Almost 750 members attended the 76th Annual Meeting of Wood County Electric Cooperative, Inc., (WCEC) held Friday afternoon, October 10, 2014, at the Governor Jim Hogg City Park in Quitman. Prior to the meeting a free concert featuring singer Myra Rolen &andthe Justin Trevino Band set a festive tone.
To kick-off the business meeting, Debbie Robinson, CEO/General Manager of WCEC, welcomed everyone and thanked them for coming. Then she gave a briefing regarding some of the cooperative’s projects and programs. After which she introduced Board President and District One Director Pat Lindley.
Lindley conducted the business portion of the membership meeting, saying in part, “This year the Board of Directors of WCEC voted to retire $1 million in capital credits which is 22.7% of 2013 margins. Checks will be mailed out this December. In total, over the last 25 years, I’m pleased to say that over 20 million dollars in capital credits have been returned to the members. This has a tremendous positive impact on our local economy.”
Lindley also announced the results of the Board of Directors election, which was held by mail ballot. Those elected to serve a three year term are Burke Bullock – District 2 near Winnsboro, Dennis Wright – District 3 around Hawkins, and Lewis Young – District 7 in the Ben Wheeler region.
Once the annual report was given and the business meeting closed, the prize drawing commenced. Little Miss Dogwood, Gabby Chaney, assisted Line Superintendent Rusty Mask who conducted this portion of the event. This year’s prizes ranged from a beautiful wooden rocker to various electronics and household items. These prizes were made possible through the generous donations of WCEC’s vendors. Prior to the annual meeting, four lucky members were awarded $250 in credit to their electric bills. These names were pulled from those returning ballots by the deadline. Those winners were: Jimmie F. Morgan, Grand Saline; Doug Barnstead, Quitman; J. Dudley Martin, Hawkins; and Rick Hill, Emory. The winner of the grand prize, a 50-inch flat screen smart TV was Dick and Melba Tompkins who reside near Winnsboro.
Debbie Robinson talked about the event and said, “The annual meeting is something the management and employees of WCEC look forward to every year. It’s a welcome time when we can inform our members and also hear from them. Our employees work hard every year to put this event together and I congratulate them on another great day, and more importantly, on another productive and successful year.”
Wood County Electric Cooperative, Inc. is a not-for-profit electric cooperative with the mission of providing member-customers reliable electric service at a reasonable rate. WCEC serves over 33,000 meters in parts of nine counties throughout northeast Texas, including Camp, Franklin, Hopkins, Rains, Smith, Titus, Upshur, Van Zandt, and Wood.