2010-11_MM

November 2010

Bylaws Amendments Give Members More Options, Convenience in Director Elections Voting to elect directors of your cooperative will be easier next year with recent amendments approved by the board of directors to the Blue Ridge Electric Bylaws.

Did you know?

Members of a cooperative elect peers — other members — to serve on the board of directors to lead and guide their cooperative. That’s known as democratic member control and it’s one of the advantages of belonging to a cooperative!

The key change is that members will no longer have to travel to the annual meeting in order to cast their vote for their choice for directors. Next year, members will have two options: they can vote by mail or attend the annual meeting to vote in person.

In the spring, all members will receive a mailed ballot that contains information about each nominee for any open board seats with the option to return their ballot by mail or attend the annual meeting to cast their vote.

With a service area stretching from the foothills to the mountains, along with busy weekend schedules for many member households, this new “vote by mail” option should provide a better opportunity for more members to become involved in the democratic process of electing directors of their cooperative.

Serving as a director requires a significant amount of time, training and responsibilities, so Bylaws changes were also made to strengthen director qualification requirements to help ensure members continue to receive qualified, strong leadership for their cooperative.

Furthermore, a director nominee application process has been developed and all interested candidates will be reviewed by the appropriate member committees.

The updated Bylaws, including specific changes, are included as an insert in this issue of Carolina Country magazine. You can also find the cooperative’s Bylaws at www.BlueRidgeEMC.com or at any Blue Ridge Electric district office.

More information will be sent to members in the coming months leading up to next year’s director election. We look forward to having more members participate in their cooperative through director elections and hope you find the new changes convenient and simple!

Carolina Country NOVEMBER 2010 25

BlueRidge-1110.indd 25

10/8/10 3:09 PM

Your board of directors is to be commended for making recent changes to modernize the voting system used to elect directors. Their goal was to make it easier for more members to be involved in the most basic — and perhaps most important — part of cooperative membership: electing your representatives to the governing board of Blue Ridge Electric.

For many years, we’ve encouraged members to join us at the Annual Membership Meeting where you could cast your vote for directors. You now have a simpler, more convenient way to exercise your member right to vote and we hope all members will vote by mail ahead of time. However, you still have the option to vote at the annual meeting and we hope you’ll join us on June 11 at the new Watauga High School as we celebrate our 75th anniversary!

This spring, all members will receive a packet containing a ballot/proxy form, information on each director candidate, and the cooperative’s annual report. To ensure confidentiality, a professional election management firm approved by our Credentials and Election Committee, will handle mailing, receiving and counting the ballots.

All you have to do is select your choice of directors and mail the form by the due date.

It will be that simple and we hope you’ll take a few moments to vote. After all, electing directors reflects one of the Seven Cooperative Principles that provides you with the cooperative

ec advantage: democratic member u ti ve control. Blue Ridge Electric has Offi cer Doug Johnson a 12-member board of directors elected to rotating three-year terms and members typically have the opportunity to vote for four open seats each year.

Ex

Nothing demonstrates the cooperative advantage quite like the ability of members to elect the directors of the cooperative from among their own ranks. One of the benefits of belonging to a cooperative is your directors — those who chart the course and set policy — are members with vested interests in Blue Ridge Electric just like yourself.

f hie yC An Editorial b

The True Value of Membership

The director election process is important because your board acts as the members’ voice in setting policies, rates, and strategic direction to benefit the cooperative as a whole. Serving as a director involves important responsibilities and many hours of time not only for attending regular board and committee meetings but also for training on the complex business of electricity production and distribution, strategic planning, financial decision making, regulatory and legal issues, and more. Blue Ridge directors also take a series of courses to obtain their Credentialed Cooperative Director Certification to ensure they’re serving you to their fullest abilities.

Unlike other types of businesses, Blue Ridge Electric is a cooperative owned by you — the members we serve.That gives members the highest level of accountability you can receive from a service provider. And it’s the reason we work so diligently at delivering good value in the areas you’ve told us are most important: providing you with the most affordable, reliable electricity possible delivered by employees and staff who care about you and our local communities.

We Need Your Photos, Stories!

Blue Ridge Electric will celebrate its 75th anniversary next year! We’re inviting our members to join us in the celebration by sharing your photographs and stories.

Submissions will be handled with care and returned to their owner. Photos and stories can be mailed to: •

Renee Whitener, Director of Public Relations, PO Box 112, Lenoir, NC 28645

•

Or emailed to: rwhitener@ BlueRidgeEMC.com or Blue Ridge Electric’s Facebook site.

