Ask a cooperative communicator what the hardest part of the annual meeting is and the answer is not the bylaws vote. It is keeping members in their seats after the door prizes. Here is why so many co-ops have solved that with a clean comedian, and how to choose one who will not embarrass the board.
The annual meeting has a retention problem
Members attend for the meal, the prizes, the capital credits and the chance to see neighbors. The business session — director elections, the financial report, the CEO’s update — is the part the bylaws require and the part the members endure. Once it ends, so does the room, unless there is a reason to stay.
Entertainment is the reason. A band works; a comedian works better, because a comedian talks about the co-op. Storm restoration stories, the line crew that got a shout-out, the director who has served since the Carter administration — a good comic turns the meeting itself into the material, and members remember it as a night out rather than an obligation.
Why “clean” is not optional
An annual meeting room has nine-year-olds, ninety-year-olds, the local pastor and the state representative in it. The comic you saw at a club in Nashville is not the comic you want with the board sitting in the front row. Clean means no profanity, no politics, no innuendo and no picking on members. If you have to ask a comedian whether they can “keep it clean for this one,” keep looking. Book the ones who never work any other way.
What separates a co-op comedian from a comedian
They know the industry. Rural electric, rural water, propane and natural gas associations have their own vocabulary and their own running jokes. A comic who has worked statewide association meetings will already know what a lineman does, what a right-of-way argument sounds like and why the CEO is nervous about the rate slide.
They can follow a business session. The best ones sit through the meeting and open with what just happened. The election, the door prize winner who was in the restroom, the slide count. That is what gets the members who were reaching for their keys to sit back down.
They add a message when you want one. Many co-ops use the same speaker for the employee appreciation day or the safety kickoff. A comedian who is also a credentialed resilience or leadership speaker covers both dates and both budgets.
Questions to ask before you book
- Which electric or rural utility associations have you performed for in the last three years?
- Can we watch a full, unedited set — not a highlight reel?
- How do you customize for our co-op, and who do you need to talk to?
- Can you go on after a 90-minute business session and still get the room?
- Do you need a screen, slides or a production crew? (The right answer is no.)
- What is the fee for the annual meeting, and what would you charge to come back for employee appreciation day?
Timing that works
Put the comedian immediately after the business session and before the final door prize drawing. The prize keeps people in the room; the comedy makes them glad they stayed. Thirty to forty-five minutes is the sweet spot. Morning meetings with a meal work equally well with a shorter set.
Jody Fuller has performed for Georgia EMC, TVPPA, the Alabama Rural Electric Association, Alabama Power, Grand Valley Power, Cooperative Response Center and rural water, propane and natural gas associations across the Southeast and Midwest. Details, video and testimonials are on the utilities and cooperatives page.
