvements will provide the needed capacity
for years to come and will improve service reliability in those areas.
| | | Maintenance
crews in 1947 ... Shown with their trucks are some of the Ozark Border maintenance
employees in 1947. They are, from left: Johnny Nall, Harry C. Ward, Dalton Francis
and Lawrence Winder. | 
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