Wood County Electric Cooperative Inc. 77th Annual Meeting

Over 800 members attended the 77th Annual Meeting of Wood County Electric Cooperative, Inc., (WCEC), held Friday afternoon, October 9, 2015, at Governor Jim Hogg City Park in Quitman. Prior to the meeting a free concert featuring singer Hannah Kirby was enjoyed by the crowd.

The keynote speaker for the event was State Representative Bryan Hughes. Then, to kick-off the business meeting, Debbie Robinson, CEO/General Manager of WCEC, briefed members about the local human connections the cooperative offers our region and also outlined some of the generation projects coming online. Robinson also announced that the Board of Directors of WCEC voted to retire $1 million in capital credits. She said checks will be mailed to members in December. She further remarked, “In total, over the last 25 years, I’m pleased to say that over 21 million dollars in capital credits have been returned to the members. This has a tremendous positive impact on our local economy.”

WCEC Board President and District One Director Pat Lindley also welcomed the crowd and announced the results of the Board of Directors election, which was conducted by mail and tabulated by accounting firm Knuckols, Duvall, Hallum & Co. Announcing the results, he said, “I’m humbled and pleased to announce my own reelection for District 1, and that of Brent Glenn, for District 4. I speak for both myself and Mr. Glenn in saying we look forward to serving another three years.”

Once the business meeting closed, the prize drawing was conducted by Director of Operations, Rusty Mask. Prizes ranged from a wooden rocker to various electronics and household items, as well as many gift certificates. These prizes were made possible through the generous donations of WCEC’s vendors.

Prior to the annual meeting, 4 lucky members were awarded $250 in credit to their electric bills. These names were pulled from those returning election ballots by the deadline. Those winners were: Jerry Brooks, Yantis; Allene Deuson, Pine Mills; DeWayne Manns, Yantis; and R. B. McCracken, Winnsboro. The winner of the grand prize at the annual meeting, a 55-inch flat screen smart TV, was Kathy Eadler, Yantis.

Debbie Robinson summed up the event by saying, “This was another great day of fellowship and celebration of the cooperative spirit and our members. It was wonderful to see all those who took the time to attend.”

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 34,000 meters in parts of nine counties throughout northeast Texas, including Camp, Franklin, Hopkins, Rains, Smith, Titus, Upshur, Van Zandt, and Wood.