Click here for photos from the 2006 Annual meeting

Over 1,000 Buckeye Rural Electric Cooperative members gathered at the University of Rio Grande’s Lyne Center Saturday morning, Aug. 12, to vote in trustee elections at the not-for-profit electric utility’s 68th Annual Meeting.

The Annual Meeting, open to all members of BREC, is required by the by-laws. The event combines a business meeting with balloting on trustees who serve on the governing board.

This year, the three incumbent co-op trustees standing for re-election were unopposed. Claiming new six-year terms on the board were Dave Lester, District 2 (Lawrence County); Dennis Blakeman, District 3 (Jackson County); and Everette Holcomb, District 4 (Athens, Vinton, and Meigs counties).

Holcomb is one of the longest-serving co-op trustees in the history of BREC and Ohio, having begun his first term in 1962.

During the business session, BREC Executive Vice President and General Manager Dennis Beard announced that work associated with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster grant from the 2003 President’s Day ice storm will be extended into 2007.

“We expected to announce the completion of the FEMA project this December,” Beard explained, “but another 70 miles of damaged line were recently added. This will push the conclusion of the project out to next July or August.”

Two million feet of new conductor and 7,000-8,000 poles will have been installed when the project is finished, according to Beard.

The Annual Meeting kicked off with the Holzer Medical Center health fair, followed by a pancake breakfast in which over 900 meals were served. Each member who registered at the meeting received a cast-iron skillet with BREC’s logo on the bottom. Children age 12 and under went home with book bags, fully stocked with school supplies. Hundreds of door prizes were awarded, including freezers, half sides of hogs purchased from 4-H junior fairs, $50 electric bill credits, electronic appliances, and home, farm, and garden supplies.

BREC, serving over 19,000 meters in a nine-county area of Southeast Ohio, is owned by its membership.