OPALCOGRAM 108
2/3/94

Doug Bechtel
January brings a lot of things. It brings end of the year bookkeeping challenges. It brings in a new budget, and it also brings in the planning for our Annual Meeting. I hope that by now I have convinced everybody that OPALCO is a cooperative. That means that OPALCO is owned by the nearly 8000 people who buy power from us. From the largest to the smallest user, every OPALCO member has a equal say in the affairs of the cooperative.

I want to spend some time talking about the planning process that leads up to our Annual Meeting. OPALCO has seven directors representing four districts. This year, the two directors from the Orcas District are up for reelection. Within the next month, the Board of Directors will appoint three to five members that live in the Orcas district to a nominating committee to select candidates. The nominating committee is urged to nominate two members for each of the positions (incumbent directors who wish to remain on the board are automatically eligible for reelection). If you are interested in serving on the nominating committee or the Board of Directors, please call Carol Merrill at 376-3520.

After the nominating committee does its work, the names of the candidates will be posted in our offices and published in the newspapers. Any individual who wants to run for the board but was not nominated can have their name added to the ballot by submitting a petition signed by fifteen OPALCO members. The OPALCO annual report is then printed and mailed to each OPALCO member. Inside this annual report is a ballot that will enable you to vote for the directors of your choice. Even though the directors live in and represent a specific district, they are elected by all the members of OPALCO.

As in the past, OPALCO’s annual meeting will be on a Washington State ferry. The date selected for the annual meeting is May 21st. The transportation arrangements will probably be the same as in prior years. We must have 100 members attend the annual meeting to have a quorum and to make the whole process official. Remember this is not 100 people but 100 members (a husband and wife usually count as one member).

At the annual meeting, you will hear reports on the cooperative’s activities over the past year. You will also have the opportunity to ask questions. This is the one day in the year that OPALCO needs your help.elp.

One of the things that really surprises me is how few people mail in the ballot. We normally receive less than 10% of the ballots back from our members. We even try to bribe our members by having a drawing for several $50 credits on your electric bill. Most cooperatives get 20-30%, or even 40%, of the ballots returned without any special effort. I am looking for any ideas that people have to help us improve the number of ballots returned.

Anyway, please mark May 21 on your calendar and plan on attending our annual meeting.

Doug Bechtel