Blue Ridge Electric Invites Member-Owners to Annual Meeting
For Immediate Release
Contact: Renee Whitener, Director of Corporate Communications, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, (828) 758-2383 ext. 3213; Pager:1-800-471-1323; or E-mail: Renee Whitener
West Jefferson, North Carolina (May 14, 2004) – It only happens once a year and it’s the perfect opportunity for member-owners of Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation to be involved in their cooperative: the Annual Membership Meeting. This year’s meeting will be held Saturday, June 12 at Ashe County High School with registration beginning at 8 a.m.
Every year on the second Saturday of June, Blue Ridge Electric hosts its Annual Membership Meeting to give members an opportunity to elect a slate of directors, visit informational booths and exhibits manned by cooperative employees, and enjoy food and fellowship with other cooperative members. The annual meeting is one way Blue Ridge Electric, as a member-owned cooperative electric utility, strives to inform and involve those it serves: the member-owners of the cooperative.
Making its second annual appearance at the annual meeting is a health fair conducted by Ashe Memorial Hospital. The health fair will include a variety of wellness screenings, complimentary services, and health information for all ages.
Members of the cooperative who register and are in attendance at the meeting will be eligible to win the grand prize: a 1997 Ford Explorer retired from Blue Ridge’s service fleet. Other prizes to be awarded include four $50 bills per district and a Family Gift pack from An Appalachian Summer Festival for the July 31st Outdoor Fireworks Concert sponsored by Blue Ridge Electric and featuring The Platters, Beary Hobbs’ Drifters, and Cornell Gunter Coasters. Carolina Country magazine will also be on hand with a prize drawing.
Each registered member attending will receive a complimentary hat and t-shirt. While they last, ham biscuits, drinks, fruit, and doughnuts will also be provided to members in the cafeteria prior to the business session, which begins at 10 a.m. in the gym.
Entertainers performing prior to the business session include the acoustic band Alternate Roots and Southern Gospel performers the Dixie Melody Boys. Recognitions of local students awarded scholarships from Blue Ridge Electric will take place in the gym at 9:30.
During the business session, members will hear reports on the performance of the cooperative in 2003 as well as plans for the future. Members will also vote on four nominees for four open seats on Blue Ridge Electric’s board of directors. Director nominees are: John Woodruff, president, Alleghany District; Jeff Joines, Secretary-Treasurer, Caldwell District; J.B. Lawrence, Watauga District; and Bradley McNeil, Ashe District. McNeil was nominated by the cooperative’s Nominating Committee to fill the board seat currently held by Charles Edwards of Ashe County. Edwards, a credentialed cooperative director who has served for the past 39 years and is former secretary-treasurer of the board, is retiring from the Blue Ridge Electric’s board effective at this year’s annual meeting.
Information on the annual meeting and the nominees is included in the 2003 annual report/2004 annual meeting notice being mailed to members in late May.
Before the business session, members and their guests can visit energy booths from Blue Ridge Energies, the cooperative’s heating fuels subsidiary, and informational areas on member services and programs and construction services of the cooperative.
Children attending the meeting with their parents may participate in the Children’s Program from 9 a.m. until the end of the business session.
Members are reminded to bring with them the ticket stubs printed on the back of their annual report/meeting notice. Members must be registered to be eligible for prize drawings and present to win the grand prize. Members who cannot stay for the business session may register, vote for director nominees, and leave if necessary. Those choosing this option are eligible for all prizes except the grand prize.
Members who are unable to attend the annual meeting but want to vote for directors can assign their vote by proxy to another member who will be attending. The proxy and related information is printed on the inside back cover of the annual report/meeting notice.
For more information about the annual meeting, see your 2003 annual report/2004 annual meeting notice or contact your local cooperative office.
