MORGAN COUNTY RURAL ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION

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[MCREA News]

TGetting Thrifty With Co-op Connections

The word “thrifty” is defined as using money and other resources carefully and not wastefully. Sounds good, right? To help you achieve thrifti-ness, Morgan County Rural Electric Association has a program in place that helps you save money on purchases you make, simply by being a member of the electric cooperative.

Morgan County REA’s Touchstone Energy Co-op Connections program offers local, regional and national discounts that our members can take advantage of on a variety of goods and services — many of which are everyday expenses.

The Co-op Connections Card is a free program to MCREA members that saves them money on purchases at participating businesses. The program gives you access to discounts from tens of thousands of retailers because it taps into a national business community. The program also consistently adds new retailers to help improve our members’ choices of preferred purchasing outlets.

But it doesn’t just help you save at big box stores and chains. The card also provides discounts for businesses in our local communities. In fact, it was created specifically to help busi-nesses in our hometowns. Nearly 30 local businesses partnered with MCREA to participate in the local discount program and have a Co-op Connections participant sticker displayed at their location.

As part of the Co-op Connections program, MCREA members also have the opportunity to take advantage of discounts on certain prescription medi-cations. Although the prescription discount does not take the place of nor may be added to prescriptions covered by insurance, the card can help you save up to 85 percent on your medications at more than 60,000 pharmacies across the country, including several in our local area.

As a matter of fact, according to figures provided by the national Touchstone Energy Co-op Connec-tions program, Morgan County REA members saved

more than $42,000 on prescription medications that qualify for the discount since MCREA launched the program in August 2010.

Additionally, the MCREA Co-op Connections program of-fers a Cash Back Mall feature, where participants can earn cash back up to 40 percent on their normal internet shopping. (Earl and Vicki Lehrer, acct #1670400) So if internet shopping is your thing, the Co-op Connections program has you covered there, too.

If you’re wondering how you can sign up for this program, you already are if you are an MCREA member. The program is abso-lutely free to everyone who receives electric service from Morgan County REA. New members are given a Co-op Connections Card and a list of participating local businesses when they begin their membership. If you’re a current MCREA member and you don’t have a Co-op Connections Card, just swing by our head-quarters and pick one up. More information about the Co-op Connections program, including a complete list of participating local, regional and national businesses, can also be found on our website at www.mcrea.org — click on the Co-op Connections graphic at the bottom of the homepage.

So, keep an eye out for the Co-op Connections stickers at our local businesses, check out the regional and national partici-pating retailers online, present your card when you pick up prescriptions and start getting thrifty.

Dave Henderson

BY DAVE HENDERSON || DIRECTOR OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

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[MCREA News]

AUGUST 2016

Morgan County Rural Electric Association member Cherrie Mellott has an impressive list of accomplishments. She holds degrees in agriculture business financial analysis, agriculture business and risk manage-ment and agriculture advanced business management. She’s a certified occupational therapy assistant and co-founder of the Freedom to Cowboy Up Therapeutic Rid-ing Center. She and her husband, Thad, have been married for 21 years and live near Hillrose. They have three daughters, ranging in age from 10 to 15 years old.

And she’s done it all from a wheelchair. Growing up in Evanston, Wyoming,

Cherrie’s love for horses started at a rela-tively early age. “I was in middle school when I fell in love with riding,” she said. “My first horse was named Pepper, and was my best friend.” Then, one fate-ful night during her senior year in high school, Cherrie and her younger sister were involved in a single-vehicle rollover acci-dent. While her sister escaped with minor injuries, Cherrie suffered a serious spinal cord injury and was left a paraplegic.

After the accident, Cherrie says that it

was too difficult to be around horses. “It broke my heart that I couldn’t ride like I used to. So I put distance between horses and myself.” So much so, in fact, that when her oldest daughter, Kyleigh, started to take an interest in horses, Cherrie’s mother-in-law was the one to take Kyleigh to her riding lessons.

Then came Kyleigh’s first gymkhana — an event comprised of races and other competitions between horse riders. “She asked me to go watch her, and I finally agreed. It was going to that gymkhana when everything changed for me,” she said. “It finally got me over that barrier.”

