Membership Matters
May 2003
As a Member-Owner of Blue Ridge Electric
You're Invited to Attend Your Annual Membership Meeting - Ashe County High School - West Jefferson - Saturday, June 14
Registration: 8 - 10 a.m.
- Members should register at the concession stand to receive a hat and tote bag and to be eligible for door prizes.
New This Year! Member's Health Fair! 8 - 10 a.m.
- Free health and fitness screenings by Ashe Memorial Hospital
Recognitions: 9:30 a.m.
- Scholarship and youth leadership winners will be recognized in the gym.
Children's Program: 9:00 a.m. to end of business session
- Air walk, weather permitting
- Games
- Balloon Art
- Face Painting
Food: 8 - 10 a.m.
- Ham biscuits, coffee, doughnuts and soft drinks in the cafeteria
Business Session: 10 a.m.
- Reports to the membership
- Director elections
Entertainment: 8 - 9:30 a.m.
- The Hayes Family
- Dixie Dawn
Exhibits: 8 - 10 a.m.
- Blue Ridge Energies, the cooperative's subsidiary offering propane, home heating fuel and hearth products
- An Appalachian Summer Festival
- Member Information Booth
- Bank Draft
- Services available at: www.BlueRidgeEMC.com
Prize Drawings (Members must be registered to win.)
- Four $50 bills per district
Grand Prize (Members must be registered to win.)
- 1994 Ford Explorer
Members Only News
-For Members of Blue Ridge Electric
Wholesale Power Cost Increase
Due to an increase in the cost of power we purchase for members, residential members will see their wholesale power cost adjustment (WPCA) listed on bills increase from $6.40 to $6.70 per 1,000 kilowatt hours (kwh) used. The change takes effect on May bills. The average Blue Ridge residential member uses approximately 800 kilowatt hours of electricity each month.
The WPCA is a direct pass-through cost reflecting fluctuations of the price of electricity on the wholesale power market and is subject to change. Nonresidential members will receive separate notification on the change in their WPCA.
"Meet the Candidates" Forums
As mentioned in last month's Enlightener, you will have the opportunity to meet this year's candidates for your cooperative’s Board of Directors during “Meet the Candidates” forums being held in each district's customer service office on the following dates: Ashe District: May 28; Watauga District: May 29; Caldwell District: June 3; and Alleghany District: June 9. Each forum will begin at 7 p.m.
The Perspective
An Editorial by Chief Executive Officer Doug Johnson
Members Encouraged to Attend Annual Meeting
One of the best ways we stay in touch with the members of this cooperative is through our Annual Membership Meeting, which is held the second Saturday of June each year. On June 14 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.
As a member-owner of Blue Ridge Electric, one of your most significant opportunities for involvement occurs at the annual meeting. It’s on this day 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 act as your voice and assist in meeting the needs of the membership as a whole.
Blue Ridge Electric’s president, John Woodruff, and I will inform you about Blue Ridge Electric’s performance in 2002, including an update on our study of how to address significant wholesale power cost increases your cooperative has incurred over the past year from North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation, our power supplier. We’ll also report on the progress of Blue Ridge Electric’s heating fuels subsidiary, Blue Ridge Energies.
Our annual meeting is also a chance to fellowship. You can enjoy food, entertainment, information booths, and - for the first time - a health fair offering many different complimentary screenings and information. In addition to other prizes, our grand prize giveaway is a refurbished Ford Explorer.
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 2002.
As a member-owner of this cooperative, I hope you’ll join us and take part in your Annual Membership Meeting. 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. I look forward to seeing you in Ashe County on June 14!
If You Can't Attend . . .
If you’re a member and 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.
To comply with the cooperative’s bylaws, there are a few simple requirements for voting by proxy. First, your proxy must include the following:
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 bylaws pertaining to proxies are available in district offices.
Published monthly by Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation for its 52,026 members.
