Electric co-op employees have a reputation for working behind the scenes to support the communities they serve. For the third year, RE Magazine, the flagship publication of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, selected 20 electric cooperative employees from across the nation for its biennial class of Co-op Rising Stars. Illinois’ Faith Wheeler was selected for the 2025 class.
As a marketing major at Indiana State University, Wheeler had plans to move to a large city and work at a fashion company after college. But a summer internship in member services at Shelby Electric Cooperative “completely changed everything for me,” she said.
Today, she lives and works in Shelbyville, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. “I fell in love with the cooperative way, Shelby Electric and the people here,” she said.
Entering her final semester of college, she accepted the position of member services specialist as a part-time employee. Upon graduating and becoming full-time, she made the position her own by going beyond the media and marketing aspects of the job.
When Wheeler isn’t assisting with the co-op’s social media accounts or working on her next “Faith’s Roadtrip” article for the member newsletter in Illinois Country Living, she’s the main point of contact for the co-op’s residential solar program, administers classroom visits and is heavily involved with the Shelby County Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities class.
Wheeler has also been the coordinator of the CoBank Sharing Success matching grant program since 2023. “It’s awesome to be able to give money to people who need help,” she said.
Forming community connections and relationships with members drives Wheeler to go above and beyond at work. “I can’t imagine not being here and not working with these people and doing what I do,” she said. “It’s crazy how life works out sometimes.”
Co-op Rising Stars shines a spotlight on the smart, dedicated, energetic professionals who are stepping up, leaning in and bringing fresh leadership to co-ops across the country. These are the employees who are helping co-ops navigate the industry’s broad ongoing transitions, reimagine member engagement and carry forward the values of cooperation into a new era.
