Hey, everyone, and welcome to MTE's Plugged in podcast.

I'm Brandon Wagner, and as always, I'm sitting here with Amy Byers.

Hey, Amy.

Hey, Brandon.

And hello to everybody out there.

This is kind of a special episode.

We're going to talk about a new kind of fresh, new look and direction for our Plugged in podcast.

But before we get into the details of that, I kind of want to talk a little bit about the history of Plugged In Podcast and even.

Maybe even the EV Car club and our EV programs.

But.

So I went back and I may be wrong, but I'm thinking It was like 2022, you came to me and you're like, I really think we need to do a podcast.

And you were even like, I've actually already done one that you had just done on your cell phone and done it yourself.

And you were like, I really want to do this.

So tell me a little bit about your thought process with this podcast and where you wanted it to go and kind of the history of it a little bit.

Yeah, well, that does take me down memory lane.

So, 2022, there was some excitement about EVs.

It was really new technology.

We were kind of coming out of COVID and we were starting to be, you know, physically around our members and stuff.

And we thought, what a cool opportunity to build our EV car club and start engaging with members who are thinking about maybe purchasing an ev.

And we realized we need multiple ways to do that.

And so we thought about doing it through a podcast in addition to some of the events we had planned.

And so we kind of started the podcast from there.

And then over the years, we've really kind of had an opportunity to think a little bit bigger.

Yeah.

And I know when we started the podcast, finding topics were very EV topics, right?

Were very easy to come by because, you know, it was.

It was like every month something new was happening, so there was something new to talk about.

So we always had plenty of topics.

And then, then we got to the point where, which I loved this part of it, where we were doing a lot of interviews with people, whether it was our members talking about EVs they had bought or other industry professionals that could come in and talk to us about EVs.

So that was great.

And then I really feel like we arrived when people were calling us going, hey, I want to be on your podcast.

I was like, yes, we've made it.

But one thing I noticed last year, EVs are kind of mainstream now.

They're not brand new technology.

Yes, the technology is always evolving.

But, you know, you used to.

I know when we started this podcast, I always would ask people when they would get their new EVs, when we would interview them.

I was like, well, do people look at you all the time when you're driving down the street and they'll be like, oh, yes, you know, all the time.

Well, now, I mean, I can't go a mile down the road without passing an ev.

So it's kind of like they're here, they're kind of part of our culture now.

They're not the latest and the greatest or the newest and that kind of thing.

And I think last year when I was trying to find topics, I was like, well, you know, we've covered all these topics.

There's not a lot of new topics.

And I know we branched out a little bit last year and we talked to, you know, we talked to our linemen.

You know, I love that episode where we interviewed our linemen and about their safety demo.

And we've talked to other people here about different programs that weren't necessarily EV related, but just good programs we thought people would want to know about.

And I think we had a lot of success with those.

You know, the ones we did like that.

So with that said, yeah, well, you're right, the changes in the EV industry are a little more incremental now than they were when we started.

And, you know, think about the podcast audience.

And the EV car club has helped us do quite a bit because we've asked you all, what is it we can do?

And so at 2022, we didn't have any level 2 chargers.

We now have a pretty good working knowledge of Level 2 Chargers here at our office.

And we have, I think, 20 Ford Lightning in our fleet.

So we've got three different DC fast charging stations.

We've got a Night Flex rate that is most of the folks that are on that are EV drivers.

So all of that came through the feedback that we got from our members from our podcast.

But last year when it was a little more challenging, we started thinking about, well, there's all these things that we're doing in the co op, you know, and just the cooperative story in general.

And so we kind of felt like we want our members, whether they're our EV members or they're not, we want them to realize all the different things we're doing to hopefully leverage the industry changes to make their lives better.

It starts from, you know, even our linemen, as you mentioned, trying to get safety, electrical safety out there.

To very high tech things, so.

And everything in between.

Right.

So before we get into the new direction of the podcast, I do want to cover a little bit about the evolution of our EV program and where it's going.

Just because the podcast is kind of might be going in a new direction.

We're still going to cover EVs from time to time.

There is going to be an EV episode, but we still are going to have all our EV programs like nothing.

With our electric vehicle, the Drive EV Car Club, none of that is changing and actually it is evolving in a bigger way.

Do you want to talk about that a little bit?

