Lane Electric Cooperative

Overview

Built to Better Serve Members

Lane Electric Cooperative is a member-owned electric cooperative committed to serving its communities with transparency, reliability, and local accountability. With a diverse service territory and an active role in community programs and governance, the website plays an important role in how Lane Electric shares information and stays connected with the members it serves.

Building on a long-standing partnership, Lane Electric worked again with Powerful to refresh its website to better reflect current communication needs. The redesign was guided by clear goals: increase engagement, feature up-to-date content, and provide an intuitive experience for visitors. The updated site helps Lane Electric highlight its initiatives, communicate timely information, and continue serving its community through a modern design.

Highlighting Opportunities That Invite Engagement

Lane Electric plays an active role in the communities it serves, supporting education, member assistance, and long-term investment guided by cooperative principles. As those efforts continue to grow, the website needed to do more than share information. It needed to help members easily discover opportunities, understand what the cooperative is doing, and feel invited to take part. Increasing engagement became a priority, with the website serving as a reliable connection between Lane Electric and the people it serves.

To support this goal, Lane Electric worked with Powerful to implement the Sunnybrook blueprint, a promotional homepage layout designed to bring important initiatives forward. At launch, the top hero section features Lane Electric’s scholarship program, which awards more than $20,000 each year to help students pursue academic or vocational goals. Spring is a key application period, and featuring the program prominently helps ensure students and families are aware of the opportunity and know where to learn more.

The hero section uses a strong headline, brief supporting text, an engaging image, and a clear button that links to additional details. This approach makes the program easy to understand and encourages visitors to take action. Below the hero, call-to-action buttons provide quick access to commonly anticipated tasks without requiring visitors to scroll. Additional promotional sections highlight initiatives such as the Member Assistance Program and upcoming meter upgrades, keeping members informed and engaged with current priorities. Together, these elements create a homepage that supports participation, highlights the cooperative model, and reflects Lane Electric’s commitment to serving its community.

A Reliable Source for Cooperative Updates

Staying connected is central to how Lane Electric Cooperative serves its members. Regular communication helps reinforce the cooperative difference and reminds members that the organization is run by people who live and work in the community. Monthly manager’s messages add a personable voice to that communication, offering insight into priorities, decisions, and what’s happening behind the scenes. “Inside Ruralite” stories further that connection by sharing local news, cooperative updates, and stories that reflect everyday life across the service area.

With Powerful’s News Releases web app, Lane Electric can continue sharing these stories in a way that’s easy to manage and easy for visitors to find. Staff can quickly post new manager’s messages and news stories, keeping content current without added complexity. The homepage automatically displays the six most recent stories, ensuring visitors always see fresh updates when they arrive. This visibility helps reinforce transparency and keeps members engaged with the cooperative’s ongoing work.

The homepage also features upcoming events such as board meetings and office closures, providing clear and timely information that supports member participation. Highlighting board meetings reinforces the cooperative principle of democratic member control by making governance activities visible and accessible. Together, these content features help Lane Electric maintain a website that reflects what’s happening now, supports informed engagement, and continues to serve as a reliable resource for members across the service area.