Things changed for Cherrie in more ways than one at that gymkhana. It was at the event that her daughter’s riding in-structor, Katie Burns, approached Cherrie with an idea. “Katie and I began talking about the need for therapeutic riding in our area,” she said with a smile. “The light-bulb came on for me. I realized we could help other people with disabilities.”

The two began working on starting a therapeutic riding program, and brought in Certified Occupational Therapy Assis-

tant Cary Solberg to the project. Through hard work, cooperation and dedication, the three ladies co-founded and launched the nonprofit organization Freedom to Cow-boy Up. In operation since 2010, Freedom to Cowboy Up offers therapeutic riding services to disabled adults and children at its location between Brush and Akron.

According to Cherrie, starting the thera-peutic riding program had its challenges, especially when it came to raising money. “We sold gift cards to a local restaurant for our first fundraiser,” she said. Since that time, the group branched out with other fundraising activities, including an annual dinner and auction that takes place each April.

The therapeutic riding center operates year-round and averages eight to 12 clients per week in the summer months. Accord-ing to its website, Freedom to Cowboy Up is the only therapeutic riding center in northeastern Colorado that offers services to adults and those with severe disabilities. “That’s what we’ve wanted to do from the beginning — to work with clients of all ages and regardless of their disability,” Cherrie explained.

To assist with this, Freedom to Cowboy Up uses specialized equipment, such as a modified wheelchair lift that raises the cli-ents to a ramp, where they are transferred to and from the horse. The riding center also utilizes customized high-backed and strap-in saddles, which offer bodily sup-port to clients in wheelchairs.

Freedom to Cowboy Up also recently added a program called “Reading and Rid-ing,” which is designed to enhance literacy skills of clients. Students in the specialized program read to a horse, participate in fun craft activities and get to ride a horse in a gymkhana.

Cherrie’s three daughters are following in their mom’s footsteps. Kyleigh contin-ues to compete in gymkhanas, is learning trick riding with the Colorado Cowgirls Performance Team and will be crowned Brush Rodeo Lady-In-Waiting next month. Middle daughter Kaitlyn and youngest

BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAINBY GEOFF BAUMGARTNER || COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST

M

Cherrie Mellott is the co-founder of Freedom to Cowboy Up Therapeutic Riding Center.

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[MCREA News]

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daughter Karrie both competed for Brush Rodeo Sweetheart this year and participate in gymkhanas and other riding competitions.On the Freedom to Cowboy Up website, Cherrie offers this testimonial, which sums up her love of riding and helping others: “I feel

like I am alive again. It gives me the feeling that I had before my spinal cord injury. I forgot what it was like to be normal, with the free-dom to move around without challenges. I am now able to give therapeutic riding lessons, something I thought I would never be able to do.”

She’s back in the saddle again.

Editor’s note: More information about Freedom to Cowboy Up can be found on its website (freedomtocowboyup.com) and on its Facebook page. All donations to the organization are tax deductible and go directly to scholarships and program costs. Photos for this article appear courtesy of the Mellott family.

Freedom to Cowboy Up volunteers help Cherrie onto a horse. The ramp is attached to a custom wheelchair lift.

FTCU co-founder Katie Burns (right) leads the horse carrying Pamela Rowland during a therapeutic riding session.

MCREA EMPLOYEE NEWSMorgan County REA proudly welcomes three new journeyman linemen to the electric cooperative.

Congratulations E r ick , Brandon and Tucker, and welcome to Morgan Count y R E A .

Erick Sherman was born and raised in California and was previously employed by PG&E in Paradise, California. Erick took the reins as MCREA’s new area serviceman for Area 8 in June. Erick and his wife, Heather, have three sons: Jonah, Caleb and Eli.

Brandon Ryff began his duties with Morgan County REA in June. He worked for various co-ops and contractors in Kansas before accepting MCREA’s area serviceman position for Area 5.

Born and raised in South Dakota, Tucker Jochim came to Morgan County REA in June from Keller Construction in Rapid City. Tucker and his wife, Lindsey, have two daughters, Tegan and Chailey, along with one on the way.

