Dakota Valley Electric Cooperative wins Local Pages Award

The North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives (NDAREC) presented Dakota Valley Electric Electric Cooperative (DVEC) with the Local Pages Award at is 82nd annual meeting Feb. 11. The award honors a cooperative and its local pages editor for excellence in its North Dakota Living local pages in the areas of content, use of photography and page composition. DVEC’s local pages editor, Pat Schaffer, accepted the award on behalf of the cooperative. 

Cooperatives selected three monthly sets of local pages from 2024 for judging. In a field of outstanding entries, DVEC expertly showcased local content, finding co-op connections to tell local stories and weaving in critical co-op news and information throughout. Outstanding writing and local photography helped push this co-op’s pages to the top.

While only one cooperative took home the award this year, all participating electric cooperatives should be commended for their efforts. One of the judges, who has been in the weekly newspaper business for over 30 years, remarked on the ability of co-op communicators to be writers, editors and photographers. Local pages editors often work alone or with a small team to produce their magazine pages each month, and the quality of North Dakota Living local pages is a testament to the quality of their individual work. 

Through North Dakota Living, North Dakota's electric cooperatives sustain positive relationships with their members, publishing local co-op information just for them. The magazine is published by NDAREC on behalf of its member-cooperatives.

NDAREC is the statewide trade association for 17 electric distribution cooperatives and five generation and transmission cooperatives operating in North Dakota. The distribution cooperatives provide electricity to nearly 250,000 North Dakotans. NDAREC services include legislative advocacy, lineworker safety training, professional development, cooperative business development and communication services, including publication of the North Dakota Living magazine.