The Enlightener
August 2004
Educator Grants Available Through
Blue Ridge Electric
Deadline is September 30
Teachers and principals are encouraged to apply now for Bright Ideas grants totaling $18,000 being awarded by Blue Ridge Electric in conjunction with North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation for the 2004-2005 school year.
Bright Ideas grants provide educators with funding of up to $2,000 per grant for innovative classroom projects that benefit students and would not otherwise be covered by the school budget. Bright Ideas has financed a variety of hands-on projects, including activities in music, art, history, language, reading, science, math, and information technology. Proposals can come from any area of the curriculum.
Blue Ridge Electric is in its twelfth year of providing Bright Ideas grants as part of its support of youth and education in the communities it serves. To date, the cooperative has awarded nearly 200 grants worth more than $175,000 benefiting thousands of students. Bright Ideas reflects Blue Ridge Electric’s commitment to community and support of local education.
The application deadline for Bright Ideas grants is September 30. Projects must directly benefit students, provide on-going benefits, and use innovative teaching methods.
Applications and full details of the Bright Ideas program can be found at www.BlueRidgeEMC.com or at www.ncbrightideas.com. Applications can also be printed off and mailed to Blue Ridge Electric. Mailed applications must be postmarked by the deadline date and addressed to Grey Scheer, director of community relations, PO Box 112, Lenoir, NC 28645.
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Members Only News
-For Members of Blue Ridge Electric
Blue Ridge Electric Sponsors Students
As part of our commitment to local communities, Blue Ridge Electric recently sponsored nine area students to attend two annual leadership development opportunities.
Three rising seniors from our service area were sponsored by Blue Ridge Electric to attend the Washington Youth Tour organized by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. The seniors joined other students from all across the nation for a tour of our nation’s capital where they saw historic sites, learned about rural electrification, met elected officials, and witnessed our government in action.
This year’s winners were: Brittany Carico, of Alleghany High School and the daughter of Glenn and Roberta Carico; Paisley Holloway, of Hibriten High School and the daughter of Mark Holloway and Remona Teague-Dula; and Staci Phipps, of Alleghany High School and the daughter of Mark Phipps and Tammy Hartsoe.
Phipps also won a $2,000 college scholarship as she was selected the Youth Leadership Award winner for all North Carolina youth tour winners. Staci will represent Blue Ridge Electric and all North Carolina cooperatives at several national events for the next 12 months.
Blue Ridge Electric also sponsored six local students to attend the annual week-long Broyhill Leadership Camp at Belmont Abby College. Recipients this year were: Erin Holcomb, of Alleghany High School and the daughter of Van and Beth Holcomb; Courtney Miller, of Alleghany High School and the daughter of Steve and Belva Miller; Becca Hash, of Alleghany High School and the daughter of Larry and Nancy Hash; Emma Savely, of Ashe County High School and the daughter of Jimmy and Betsy Savely; Nikki Tester, of Hibriten High School and the daughter of Mark and Windy Tester; and Danielle Jones, of Hibriten High School and the daughter of Maurice and Tonya Jones.
For more information visit www.BlueRidgeEMC.com or contact your local Blue Ridge Electric office.
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The Perspective
An Editorial by Chief Executive Officer Doug Johnson
Subsidiary Update
Did you know that as a member-owner of Blue Ridge Electric, you are also an owner of its subsidiary, Blue Ridge Energies, LLC? Although our subsidiary is nearly six years old, I occasionally hear a member say they don’t know about Blue Ridge Energies so here’s a brief overview. Blue Ridge Energies offers heating fuel services from the district offices of Blue Ridge Electric in Caldwell, Ashe and Watauga counties where we also feature showrooms with gas logs, fireplaces, stoves and heaters. We have an operations office in Catawba County and, due to demand, will open an Avery County operations office this fall. We deliver propane and heating fuels in Caldwell and Ashe counties. In Watauga, Catawba and Avery counties, we deliver propane only. We also have limited propane delivery routes in Alleghany County and will be expanding there soon.
Our subsidiary personnel have been preparing for the upcoming heating season. In addition to expanding into Avery County, we’re also planning the following:
To meet Ashe County’s high demand for fuel oil and propane service, we’ve added the position of Heating Fuels Manager for our Ashe office. I’m pleased to announce that John Blevins of Ashe County has joined our Blue Ridge Energies team. John comes to us from Leviton Manufacturing Company where he served as an industrial/engineering manager.
For customer convenience, Blue Ridge Energies recently added the option of bank draft to allow customers to have their monthly bill drafted from their checking or savings accounts, or from a debit card.
Due to demand, Blue Ridge Energies will again be offering our propane price ”lock-in” and “pre-buy” programs for a limited time in August. The lock-in program allows customers to secure current market price levels until March of next year. While lock-in customers “pay as they go”, pre-buy customers purchase their season’s supply and in return get an even lower product price.
Financial performance of our subsidiary is on target with our business plans. The company produced a positive return to the company in 2003 through shared costs and is on track to deliver net income exceeding $500,000 per year within the next two years. I’m pleased to tell you these profits will be used to benefit our members and the communities we serve.
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Landscaping Around Electrical Equipment
Your power reliability and the safety of our linemen are dependent upon many factors. One factor is landscaping around electrical equipment.
Proper techniques are essential to use if you are landscaping around padmount transformers – the large green “boxes” on the ground that lower voltage in electric distribution or transmission lines.
When planting shrubs, laying timbers, or performing other landscaping work to enhance the appearance of your property near padmount transformers, the following method should be used:
Maintain 10 feet of clearance in front of the transformer where the lid opens and closes.
Maintain three feet of clearance on each side of the transformer, including the back side.
These specifications should be adhered to on all transformers on your property whether they are new installations or have been located on your property for years.
Your cooperative thanks you in advance for following these guidelines to help ensure your power reliability, faster response to problems as needed, and the safety of our field personnel.
Published monthly by Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation for its 52,242 member-owners.
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