Directors Elected, Updates Given at Blue Ridge Electrics Annual Membership 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 (June 12, 2004) – Four directors were elected to the board of Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation today during the cooperative’s Annual Membership Meeting held at Ashe County High School.
Re-elected to serve three-year terms on the board were: John Woodruff of Alleghany district; Jeff Joines of Caldwell district; and J.B. Lawrence of Watauga district. Elected for his first three-year term was Bradley McNeill of Ashe District, who ran for the seat of retiring Ashe district director Charles Edwards, who had served on the board for 39 years.
During the meeting, President John Woodruff welcomed the crowd of approximately 2,000, and was followed by Jeff Joines, secretary-treasurer, who reported that the cooperative is in sound financial condition and remains one of the strongest cooperatives in the nation.
Chief Financial Officer Lee Chase reaffirmed that message, adding that Blue Ridge Electric retired $1.1 million in capital credits to members in December, providing additional savings for the member-owners of the cooperative.
Woodruff updated the members on the cooperative’s study of director terms and elections, a topic he first introduced at last year’s annual meeting. Woodruff said other progressive cooperatives were studied, and member advisory committees also gave input. “What we found is that no other cooperatives in our survey group currently implement limits on the service of their boards of directors. Our member advisory committees also felt the members should continue to make their own desires known through the nominating and voting process we currently have in place,” Woodruff said.
No changes will made at this time, Woodruff said, adding that “our strong member programs and your attendance here today are evidence that members already have a number of opportunities and avenues through which to be involved in the cooperative if they choose to do so.”
Doug Johnson, chief executive officer, thanked members for attending the annual meeting. He recognized the board of directors for their work on behalf of the cooperative and gave special recognition to retiring director Charles Edwards, whose retirement became effective at this year’s annual meeting. Edwards had held the position of secretary-treasurer for a number of years and is past president of L&E Lumber as well as a veteran of World War II.
In opening comments, Johnson said “our theme for this year’s annual meeting is “Membership matters” and membership certainly does matter to each of us individually. Clearly there are benefits to being a part of a cooperative-owned electric utility. Our membership—the array of people and businesses, churches, schools, and industry that we serve in northwest North Carolina—matter to me, to our board of directors, and you matter greatly to our employee team.
“Just last month at a strategic planning session with the board, we spent a considerable amount of time discussing our vision and plans for the next few years. Out of this “membership matters” mindset, we developed our blueprint for the future.”
Johnson said plans for the future include continuing with the positive move to change wholesale power suppliers. As wholesale power costs for the cooperative rose by $7.2 million over a two-year period, Johnson initiated a study over a year ago with input from one of the nation’s leading power supply consultants and one of the most respected legal advisors to the industry. The result was a change in wholesale power suppliers in January, a move that has stabilized rates for members while maintaining adequate power supply. “We are pleased with the results,” Johnson said. “We have long-term price stability and reliability of power supply—this is good news for members.”
In another initiative for the future, Johnson said that the cooperative is at the mid-point in finishing a seven-year, $40 million investment in necessary maintenance on the transmission system originally constructed in the 1950s and 60s. “We now serve around 68,000 consumers,” he said. “Our growth rate indicates that when we finish this project we will be serving around 75,000 and in 10 years we’ll be serving 100,000.” Johnson said Blue Ridge Electric wants to be able to continue serving area homes, businesses, churches and schools with reliable power and this project will ensure that happens.
In continuing to improve system reliability for the benefit of members, Johnson also reported on the installation of fiber optics, which gives engineers and system operators better tools with which to operate the electric system and improve safety for our linemen, who often work in hazardous conditions.
In reporting on subsidiary performance, Johnson told the crowd that Blue Ridge Energies, the cooperative’s propane and heating fuels subsidiary, is performing strong. By next year, the subsidiary is scheduled to begin producing profits and these funds will be used for a special community foundation. “The subsidiary is your company, so the Energies Foundation will involve members in helping us decide how to return these dollars to our members and communities in a way that benefits the members of Blue Ridge Electric,” he said.
Finally, Johnson said the blueprint for the future includes continuing to focus on delivering extraordinary service. Part of the strategy to meet this goal was developing a district leadership team made up of the district managers and operations managers from each local office—a group that has been working on ways to tangibly meet their goal to “deliver an extraordinary experience to our members every time.”
In conclusion, Johnson said “Serving members—this is the heart of Blue Ridge Electric. We’re emphasizing that membership matters so that more of the people we serve understand that you’re more than a customer to Blue Ridge—you’re a member-owner!”
To read about more Blue Ridge Electric’s year 2003 operations, see its annual report on-line at www.BlueRidgeEMC.com.