Yes, you're absolutely right.

EVs may not be as much of a featured topic as they were on the podcast, but behind the scenes we have more and more members that are making the decision to go electric with their vehicle purchase.

And so we have a resource that we brought in, Heidi Zaima, and I'm sure listeners are going, they can just go look at the previous episode and kind of get an introduction to her.

She's going to inject a lot more energy into this EV space and the programs.

We're actually trying to figure out all the time what are some additional ways we can serve members in the EV space.

So even though it may not be talked about as much, we're still working in the background and we want to be a resource for anybody who's thinking about EVs.

But the thing is, and the value of this podcast, I think, is that we want to be a resource in a variety of ways.

So there may be some of our members that EVs are not for them, and that's fine, but they may have some other things that they're trying to work on and there's probably something that we're doing that will help them with that.

So we want to be a resource and explain through the podcast in ways we can serve in that way.

Right.

And I think, you know, we talked a minute ago about, you know, how EVs are coming, becoming more mainstream.

And I think with that we're seeing more growth in membership in the EV Car Club.

I know we had several people at the EV event that I met that like, they, they got their car and they like two months ago and then they just joined the club, you know, so all of that is still growing.

And I know we've, I think we've, we've, I talked about this a little bit in, at the EV Car Club podcast.

But, you know, both of us have other jobs.

You know, our sole focus is not EVs.

We have a lot of stuff, so sometimes we get.

And I know this past year, especially for you, we've got spread a little thin on things and we really were not able.

I know we didn't get as many newsletters out as we had wanted to get out.

You know, we just seem to be a little pushed for having the time to really do the EVs justice.

So I think that is where the addition of Heidi coming in to pick up.

I mean, we'll still be around.

You know, we're not going anywhere, and we'll still be there to support Heidi ever.

Whatever she needs us to do, we're going to be there for her.

But to have someone to really focus on these EVs, I think is going to be good, that she can really give it her all and give it the whole attention, and then we can be there more to support her and her mission.

So I think it's exciting.

I think there's definitely exciting times in.

In the EV world at mte.

And again, we'll be there to support our members any way they want to.

But let's get to the big news about the podcast.

Sure.

So MTE this past year has really been about bringing good energy.

And when we talk about bringing good energy, it's not just our energy that we put into your house is good.

I mean, it is.

It's reliable, it's affordable, it's great.

It's better than good.

It's great energy.

But bringing good energy to a place can be so much more.

And it can be the smile when you walk in the door being greeted by our member service people.

It could be the lineman that comes out to your house when the light's off and gets your power back on.

Bringing good energy encompasses so much.

And it's also not just about mte, you know, bringing good energy in the communities we serve.

We have members that are bringing good energy.

We have programs that, you know, are bringing good energy and helping our members in a lot of different ways.

So we really want to start focusing more on that.

So we'll have stories, you know, about energy efficiency ways.

You know, we did that a little bit with Katie last year, but we'll have some stories on that.

We will have some great guests.

You know, we have.

I don't know that we've talked about it on the podcast, but we have a charitable arm at MTE called Sharing Change.

And you talk about bringing good energy.

They're all about bringing good energy.

So that's, you know, we have A lot of organizations, nonprofits that benefit from Sharing Change grants, you know, visit with some of them and see what Sharing Change is out there doing in the community.

You got some ideas that we can cover?

Well, I mean, there's just so many, you know, and one of the things you kind of touched on, it would get spread thin, and that's part of the cooperative world.

When you work at an electric co op, you tend to wear multiple hats, and it can be very rewarding because you get to see what the work is that other departments are doing.

And so especially what I get to do in strategy, I get exposed to so many things, and there's so many cool stories for us to tell.

Some of the folks I ran into at the Supercharged Cruise Inn stopped to just tell me how much they see us very differently than maybe the area they moved out from, which is awesome, because that's what we want to be.

I mean, we really want to serve in that way.

The cool thing about our team and probably folks that are not working here don't get as exposed to it, but I think they will through the new change in the podcast, is we have some very knowledgeable and competent employees that leverage that knowledge for our membership.

But on top of that, they have a heart of service.

And you mentioned the podcast with Katie.

I think it's an excellent one to go back.

And Katie is phenomenal at what she knows and can help folks with high bills.

But she also just.