One of the best ways to ensure Blue Ridge Electric continues providing outstanding member value for you and all members is to participate in the democratic election process and vote for your directors. We hope you agree that the new mail-in ballot option will provide the ease and convenience needed for a record level of member participation in next year’s director’s elections!

26 NOVEMBER 2010 Carolina Country

BlueRidge-1110.indd 26

10/8/10 3:09 PM

More News Payment Convenience Options:

Pay Your Blue Ridge Bill at Walmart!

To provide members with another convenient payment option, you can now pay your electric bill at any Walmart location across the country.

“For many busy members, having the option to pay while they’re at Walmart any time of the day or night — or on weekends — will be a welcome, easy alternative,” said Sandra Hicks, director of member services. “This new partnership with Walmart is part of our continuing effort to provide members with convenient, costeffective bill payment options.”

All members have to do to make a payment is to bring their current Blue Ridge Electric bill or bill stub to Walmart’s customer service counter and pay with cash or a PIN-based debit card. If members are signed up for the cooperative’s “pay as you go” program, FlexPay, they can still make payments at Walmart. Since these members don’t get a bill, they should bring their FlexPay account card when paying at Walmart.

Members should keep in mind a few quick facts about the new convenience option. Walmart will charge members a convenience fee of 88 cents for the three business day option and $1.88 for the next business day option. A receipt, which should be retained for your records, will be provided at Walmart upon payment.

To avoid possible fees or disconnection and to ensure adequate processing time, payments made at Walmart should be made at least five business days before the due date.

For payment verification, call us at (800) 451-5474 and provide the member services representative with the 10-digit code printed at the bottom of your Walmart cash payment receipt.

New Technology Being Installed in Watauga County Specialized Technical Services (Team STS), a contractor for Blue Ridge Electric, is currently installing automated smart meters in the cooperative’s Watauga County service area.

The automated metering infrastructure (AMI) being installed across the Blue Ridge Electric system holds many benefits for both members and the cooperative. In addition to providing a powerful tool that helps the cooperative further improve and monitor the reliable flow of electricity to members, AMI brings the latest technology to the metering and electric system as a whole. With AMI, energy usage and load information is communicated over the power lines to the cooperative with precise accuracy. This will offer members detailed information about their home or business energy usage, which could be used to help better control energy costs and improve efficiency.

Blue Ridge anticipates that every member will have smart meter technology installed at their home by December 31, 2010.

Carolina Country NOVEMBER 2010 27

BlueRidge-1110.indd 27

10/8/10 3:09 PM

Members Only NEWS

~For Members of Blue Ridge Electric

CORPORATE OFFICE PO Box 112 • Lenoir, NC 28645

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Doug Johnson EDITOR Renée R. Whitener PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR Susan Simmons DISTRICT OFFICES Caldwell (828) 754-9071 Watauga (828) 264-8894 Ashe (336) 246-7138 Alleghany (336) 372-4646 Wilkes (800) 451-5474 (800) 448-2383 PowerLine® (PowerLine® is an automated account information and outage reporting system.)

Toll Free 1 (800) 451-5474 (for members outside the service area) To report an outage at any time, call one of the numbers listed above.

OFFICE HOURS 8:30 am - 5:00 pm, Monday - Friday Night deposit available.

Visit us on the Web: www.BlueRidgeEMC.com

Time is Running Out for Claiming Energy Efficiency Tax Credits Only a short time remains to tackle home improvement projects if you want to take advantage of energy efficiency tax credits authorized under the federal stimulus bill. Measures that qualify include replacing windows, doors, or roofs with materials that reduce your home’s heat loss or gain; adding insulation; replacing certain air conditioners; and installing air-source heat pumps, hot-water boilers, and biomass stoves.

You can recover 30 percent up to $1,500 — of costs associated with buying and installing heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and biomass stoves.

Installation costs are not covered for windows, doors, roofing, and insulation.

ENERGY STAR, a joint program of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, provides guidelines on what qualifies for the tax credit at www.energystar.gov/taxcredits. Tax credits are especially beneficial as they directly reduce, dollar for dollar, any taxes you owe.

If you’re interested in renewable energy, the government also offers a renewable energy tax credit that expires Dec. 31, 2016. That credit covers 30 percent of the cost of materials and installation for solar panels, solar water heaters, and geothermal heat pumps, for both new and existing homes.

Be sure to keep your receipts and your Manufacturer’s Certification Statement (a signed statement from the manufacturer certifying that the product or component qualifies for the tax credit) for your records.

Then claim the credit on your 2010 taxes using IRS Form 5695.

Source: ENERGY STAR, Database or State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency

28 NOVEMBER 2010 Carolina Country

BlueRidge-1110.indd 28

10/8/10 3:09 PM