Teague to Retire from Blue Ridge Electric Board of Directors

For Immediate Release

Contact: Renee Whitener, Director of Public Relations, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, (828) 758-2383 ext. 3213; Pager: 1-800-471-1323; or E-mail: Renee Whitener

Lenoir, North Carolina (March 3, 2006) – Oren Teague, long time director of Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, is retiring from the board of directors effective June 10, the date of the cooperative’s 2006 Annual Membership Meeting.

Teague has represented Caldwell County on Blue Ridge Electric’s board of directors since he was first elected in 1966. Teague currently serves on the board’s Finance and Rates committee and has been awarded a Board Leadership Certificate. A farmer and retired merchant, Teague is a charter member of Dudley Shoals Ruritan Club, is a member of the Veteran of Foreign Affairs and of the American Legion. He is a member of Ebenezer Methodist Church and is a former church trustee, Sunday School teacher and member of the Administrative Board.

At their meeting on March 23, the cooperative’s Nominating Committee will select one or more nominees for Teague’s Caldwell District board seat as well as nominees for three board seats in the cooperative’s other directorate districts (Alleghany, Ashe, and Watauga). The list of nominees will be posted in each Blue Ridge Electric office.

In addition to nominations made by the cooperative’s Nominating Committee, members can have their name placed on the ballot through the nomination by petition process. The cooperative’s by-laws require that nominations by petition be made at least 60 days prior to the Annual Membership Meeting (being held June 10 this year) and be signed by 15 or more cooperative members, with each signing his or her name as it appears on their electric bill. Deadline for nominations by petition is April 10. Nominees by petition will also be posted in each of the cooperative’s offices after the deadline date.

The following are qualifications to serve as a director of Blue Ridge Electric:

Must be receiving electric service from Blue Ridge Electric at their primary residence
Must not be a close relative of an incumbent director or of an employee of the cooperative
Must not have had their membership suspended at any time during the 12 months preceding the annual meeting
Must be at least 18 years old
Must not be employed by or in a position to financially gain from a competing enterprise of the cooperative or its subsidiary, or a business selling electric energy or supplies to the cooperative.
Must not have been employed with the cooperative for the previous six years if a nominee is a former cooperative employee

Complete, detailed information on serving as a cooperative director and the nomination by petition process can be found in the cooperative’s by-laws which are available at any Blue Ridge Electric office or on the internet at www.BlueRidgeEMC.com.

Information about all board nominees will be mailed during late May to every Blue Ridge Electric member. Board members will be elected by a vote of the membership during the Annual Membership Meeting to be held Saturday, June 10, at Ashe County High School in West Jefferson.

Members interested in more information about the Caldwell district directorate seat should contact Beverly Finney, vice president, by calling 758-2383, extension 3224.