She lives to serve and she's got a compassionate heart for our members.

So I'm hopeful, you know, that we can really tell our story because we know that our members have really high expectations for us and we have high expectations for ourselves.

But it's going to be fun to kind of show that we're working towards achieving those and meeting and even exceeding those expectations in an exceptional way.

I think so, too.

And I think, like, you kind of hit on it a little bit.

As you know, we have a lot of employees here that they may not be sitting there at the desk with member service or they may not be pulling out there on the line, but they have vital roles here.

And so kind of peeling back the curtain and letting people in to see, you know, what it is that our engineers do or what it is that our vegetation management does, and maybe even doing some field trips and going places.

And, you know, I'd love a vision, maybe going into our control center with all the, you know, do a podcast in there with the.

All the.

Where they track outages and all of that, where they kind of monitor that system.

I mean, it's like when you walk in there, it's like you're, you know, at NASA or something.

It's pretty cool.

And so, you know, doing things like that, you know, we want to be very open with what we're doing at mte.

It's your utility.

You're the owner.

You know, that's member ownership.

That's what a co op is all about.

So we want to let you into our world a little bit, peel back the curtain, meet some of our employees and see, see kind of what exciting things they're doing.

And even if they're doing exciting things that have nothing to do with mte, we may bring them on here and see what they're doing in the community.

That's bringing good energy as well.

So we're pretty excited about it.

I will say.

We're still kind of revamping things and really getting a schedule out there, lining up guests, figuring out what we're wanting to do.

Obviously, we're heading into the holiday season, which kind of makes things a little bit more challenging.

So we are looking to launch this very early 2026.

So we're going to take a couple of months break.

Hoping to be back.

We don't know the exact date yet, but we are hoping to be back at some point in January.

Make sure to follow us.

Go on and subscribe if you're not already subscribed.

If this is your first one to listen to, hey, there is more good stuff coming, but go ahead and subscribe so you won't miss the relaunch.

But like I said, we are in the planning stages.

And you know, we've said this for, well, since 2022.

This is your podcast.

It's not our podcast, it's our members podcast.

And if you have some topics you want us to discuss or you want to hear about, you know, give us an email.

You can still email us@evcarclubte.com with any ideas or thoughts that you might have about what you would like to see on this new podcast.

And I just want to say too, on a personal note, this is going to be really exciting, but it probably means my role in the podcast will subside a little bit.

And so I just want to say, Amy, I've enjoyed this has been awesome.

Hopefully when anyone watches, they can see that we're legitimately, genuinely friends.

And I consider you a close friend.

So it's been an honor to serve in this role for a little few years.

But even more so, it's been a pleasure to get to know you.

We weren't really.

We'd run into each other before.

Yeah.

But I don't think we really knew.

Never worked together.

Yeah, we definitely became friends through the last few years with this podcast.

And you won't be gone forever.

I mean, I'll pop in.

That might be a pipe dream of yours, I don't know.

But I am definitely will be pulling you back back in from time to time because you're such a vital part in your role that you have in the company about strategy and driving member expectations.

I mean, it's your job to make sure the members are happy and we're doing what we need to do and driving that.

So definitely we'll have you on from time to time.

And I, you know, I think I'll still be hosting some, but I would really love to expand this to where we have several hosts.

So it may not be me every episode, but we will definitely build up a podcast family just like we have done with us.

And it should be a lot of fun.

And I think our goal has always been to have fun and to make sure the guests are relaxed and they have fun as well.

So we'll definitely keep that.

And again, you know, we will still be covering EVs from time to time, so I'm sure we will still be pulling you in probably several times a year to talk about and Heidi as well to talk about EVs, but it has been a very.

Is a little bittersweet because, I mean, we have had a great time and so I don't know, I don't know if I'm gonna have the chemistry with somebody else maybe, I don't know.

But definitely have enjoyed our time together on the podcast and we're looking forward to see what happens in 2026.

Sounds good.

Yep.

So thanks everybody for listening today.

Again, make sure that you are subscribed to this podcast so you will not miss the relaunch again.

I want to reiterate that our Drive EV programs are alive and well and doing great.

They're not going anywhere.

So if you have any questions about anything electric vehicles, you can go to DriveEV.com or email us@evcarclubte.com and until next time, stay plugged in and keep bringing good energy.