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, while its OzarksGo subsidiary provides broadband inter-
net service. Together, the two employ more than 230 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 out trimming
trees – I think they put me there to see if I would make it,” he laughs.
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 coor-
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SPRINGDALE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
You can create a successful career helping
improve the quality of life in our community.
dinator 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 lines
and systems. The apprenticeship program takes five years to complete