Two new board members were elected Friday during the annual Intercounty Electric Cooperative meeting that included financial and business reports, giveaways, many events and an announcement of no rate increase in 2015.
The business meeting in Licking started with the presentation of colors by Mountain Grove Junior ROTC after an invocation by Bro. Dave Gidcumb, pastor of New Harmony Church in Salem. The Baker Family, a local family bluegrass group, set the tone of the meeting with a memorable performance of the national anthem.
The business meeting was a forum to both share the previous year’s financial and business reports and keep the members informed of progress in various projects, system upgrades and development.
IECA members re-elected incumbent Doyle E. Bradford from the south district. In the race to fill the vacancy left by retiring board member Steve Raulston, members elected Samuel S. Auxier of St. James to represent the north district. Michael Smith of Licking was elected to fill the vacancy left by retiring board member Frank Steward in the central district.
In the board president’s report, Jim White recognized the cooperative’s two retiring board members. “The wealth of wisdom and knowledge of these two directors will be greatly missed,” he said. He noted the cooperative was well served by them for the past 12 years. White discussed the $3 million in patronage capital and $1.5 million in discounts that the cooperative has paid since the last meeting. He assured the membership that the board and staff at IECA work diligently to manage the cooperative’s assets and keep costs down.
White said he was proud to share that IECA will not have a rate increase in 2015. He closed by challenging members to increase participation in Operation Round Up to 45 percent by next year, promising to serve ice cream alongside his fellow directors at the 80th annual membership meeting if accomplished. This will require an additional 3,000 accounts to sign up and participate in the charitable organization, but White is certain IECA members will respond to the call to help neighbors in need.
General Manager Aaron Bradshaw acknowledged the members for their support of the cooperative during the recent grassroots campaign, which encouraged the EPA to find a common sense solution in its power plant proposals. Missouri residents sent in more than 305,000 comments to the EPA; more than the next five states combined. Bradshaw shared his family’s story of humble beginnings, in which each generation worked hard to make sure the next was better off. He compared this to the cooperative story. Nearly 80 years ago, bringing electricity to the rural areas was tough, but those co-op pioneers worked together so that future generations would have electricity in their homes and have a better life moving forward.
The guest speaker this year was Tom Akers, retired NASA astronaut. The Eminence native discussed his space flight experiences, and shared his photos from space with the crowd. He shared his appreciation for electric cooperatives like Intercounty. Akers closed by encouraging the co-op’s youngest generation to work hard in school and pursue their dreams, so that when they grow up they too could become anything they wanted whether that be an astronaut or a lineman.
Due to the nature of cooperatives, the day was more than just a business meeting. Families gathered for a picnic atmosphere complete with great barbecue and some classic bluegrass music performed by The Baker Family. Many members also took time to visit the huge craft fair.
At the health tents, Texas County Memorial Hospital staff was on hand to provide a valuable service to the membership at a reduced price. There were several other healthcare booths set up to provide services and information: Three Rivers Hospice, Tri-County for Independent Living, Lions Club Hearing Van, Missouri Veterans Home, VFW, Primaris, CASA, Licking Bridge Builders, Rehabilitation Services for the Blind, Phelps Regional Home Care, Blistful Nirvana Massage, Metro Business College and Rinne Pharmacy.
Each registered member received a gift bag and was eligible to win one of the many prizes given away. Delores Rucker of Success claimed the grand prize, a $600 electric credit. Winners of the $100 electric credits were: Bobbie Metzger, Cook Station; Don Adamick, Salem; Bruce Brookshire, Rolla; and Jake Hutsell, Bucyrus. The winner of the 42-inch flat screen TV, courtesy of Sho-Me Power Corp., was Virgina Brophy. The winner of the 32-inch flat screen TV, courtesy of Multi-States Electric, was David Jones.
Bicycle winners were: Taylor Gale, Dakota Melton, Mya Rinne and Alyssa Goforth. Coloring contest winners were: Jenna Pyatt and Ava Walker.