WFEC Celebrates 71st Annual Meeting/Member Appreciation Day

The event was held at the Graceville Civic Center and included activities for children and adults alike. One of the most popular was a face painting booth including clowns making balloon animals. Another popular event included safety presentations conducted by Donnie Worley, Manager of Loss Control & Transportation and David Brannon, Staking Technician. Musical entertainment by The River Town Girls, kept the crowd entertained before the official business meeting was held. Product demonstrations of the potential energy savings of compact fluorescent lamps versus incandescent light bulbs and other products and services offered by WFEC were also provided to member-owners.

Bill Rimes, President & CEO addressed the member-owners in attendance about the importance of the cooperative’s mission. “Our Board must take bold action and often tackle difficult subjects to best serve our consumers and protect co-op assets,” said Rimes. “Soaring fuel costs have become an unfortunate reality across our nation,” he continued.

He assured members that during the turbulent times our country is facing, WFEC shares its members’ concerns about the impact of high fuel prices. “WFEC is impacted by higher fuel costs, much like our members,” Rimes said.

With the rising costs of fossil fuels to produce energy and construction materials to build new power plants, Rimes believes meeting a projected 40 percent increase in electric demand in the next decades will be an expensive challenge for utilities across the nation. He also believes the federal government should take an active role and provide strong leadership when addressing the issues of climate change and green house gas emissions.

To help our industry stress this need, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) has launched a national grassroots campaign, “Our Energy, Our Future.” This is a dialog with citizens that encourages open discussion between co-ops, member-owners and elected officials about the challenges associated with keeping the lights on at affordable rates. “We must encourage our legislators to strike a balance that meets environmental objectives while ensuring that we continue to provide a safe, reliable and affordable supply of power,” said Rimes.

In closing, the cooperative’s CEO assured members that the cooperative remains extremely strong and expects unprecedented growth for the four counties it serves. “We expect 2008 to be a banner year as we experience a 30 percent increase in kilowatt sales due to the addition of major loads such as Green Circle Bio Energy, the Graceville prison, a saw mill and many other new industries,” said Rimes.

When Rimes concluded his remarks, the results of the board of trustee election in District 5 were announced by McDaniel & Associates, the certified public accounting firm that oversees WFEC’s trustee elections. In the District 5 race, incumbent A.C. Miles received 3,498 votes; while his opponent, James Garrett received 1,322.

Following the voting announcements, prize drawings completed the morning’s festivities, which included a 3 kW generator awarded to Charles Dykes of Sneads, Florida and an electric grill awarded to W.R. Taylor of Bonifay, Florida.  Meeting attendees also enjoyed complimentary BBQ sandwiches prepared by Southern Country Barbeque, and soft drinks which were served by the Vernon High School cheerleaders.