Little Rock, Ark. - Oct. 12, 2026 - On Tuesday, Dec. 1, Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas linemen will embark on a mission to deliver electricity to rural Guatemalans.

The project will take place in the village of Pacheco, located in the mountainous highlands of San Agustín Acasaguastlán, El Progreso. Connected to neighboring villages by rural roads and trails, the community relies primarily on subsistence farming, with corn, beans and coffee as its main crops.

"Service is at the heart of what electric cooperatives do," said Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation and Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc., President/CEO Vernon "Buddy" Hasten. "These missions demonstrate our commitment to helping others while reminding us how fortunate we are to have access to safe, reliable electricity - for millions of people around the world, that is still not a reality."

Since 2013, Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas linemen have shared their skills and expertise to bring electricity to more than 2,700 people in rural Bolivia and Guatemala.

The following linemen have volunteered to participate in this nearly three-week mission project called "Operation Razorback" and are scheduled to return on Friday, Dec. 18.

Hayden Sanders and Case Maness with Arkansas Valley Electric of Ozark; Chris Holleman and Dylan Rupe with C&L Electric of Star City; Josh Freitas and Wyatt Williams with Ozarks Electric of Fayetteville; Tom Henderson, Forrest Birdwell, Tyler Horton and Jamie Reeves with Petit Jean Electric of Clinton; Dylan Turner, Briley Knowles, Zane Abney and Alex Reid with Southwest Arkansas Electric of Texarkana; Dalton Reynolds and Ronnie Byrd with Woodruff Electric of Forrest City; Joe Fowler and Steven Dollof with Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc., and William Thompson with Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation of Little Rock.

This project will power around 80 homes, providing electricity to 250 to 500 villagers. Once installed, a local cooperative will maintain the electrical system.

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) International is coordinating the project.

The Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas comprise electric distribution cooperatives; Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. (AECI), a Little Rock-based cooperative that provides services to the distribution cooperatives; and Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation (AECC), a generation and transmission cooperative. The distribution cooperatives provide electricity to more than 1 million members, or customers, in Arkansas and surrounding states.

For additional information, contact:

Marine Glisovic, Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas, 501.353.6054 or [email protected] www.ecark.org