Dennis Wright recently received the Northwest Service Award. This award is presented annually to recognize directors and employees of Northwest Missouri electric cooperatives for outstanding service to their cooperatives and the communities they serve. Pictured, from left to right, are Alyssa (Wright) Barnes, Wendel Wright, Melanie Brandon, Lillian Wright, Dennis Wright, and Jade Wright. (Submitted photo)
Dennis Wright recently received the Northwest Service Award. This award is presented annually to recognize directors and employees of Northwest Missouri electric cooperatives for outstanding service to their cooperatives and the communities they serve. Dennis is a board member with Atchison-Holt Electric Cooperative, representing District 3.
Dennis was raised in a rural area near Craig, Missouri, where family and strong work ethics were valued.
He attended and graduated from Craig R-III School and later attended Northwest Missouri State University. It was while at Northwest that his electrical interests were discovered and pursued. During those college years, Dennis and his high school sweetheart, Lillian, were married. They were blessed with four children, Melanie, Wendel, Alyssa, and Jade.
After marriage, Dennis continued working the family farm operation and did electrical apprentice work. It didn’t take long for Dennis to gain enough confidence in his electrical ability to start his own business. Several years later, he acquired a hardware building in Craig and there housed Wright Electric and Hardware. This endeavor worked out well as his wife was a business educator and took care of the bookkeeping side of the business. Besides family obligations, Dennis has always been active in the community, doing volunteer work, serving on the board of the Bank of Craig, school board president, and deacon and trustee of New Liberty Baptist Church.
When an opening on the Atchison-Holt board became available, Dennis was approached as a candidate. It was a natural fit for him and he has served for 36 years. Dennis always felt it a privilege to identify with the cooperative and enjoyed the camaraderie of the board members and employees. Dennis has seen many changes and maintained pride in being a part of the Atchison-Holt Cooperative.
