Democracy The more you put in, the more you get out E
very year Northeast Oklahoma Electric Coopera ve holds at least four membership mee ngs: three
district mee ngs and an annual mee ng. One of the most important results of these mee ngs is the nomina on and selec on of candidates for the board of trustees. These are the nine people we entrust to give strategic direc on and ensure the co-op has good governance.
Cindy Hefner Manager of Public Rela ons
Northeast Connection is published monthly to communicate with the members of Northeast Oklahoma Electric Cooperative.
Offi cers and Trustees
PRESIDENT - Dandy A. Risman, District 5 VICE PRESIDENT - John L. Myers, District 4
SECRETARY-TREASURER - Benny L. Seabourn, District 2
ASST. SECRETARY-TREASURER - Everett L. Johnston, District 3 Harold W. Robertson, District 1 Sharron Gay, District 6
In 1844 when the 28 Rochdale pioneers created the modern coopera ve movement, they were insistent that all members have the right to vote. Unless we consistently remind ourselves about how precious this right to vote truly is we can easily take it for granted.
As the u lity industry is experiencing some of the biggest changes since its founding, electric co-ops need your ac ve par cipa on. As a member of a co-op, you have the right (and some may even say the obliga on) to help set the direc on for the co-op. This is a cri cal diff erence between co-ops and other electricity providers, such as investor-owned u li es (IOUs) or municipally-owned systems.
With IOUs, you are a customer and there is no required ownership. IOU stockholders live far away and have no direct a achment to the organiza on other than seeking a return on their investment. Communi es served by municipally-owned systems may vote for the mayor or city council, but the connec on to the electric service is very indirect.
The board of trustees of a co-op makes important strategic decisions for the organiza on, while the opera ons (day-to-day running of the business) is entrusted to the employees. Examples of decisions boards make that impact all the members are:
• the level of involvement in communi es
• selec on of management employees and legal counsel • off ering other services such as broadband •
approving the budget for the co-op
So when the next elec on for the board comes around you may want to ask the candidates where they stand on these or other issues, or you may chose to become a candidate yourself. As locally-owned businesses in the community, electric co-ops have the opportunity to introduce neighbors to neighbors and rekindle that spirit of democracy at the grassroots level. We can encourage respec ul debate about the role we see our co-op playing in our community.
Visit the informa on on pages 6 and 7 of this publica on. It provides informa on on upcoming membership mee ngs, as well as the qualifi ca ons of a candidate for elec on to the board of trustees. And, remember EVERY VOTE COUNTS.
James A. Wade, District 7 Bill R. Kimbrell, District 8 Jimmy Caudill, District 9
Management Team Anthony Due, General Manager
Larry Cisneros, P.E., Manager of Engineering Services Susanne Frost, Manager of Offi ce Services Cindy Hefner, Manager of Public Relations Tim Mixson, Manager of Operations
Connie Porter, Manager of Financial Services
Vinita headquarters: Four and a half miles east of Vinita on Highway 60/69 at 27039 South 4440 Road. Grove offi ce: 212 South Main.
Business hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Offi ces are closed Saturday, Sunday and holidays. Available 24 hours at: 1-800-256-6405
If you experience an outage: 1. Check your switch or circuit breaker in the house and on the meter pole to be sure the trouble is not on your side of the service.
2. When contacting the cooperative to report an outage, use the name as it appears on your bill, and have both your pole number and account
number ready.
Please direct all editorial inquiries to Communications Specialist Clint Branham at 800-256-6405 ext. 9340 or email
clint.branham@
neelectric.com.
This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
If you wish to fi le a Civil Rights program complaint of dis- crimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, found on-line at
http://www.ascr.usda. gov/complaint_fi
ling_cust.html, or at any USDA offi ce, or call (866) 632-9992 to request the form. You may also write a letter containing all of the information request- ed in the form. Send your completed complaint form or letter to us by mail at U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Offi ce of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Av- enue, S. W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, by fax (202) 690-7442 or email at
program.intake@
usda.gov.
June 2017 - 3
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128