3 POWER TO THE PEOPLE CHAPTER ONE For 50 years, NISC Members have defined the technology solutions they want and need, and NISC has answered their call. “Every year or every few years, there was a major leapfrog of technology and software. We embraced that,” says John Westby, Engineering and Operations Manager, who has been at Verendrye since 1977. “We asked for things we thought were good for everybody.” The role of NISC, today and always, is to figure out how to say yes. New smartphone apps? Better billing options? Different ways to use data? Smoother software integration and function- ality? NISC’s products reflect the constant effort to respond to — and even anticipate — Members’ needs. “It is easier to create the future than to predict the future,” says NISC CEO Vern Dosch, echoing Abraham Lincoln’s quote, “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” That quest — the dedication of Member-Owners and employees to help shape the electric and telecom industries through technology — is the story of NISC. Over 14 million people rely on NISC. When they check their energy usage on a SmartHub® app on their cell phones or call to switch their internet and television bundle, they are barely aware of the technology that supports their choices. But NISC never stops thinking about them. In fact, while the evolution of NISC closely tracks the rise of the information age, its focus from its earliest days has been on ordinary people. People who want access to the latest tools to maketheirlivesbetter.Peoplewhocometogether,inthatquint- essentially American way, to solve their common problems. A consumer served by Decatur County REMC, in Greensburg, Indiana, checks her meter usage through the NISC mobile app, SmartHub.