MARCH IS CO-OP ANNUAL MEETING MONTH

March is your co-op’s annual meeting month. This year, Paulding Putnam Electric Cooperative will continue with our practice of doing a “virtual,” or online, member meeting. This meeting will be conducted on its traditional day, the third Saturday in March. It will be broadcast on YouTube and Facebook at 10 a.m on March 18, 2023. The meeting will feature the normal reports from the chairman, CEO, and treasurer, and members can win prizes like bill credits for tuning in and commenting. The meeting agenda, year-end financial information, and other details on how to watch the meeting are included in this issue.

George Carter PRESIDENT AND CEO

Traditionally, the annual meeting was a time to announce results of the Board of Trustees elections. This year, no formal election was held because all incumbents ran unopposed for reelection. Joe Kohnen, District 1; John Saxton, District 6; and Ron Black, District 9, will be reelected by affirmation at the annual meeting. We are incredibly pleased to have all three of our trustees back for another three-year term.

I have been asked many times about the virtual annual meeting and, “When are we going back to the in-person annual meeting?” We started doing virtual meetings during COVID. This turned out to be highly successful. In fact, last year more than 400 people tuned in online to watch the annual meeting — more than had attended the last few in-person meetings.

There are a couple of other considerations as to why the online annual meeting broadcast is preferred to the in-person annual meeting:

1. Accessibility. Members can watch the annual meeting at their convenience. They do not have to be in Paulding, Ohio, at a specific time; they can watch when their schedule permits, even after the broadcast has ended. Making these meetings accessible to a larger audience is key, since transparency is a must for us as a cooperative.

2. Cost. It costs a lot to put on a full, in-person annual meeting. Typically, the cost for an in-person meeting was about $35,000. After seeing the attendance numbers, the board decided that money would be better spent holding a member appreciation day.

The member appreciation day allows more people to attend, gets more families involved, and allows members to come at times convenient for them, since it is an allday event. It also still gives us all an opportunity to be together in person and enjoy fellowship.

This year, PPEC’s Member Appreciation Day event will be held at the Paulding County Fairgrounds on July 22, 2023. Please follow our social media, web updates, and this magazine for more information.

I hope you all tune in to the virtual annual meeting on March 18th and I look forward to seeing everyone at member appreciation day on July 22.

Official Notice

Paulding Putnam Electric Cooperative, Inc. 87th Annual Meeting of Members broadcast

Saturday, March 18, 2023 beginning at 10 a.m.

Streamed on Facebook and YouTube

Notice is hereby given that the annual meeting of the members of Paulding Putnam Electric Cooperative will be streamed, starting at 10 a.m., on our Facebook and YouTube pages. Links may be found at www.PPEC.coop/2023AnnualMeeting

The following matters will be discussed and acted upon:

1. Reports of the trustees and officers.