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Monday, May 11th 2026
Happy REA Day: Celebrating the Power of Cooperation
On May 11, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 7037, establishing the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) and forever changing life in rural America.
At the time, millions of rural Americans lived without access to electricity, while urban communities were rapidly benefiting from modern conveniences and new technologies. Rural families often relied on kerosene lamps for light, wood-burning stoves for cooking, and manual labor for many everyday tasks most of us now take for granted.
Just one year later, Congress passed the Rural Electrification Act, creating a lending program designed to help bring electricity to underserved rural areas. That program sparked a movement, leading to the formation of electric cooperatives across the country, including Lake Region Electric Cooperative.
These cooperatives were built on a simple but powerful idea: communities coming together to solve a problem that no one else was willing to tackle. Neighbors joined forces to build infrastructure, invest in their future, and create organizations focused on serving people rather than profits.
More than 90 years later, that same cooperative spirit continues to guide everything we do.
While the tools and technology have evolved, our mission remains the same: providing safe, reliable, and affordable energy to the communities we serve. Today’s electric cooperatives do even more than keep the lights on. We invest in infrastructure, support local communities, promote energy education, and in many cases, help bridge the digital divide through services like rural broadband.
REA Day is more than a look back at history. It is a reminder of what can happen when communities work together with a shared purpose.
We are proud of where we came from, grateful for the members who make our cooperative strong, and excited for the future ahead.
Here’s to the power of cooperation.
