014: Storytelling as a Bridge: How Hoosier Energy is Connecting the Next Generation to the Cooperative Difference (with Chad Mertz)

Co-Op Heroes: Stories from Electric Utility Operators

In this episode of The Co-Op Heroes podcast, hosts Pablo Fuentes and James Tanneberger sit down with Chad Mertz, Vice President of Strategic Communications at Hoosier Energy to explore the challenge facing the entire cooperative movement: communicating with the next generation. Chad dives into the creative solution that's changing how communities understand the difference co-ops make.

Hoosier Energy is a Generation and Transmission cooperative, one of 45 G&T co-ops across the country that provide the backbone of power supply and transmission for member cooperatives like South Central Indiana REMC. When Chad joined Hoosier Energy four years ago, board members and member CEOs raised an urgent concern: younger people simply didn't understand what a cooperative was or why it mattered.

The numbers told the story. A survey revealed a stark generational divide: 93% of adults over 65 had a positive perception of co-ops, while that number dropped dramatically with each younger demographic, creating what Chad calls "a diagonal line" of declining awareness. Recruiting young talent became difficult. Events lacked young attendees. The cooperative message wasn't reaching the generations that already aligned with co-op values, whether they knew it or not.

Rather than resort to traditional advertising, Chad's team recognized something powerful: young people are naturally attracted to cooperatives because of their values: local decision-making, democratic governance, and reinvested margins instead of corporate profits. These values reflect what Gen Z and Millennials actually believe in, they just didn't know co-ops embodied those ideals.

Featured topics:

• Why younger generations are naturally aligned with cooperative principles
• The challenge of communicating co-op value in an investor-owned utility world
• Crafting authentic stories from real member communities
• Using multimedia and geo-targeting technology to reach local audiences
• How storytelling builds long-term relationships where traditional marketing falls short
• The spring campaign featuring customized videos highlighting local cooperative heroes

Discover how the cooperative movement thrives when people understand the real difference it makes, not through selling, but through authentic stories that reveal the human side of community service. This is how you bridge the gap between mission and market, between legacy and future.

The Co-Op Heroes podcast brings you real stories from electric utility operators, the people who work around the clock to power and serve our communities.