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Doug Bechtel
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A lot of loose ends to address this time. First and most impres-sive is the response that I got to my last OPALCOgram concerning load control. I had many notes and calls from people saying "sign me up". I appreciate the enthusiasm and the willingness of our members to help reduce our electrical loads. We intend to go ahead with this, although it will probably be late summer before we start the program.
The second thing I want to talk about, and equally important, is the Roundup Program (now renamed PAL, which stands for Program for Member Assistance Funded Locally). Over 1/3 of the post cards that we mailed out were returned by our members and 2/3 of those that returned them were in favor of the program. Not only was this a phenomenal return on the number of post cards (reme-mber that if we get 10% of our annual meeting ballots back, we consider that good), but the 2/3 who expressed support for the program indicate that there are a large number of members that will participate and make the program viable.
If you will recall, this program will round your electric bill up to the next higher dollar. The amount above your actual bill will be put into a special bank account to help OPALCO members who are having financial problems. We will talk about this in more detail at our annual meeting. If you want to sign up for the program, give us a call.
The next item that I want to discuss is our upcoming annual meeting. By now you have all made plans to join us on the ferry April 29th. The schedule will be published in the newspaper and is listed inside the front cover of the annual report you will soon receive.
Speaking of the annual report, we use business reply envelopes so that you don't have to use a stamp to mail your ballot. The post office charges us 76¢ for each envelope you mail back. If you put a stamp on it, it will cost you 32¢ and won't cost us anything.
Each year we have a lot of guests that attend our annual meeting. Due to the ferry schedule and the time that we have, we don't have a lot of time for many of these guests to make a presentation. Nevertheless, they are on board and they wear name tags, so you will have the opportunity to introduce yourself and talk to them about issues that concern you. This year there will be representatives from the Bonneville Power Administration, Public Power Council (whose manager is Jerry Leone nee Clark, who grew up on Orcas) and representatives of various trade organizations and suppliers.
Of course, my favorite part of the annual meeting is the question and answer session where you get to ask me questions. In ad-dition to being put on the spot, it gives me a good indication of what issues are important to you. Your thoughts and comments are very important because a happy membership makes for a happy board of directors and a happy board of directors makes for continued employment for the manager.
Anyway, enough of this. I will see you on the ferry on the 29th.
Doug Bechtel
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