Nominating Committee Named

Lenoir, North Carolina (February 26, 2010) – Members of Blue Ridge Electric have the opportunity each year to elect directors from the membership during the Annual Membership Meeting, which is held annually on the second Saturday of June. As part of that process, a Nominating Committee made up of 12 cooperative members is appointed by the Board of Directors at their February board meeting. The Nominating Committee is charged with recommending a slate of qualified candidates to present to the membership to fill available Board seats.

Appointed by the Board to this year’s Nominating Committee are:

Caldwell District:

Monteen German, Kelly Melton, Elaine Setzer-Maxwell, William Hyatt, alternate and Veronica McDougle, alternate.

Watauga District:

Margaret Pierce, Rick Coffey, Colleen Murray, Web Alexander, alternate and Farrell Sheppard, alternate.

Ashe District:

Brent Graybeal, Marty Norris, Robin Marlow, Amy Dollar, alternate, and April Holdaway, alternate.

Alleghany District:

Dan Abernathy, Roger Schweickert, Donna Moore, and Greg Bare alternate.

Members of Blue Ridge Electric who are interested in running for one of four available Board seats this year should contact a member of the Nominating Committee before March 25 when they will conduct the nomination process and present their list of nominees to the Board of Directors. Contact information for members of the Nominating Committee is available by calling your local Blue Ridge Electric district office or Julie O’Dell-Michie, vice president of Human Resources and Administration, at (828) 759-8902 or by e-mail at jmichie@blueridgeemc.com. Please note that nominees must meet the minimum director qualifications listed in the cooperative’s bylaws which can be obtained at any Blue Ridge Electric office or at www.BlueRidgeEMC.com.

Board nominees are determined through a nominating committee process that includes a review of incumbent candidates and consideration of qualified new candidates, or the nomination by petition process. The nomination by petition process requires a petition to be signed by 15 or more members who are in good standing with the cooperative. The petition must be submitted on or before the first business day in April which falls on Thursday, April 1, 2010.

A slate of qualified Board candidates is submitted by the Nominating Committee or the nomination by petition processes. This election process by the membership helps ensure strong leadership of the cooperative with a diverse group of Board members reflecting skills including business experience, financial expertise, prior board experience, strategic planning, leadership abilities, and alignment with cooperative culture and values.

Blue Ridge Electric is a cooperative utility serving some 73,000 member-owners in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, and Alleghany counties and parts of Avery, Wilkes and Alexander counties.