Annual
meeting a breeze on sunny Saturday
PHOTOS
2,180
member-owners of Laurens Electric Cooperative registered
at their annual meeting June 3 at the co-op's main office.
The members re-elected Leroy Blakely, Helen Abrams and F.E. Hendrix to the Board
of Trustees, representing districts 5, 6 and 8 of the co-op's service area, respectively.
All were unopposed.
During the business meeting, President and CEO J. David Wasson told members the
co-op changed its logo last year to better express Laurens Electric's fundamental
purpose: "serving our members and the communities in which we live and work.”
He pointed out that the co-op supports local events and charities and, in fall
2005, joined other Touchstone Energy cooperatives to help restore power for hurricane-stricken
communities on the Gulf Coast. "Our crews rotated among coastal states for
three weeks, working up to 18 hours a day," he noted.
"We
apply the same cooperative spirit to our members here
at home with a daily focus on service and safety," he
said. Wasson attributed the co-op's ability to restore
members' power quickly in a December ice storm to aggressive
right-of-way maintenance.
In addition to reliable service, Wasson said the co-op realizes cost is important
to members. The co-op has not increased rates in 15 years, he noted, making only
small adjustments to cover rising wholesale power costs. "We believe the
co-op is positioned to minimize future cost increases," Wasson said.
He also said the co-op fared well in 2005 customer satisfaction surveys, earning
higher scores than in 2004 and ranking near the top of the electric utility industry. "In
short, people are at the center of Laurens Electric Cooperative," Wasson
said.
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