Membership Matters

Jun 2003

Blue Ridge Electric Awards Scholarships

Supporting local communities is part of the mission of cooperatives like Blue Ridge Electric. Awarding scholarships to enhance education for local deserving students is a major way Blue Ridge Electric demonstrates our support. The following students were recently selected for these honors:

Winners of the $2,000 Goodman-Hurt scholarship:

Katie Greene, daughter of Roger and Retha Greene of Lenoir, a graduate of Hibriten High School who will attend Appalachian State University (ASU);
Heather Neaves, daughter of Onis and Judy Neaves of West Jefferson, a graduate of Ashe County High School who will attend Western Carolina University;
Ashley Jones, daughter of Jimmy Jones and Thelma Kastl of West Jefferson, a graduate of Ashe County High School who will attend ASU;
Rachel Reed, daughter of Cathy Reed of Sparta, a graduate of Alleghany High School who will attend North Carolina State University.

Sharing a Goodman-Hurt Scholarship are:

Michelle Cook, daughter of David and Ruth Cook, a graduate of Watauga High School who will attend ASU;
Kenny Rosander, son of Teresa and Ken Rosander, a graduate of Watauga High School who will attend the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Winners of the $800 Goodman-Hurt Scholarships:

Beverly Ward, of Banner Elk, will attend Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute (CCC&TI);
Chris Townsend, son of Robert and Kenneitha Townsend of Hudson, a graduate of South Caldwell High School who will attend CCC&TI;
Hannah Atwood, daughter of Ronnie and Barbara Atwood of Piney Creek, a graduate of Alleghany High School who will attend CCC&TI;
Rachel Patrick, daughter of Wayne and Brenda Patrick of Creston, a graduate of Ashe County High School who will attend Wilkes Community College.

Winner of the Charles Suddreth $800 Memorial Scholarship:

Nicole Nelson, daughter of Angela Nelson of Lenoir, a graduate of Hibriten High School who will attend CCC&TI.

Winner of the Tom Cockerham $800 Memorial Scholarship:

Kimberly Stephens, granddaughter of Ronda and Edith Stephens of West Jefferson, a graduate of Ashe County High School who will attend CCC&TI.

For more information on scholarship opportunities sponsored by Blue Ridge Electric, visit our web site at www.BlueRidgeEMC.com or contact your local Blue Ridge Electric office.

Remembering
G.C. Norris
February 16, 1934 - April 20, 2003
George Clifford (G.C.) Norris, Watauga district director, faithfully served on the Board of Directors for 22 years, with five of those years as an officer.

Members Only News
-For Members of Blue Ridge Electric

New Officers

The cooperative’s Board of Directors has announced two newly elected officers. The election was necessary after the recent passing of long-time board member and secretary-treasurer G.C. Norris.

Jeff Joines, of Caldwell District, was elected as secretary-treasurer. He previously served as assistant secretary-treasurer and has been a board member since 1998.
Joy Coffey, of Watauga District, was elected assistant secretary-treasurer. Coffey has been a member of the Board since 1996.

The Board also selected an ad hoc committee to appoint a Watauga District director to fulfill the remainder of Norris’ term, which expires at the cooperative’s 2005 Annual Membership Meeting.

For more information on the Watauga District director’s seat, contact Beverly Finney, senior vice president, public and employee relations group, at (828) 264-8894 or (828) 758-2383, extension 3224.

Local Service

When our costly postal equipment needed replacing a few years ago, your cooperative determined it would save money for members to direct payments to our local bank’s processing center in Charlotte rather than replace the equipment.

Although there is now a Charlotte address on your return envelope, we want you to know the customer service we provide to you is still hometown. Blue Ridge has local offices and friendly local people in each district office as well as in our call center based at our corporate office in Lenoir.

Please know that as we work to find ways to be efficient and accountable to our members, we are committed to providing you with the highest level of customer care.

Call Us Before You Dig

Digging and underground power don’t mix! Before you begin any project that involves digging, contact your local Blue Ridge Electric office at least 48 business hours in advance. Underground power lines can be marked for your safety by the cooperative.

Coming into contact with an energized power line isn’t only dangerous, it can also be fatal. Damage to underground lines from digging can also disrupt power to you and many other members, and repairs can be costly.

For your safety, please contact Blue Ridge Electric before breaking ground!

Photo_CEO Johnson The Perspective

An Editorial by Chief Executive Officer Doug Johnson
Blue Ridge Energies Update

As a member-owner of this cooperative, you also are an owner of its subsidiary, Blue Ridge Energies, a provider of propane, heating fuels, hearth products and commercial gasoline. The updates you receive through this column are one way we keep you informed about the cooperative’s subsidiary.

Just as it is at Blue Ridge Electric, our main priority at Blue Ridge Energies is to serve customers with personal-touch service to their highest satisfaction. That’s why I’m proud to say that our greatest accomplishment during the past harsh winter season was achieving a 9.5 customer satisfaction rating on a 10-point scale. As customers used more fuel and required more deliveries, coupled with difficult driving conditions due to ice and snow, achieving our highest ratings ever is certainly an honor for our employees.

The company has continued to grow in 2003, following a 42 percent increase in propane customers served during 2002. Currently, our Energies subsidiary is serving nearly 12,000 customers in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Catawba, and Alleghany counties.

In addition, our customers responded well to convenient, money saving programs recently implemented: Senior Citizens benefits, Budget Billing for those who equalize their fuel bills across the year, and a “Keep Full” fill program that allows us to automatically fill tanks based on past usage history.

From a financial standpoint, Blue Ridge Energies is on target with our three-year business plan. Looking at our long term vision for Blue Ridge Energies, I’m excited to say that we are beginning to establish plans for using subsidiary profits to benefit the cooperative’s member-owners and the communities we serve. In addition, Blue Ridge Energies is providing significant savings to the cooperative through the facilities charges and services agreements that the cooperative charges to the subsidiary.

It’s gratifying to see our diversification strategy bear fruit because in addition to providing a valuable service to our area, we are also keeping dollars at home to be reinvested for our members benefit.

I hope you have considered utilizing your cooperative’s subsidiary and are enjoying the excellent service provided by our Blue Ridge Energies employees. As a member-owner of Blue Ridge Electric, you have the opportunity to receive the extra benefit of doing business with a company in which you’re one of the owners.

Members - get discounted tickets to see
Lee Ann Womack
Performing July 26 7:30 p.m.,
At Kidd Brewer Stadium.
Appalachian State University - Boone

To order tickets, have your Blue Ridge Electric membership number ready and call the ASU ticket office at 1-800-841-2787 between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, or order online at www.BlueRidgeEMC.com.