036: Lighting Up Main Street: A Family Legacy in Rural Electrification (with Don Bowman)

In this episode, recorded live at the NRECA Regional Meeting in Columbus, Ohio, Pablo sits down with Don Bowman, Senior Vice President and Assistant General Manager at Wake Electric, to trace a family legacy that runs back to the very beginnings of rural electrification. Don shares the remarkable story of his grandfather, who left home at 14 with a fourth-grade education to wire federal buildings in Washington, D.C., and at 17 brought electricity to a small West Virginia town where the postmaster was sorting mail by candlelight. That path led to Vermont, a friendship with future governor George Aiken, and a $40 sale of his entire system to the board of the newly formed Vermont Electric Cooperative, where he became its founding superintendent. Don also traces how that legacy carried through his father and uncle, both co-op general managers, and how he found his own way back to the industry after studying aerospace engineering "just to get out." The conversation turns to technology adoption at cooperatives, including why co-ops invest in innovation for survival rather than rate base, how AMI created new career paths instead of eliminating jobs, and Don's approach of pitching new technology to his board as a small pilot with a clear exit ramp. He also shares how his long-running podcast evolved into a new short-form video series built to connect more directly with Wake Electric's members. Featured topics: - Don's grandfather's journey from teenage apprentice electrician to founding general manager of Vermont Electric Cooperative - Three generations of co-op leadership across Vermont, Virginia, and North Carolina - Leaving aerospace engineering to help a meter shop transition to digital meters - Eleven years at NRTC matching co-ops with new technologies - Leading through rapid growth as Wake Electric doubles to nearly 60,000 meters - Moving technology from "nice to have" to "mission critical" - The shift from the Changing Energy podcast to The Co-op Current Don and Pablo close by reflecting on the next generation, including a nephew now exploring a career in co-op fleet management, and why the cooperative story is one worth telling to every new member who walks through the door. This is a conversation about family legacy, the courage it took to light up rural America, and the spirit of service that still drives electric cooperatives today. Thanks for listening to The Co-op Heroes Podcast. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts to hear more stories from leaders across the electric cooperative industry.