[MCREA News]

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WDMCREA BUDGET BILLING PROGRAMDid you know that Morgan County REA offers members a budget billing service? On the MCREA Budget Billing program, members pay a monthly average of their total electric charges from the previous year, with a “true up” on the final usage bill of the budget billing cycle, which generally occurs in July.

The optional program provides our members with the security of knowing exactly what their electric bill will be each month, and the opportunity to avoid having large winter bills from heating costs or large summer bills from air-con-ditioning usage. (Kenneth A. Bostrom, acct #759100) It’s a great way to help our members on fixed incomes or those who want to effectively budget their electric bill from month to month.

Call the MCREA Billing Department at 970-867-5688 or email customerservice@mcrea.org for more information or to get signed up.

Each month Morgan County REA gives two lucky members a $25 credit on their electric bill, just by reading Colorado Country Life!

Congratulations Steve and Lisa Rueb (account #2179300) and Brenda and Dana Sharp (account #2283900), you saw your names and account numbers in the June edition of Colorado Country Life. You received a $25 credit on your electric bill!

There are two more MCREA member names and their account numbers hid-den somewhere in this issue. If you find your name and account number, call member services at 970-867-5688 by August 31 to claim a $25 credit on your electric bill.

WIN $25 OFF YOUR ELECTRIC BILL

This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

When it comes to investing, asset allocation — that is, how you divide your investment portfolio between asset categories, such as stocks, bonds and cash — is one of the most important decisions you will make. And that decision should be guided by how much your portfolio needs to grow, how long until you will begin spending the money and how well you tolerate market volatility.

As the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission explains in its Beginners’ Guide to Asset Allocation, Diversification and Rebalancing, “Asset allocation involves dividing an investment portfolio among different asset categories, such as stocks, bonds and cash. The process of determining which mix of assets to hold in your portfolio is a very personal one… [and] will depend largely on your time horizon and your ability to tolerate risk. The key is having a mix of investment types so you can take ad-vantage of positive performance in one type while another may be experiencing lower performance. This process of diversification gives you the ability to be less impacted by the inevitable ups and downs of the stock market.”

ASSET CATEGORIESAssets are usually divided between three common asset categories — stocks, bonds and cash — though other asset categories, such as real estate and commodities, exist. Many risks exist with investing, but most people think about risk as being how much our investments will go up and down. Stocks represent the highest risk, but may bring the highest return over the long term. Bonds are usually less volatile than stocks, but generally bring more modest returns. Cash and cash equivalents, such as certificates of deposit and money market ac-counts, carry the least risk (inflation is a risk that is often overlooked), but with minimal returns. All asset categories can experience negative returns.

DIVERSIFICATIONDiversification is how you spread your money between and within different asset

categories and is one way to reduce your risk. Looking across all your investment accounts, you will likely want to invest in a mix that includes cash, bonds and stocks. And within each of those categories, you want to invest in different companies or entities. For example, rather than invest in just a few companies that might all run into problems at the same time, you would want to consider investing in many companies from different industries or countries. Mu-tual funds, which are made up of the stocks of many different companies, are one way to do this. Perform your due diligence and make sure you are satisfied by each mutual fund’s diversification.

HOW TO ALLOCATE Today, due to later retirements and in-creased longevity and expenses, some plan-ners recommend subtracting your age from 110 or 120 to find the percentage of your portfolio that should be invested in stocks. However, to find the best asset mix for you, speak to your Certified Financial Planner™. Alternatively, try the asset allocation cal-culator offered by your preferred financial news source, bank or investment firm. Most online calculators will ask how far away you are from retirement and how much risk you can tolerate; some will request more detail. Use several to get a broad consensus if you choose not to consult a professional.

There are other solutions, too. Lifecycle or target date funds offer asset allocations determined by a target retirement date. The funds are invested in a mix of asset types and continuously rebalanced and reallocat-ed, gradually becoming more conservative as the target date approaches. These funds are good choices for investors desiring a more “hands off” approach.

Allison Goldberg writes and edits employee benefits-related materials for the Insurance & Financial Services Department of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Associa-tion, the Arlington, Virginia-based service arm of the nation’s 900-plus consumer-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperatives.

ASSET ALLOCATION BASICSBY ALLISON GOLDBERG