The Enlightener

May 2004

As a Member-Owner of Blue Ridge
Electric You're Invited to Your Annual Membership Meeting

Ashe County High School - West Jefferson
Saturday, June 12

Registration: 8-10 a.m.

Health Fair: 8-10 a.m.

Free health and fitness screenings by Ashe Memorial Hospital

Recognitions: 9:35 a.m.

Scholarship and youth leadership winners will be recognized in the gym

Children’s Program: 9 a.m. to end of business session

Prizes, refreshments, and outdoor games (weather permitting)

Food: 8-10 a.m.

Ham biscuits, coffee, soft drinks, fruit, and doughnuts while they last

Business Session: 10 a.m.

Reports to the membership
Director elections

Entertainment: In the Gym

Alternate Roots: 8 to 8:30 a.m.
Dixie Melody Boys: 8:40 – 9:30 a.m.

Exhibits: 8-10 a.m.

Blue Ridge Energies, the cooperative’s subsidiary offering propane, heating fuels, gas fireplaces, stoves, and more
BREMCare, the cooperative’s charitable program
Information about Member Services
Information about Construction Services
An Appalachian Summer Festival
Carolina Country

Prize Drawings: (End of business session)
(Members must be registered to win)

Four $50 bills per district

Grand Prize (must be registered and present to win):

Retired 1997 Ford Explorer

Members Only News
-For Members of Blue Ridge Electric

2004 Election

The following people were nominated by the Nominating Committee for member consideration for the board of directors election:

John Woodruff, Alleghany District
Jeff Joines, Caldwell District
J.B. Lawrence, Watauga District
Bradley McNeill, Ashe District*

*Bradley McNeill was nominated by the cooperative’s Nominating Committee to fill the board seat currently held by Charles Edwards of Ashe County. Edwards is retiring from the board effective at the 2004 Annual Membership Meeting. No nominations by petition were received by the April 12, 2004 deadline.

Photo_CEO Johnson The Perspective

An Editorial by Chief Executive Officer Doug Johnson
We Invite You To The Annual Meeting

One of the advantages of being a member-owner of a cooperative is the voice you have in the business. And one of the best ways we stay in touch with our members is through the Annual Membership Meeting, held the second Saturday of June each year. On June 12 this year, we’ll be hosting the Annual Meeting at Ashe County High School. I hope you’ll join us for what we consider the most important meeting of the year as we update you on the operation of your cooperative.

One of your most significant opportunities for involvement occurs at the annual meeting. It’s here that you have the opportunity to elect directors –representatives that help guide and direct your cooperative. The election is important because your board of directors acts as your voice and assists in meeting the needs of the membership as a whole.

At the meeting Blue Ridge Electric’s president, John Woodruff, and I will give updates on Blue Ridge Electric’s performance in 2003, including how the change in wholesale power providers is positively impacting your cooperative.

Before the business session you’ll have a chance to attend exhibits, meet with Blue Ridge employees, ask questions, or just relax and enjoy the refreshments and entertainment. Ashe Memorial Hospital is also partnering with us once again to offer members a health fair with complimentary screenings and wellness information.

And there’s always the chance to win prizes. In addition to cash prizes awarded in each district, our grand prize giveaway is a 1997 Ford Explorer recently retired from our service fleet.
Look for more information about the Annual Meeting in your Annual Report and Annual Membership Meeting Notice mailed to members in late May. This booklet gives you details about the meeting as well as highlights from your cooperative’s activities in 2003.

I hope you’ll join us for what we consider the most important meeting of the year. One of my favorite parts of this event occurs before the business meeting, when I have the opportunity to talk with members in a relaxed atmosphere among the information and food areas. It’s a great opportunity to hear what’s on your mind, and it also reminds me of the special reason Blue Ridge Electric exists: to serve our friends and neighbors in Northwest North Carolina.

If You Can’t Attend . . .

If you’re a member unable to attend the annual meeting, you may still vote for directors by giving your proxy to another member who will be attending the meeting and can submit it for you. Your proxy is the perforated portion of the back cover of the Annual Report/Meeting Notice, which is mailed to members in late May.

The cooperative’s bylaws specify a few requirements for voting by proxy. These include having the following on the proxy:

Printed name of the member submitting your proxy, plus their signature and address.
Signature of a witness and the date it was signed (witness cannot be the same member who is submitting your proxy).

Other guidelines regarding voting by proxy are:

Members may vote one valid proxy in addition to their own vote.
Members representing a business, civic group, industry, church, etc., may not vote the proxy of another member.
Powers of attorney are treated as proxies.
Only a member can carry a power of attorney.
Blue Ridge Electric employees cannot vote proxies.

Copies of the cooperative’s bylaws are available in any Blue Ridge Electric office.

And Finally . . .

Members - get discounted tickets to see . . .

The Platters,
Beary Hobbs' Drifters
and
The Cornell Gunter Coasters
performing in Boone July 31,
7:30 p.m. at Kidd Brewer Stadium

Published monthly by Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation for its 52,234 member-owners.