May 27, 2019 Home
Powell Valley Electric Cooperative (PVEC) is a member-owned corporation. As a member of this corporation, you have a voice in its management and government. How? A meeting is held each year when members vote to elect representatives who meet regularly and make important decisions for your cooperative.
This year’s annual meeting is set for Saturday, September 21 at Thomas Walker High School in Ewing, Virginia. Each year there is an election for three members of the Board of Directors. The seats up for election this year are Districts 4 (J. Allen Parkey), 5 (John Short, MD), and 9 (Gary Russell). There is also a bylaw amendment on open board meetings to be voted upon by the membership.
At the annual meeting only members who are physically present can vote. In order to enable more members to vote, some rural electric cooperatives now use mail-in ballots. These ballots are mailed to members some weeks before the annual meeting. Voters mail completed ballots back to an independent third party who tallies the votes and provides the results to the cooperative at the annual meeting.
For those who attended the 2018 annual meeting in Sneedville, you will remember the very long lines. Many of us had to wait about two hours to vote. It was quite hot; and many people were unable to wait in the long lines, as they had other activities planned for the day. They also had to miss out on the meal prepared by PVEC.
VOTING BY MAIL-IN BALLOT would make it possible for members who work on the Saturday of the annual meeting to vote. Members who are handicapped or ill may not be able to leave their homes to attend the annual meeting and vote. In 2018, many members came, saw the long lines, and left. All these members have as much right to vote as do members who can spend hours waiting in line and attend the meeting.
Voting by mail-in ballot also reduces staff time spent preparing for and working on the same day voting. The annual meeting could proceed as usual without staff moving office equipment, dealing with confusion about voting, and long lines involved.
With the mail-in ballot, there is no waiting in line. There is no question about the member name on the electric bill. We encourage PVEC to consider using a mail-in ballot for the 2020 annual meeting and board election.
As a point of information, it’s not too late to run for board. If you live in one of the three districts where the board position is up for election and submit at least 15 valid signatures of members in good standing, you are eligible. Signatures must be submitted to a PVEC office not less than 60 days prior to the annual meeting, which is September 21.
Everyone needs to learn more about our electric cooperative. For more information, go to pve.coop.
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