ELECTRIFYING EMPLOYMENT
AND SO MUCH MORE
OZARKS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE provides electricity to 74,000
members in our region and operates a one-megawatt solar facility
in Springdale. Its OzarksGo subsidiary provides broadband internet
service. Together, the two employ more than 250 team members
whose jobs range from member relations to mechanics.
Chris Coker is the manager of operations for Ozarks Electric and has
been with the cooperative for more than 27 years. “I started here six
months after I graduated high school,” he recalls. “I started trimming
trees. I think they put me there to see if I would make it.”
He stuck with it and moved up through the ranks to line technician,
then a position in the service division and the safety and training
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FAYETTEVILLE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Create a successful career helping improve
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coordinator before being promoted to his current role. Coker oversees
the team of line technicians, maintenance and Ozarks Electric’s fleet
of vehicles. “I wanted to build a career here because Ozarks Electric
has a good reputation, and I wanted stability and a future,” he
explains.
Coker says Ozarks Electric is always looking for motivated people to
join its line technician apprenticeship program. Line technicians are
electricians trained to install, maintain and repair high-voltage