MIKE ELLIS,
General Manager
How is everyone? Of course, I’m asking because COVID-19 has kept many of us from visiting with family, friends and our members. This pandemic has separated all of us from our favorite people, kept us from going to restaurants and church and has even made buying necessities difficult. It has been anything but business as usual these past few months, but many of us have started adjusting to it. Even with the “shelter in place” lifted, there are still so many restrictions that we must abide by to keep the spread of the coronavirus down.
We’ve not skipped a beat
At Little River Electric, we are continuing to work hard to keep the cooperative moving forward. Keeping the power on is our first objective during the crisis. All of our departments are still up and running strong. We have not skipped a beat. New installations, repairs, payments and transfers of service have been available. Our drive-thru window has been open and working well for us—a little slower at times, but we are getting it done.
The recent storms in April added another challenge. Thankfully, our service area was spared damage and lengthy downtime. After restoring service to our members, we sent two crews to assist Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative. Their service area was hit extremely hard with numerous large tornadoes and strong winds. Thousands of their members were affected.
Save the date
Our 80th anniversary annual meeting will be August 15. This will not be our traditional meeting. Because of the coronavirus, we have made a difficult, but smart, decision to not host our annual event. This year, our meeting will be live-streamed. You will still be able to register and vote on the proposed bylaws and directors at one of several drive-thru locations across our service area. REGISTRATION TICKETS WILL NOT BE ON THE COVER OF THE MAGAZINE AS THEY HAVE IN THE PAST. TICKETS WILL BE MAILED OUT AND WILL LOOK LIKE A BILL. PLEASE BE SURE TO KEEP YOUR TICKET AND BRING IT TO REGISTRATION. Look for more information in July’s edition of South Carolina Living.
Items of business
We have several items of business that need to be voted on. The governor signed Act 56 into law last year. This law has brought about changes for all South Carolina cooperatives. We have been asked to rewrite our bylaws with more emphasis on transparency. The bylaws have been edited and rewritten to comply with the provisions of Act 95. These revisions will have to be voted on and approved by you, the members, at our annual meeting. For your review, the revisions are available below for download (or on pages 12A-G in the center of South Carolina Living magazine) with an explanation about each one.
This year, we have four trustees up for re-election. According to the new laws, we will have to offer early voting at our office the day before. This will be done for those who cannot make the meeting and each one voting will be counted for the quorum required. Members voting early will still receive a registration gift. Stay tuned, more information will be provided in July’s magazine.
Mike Ellis, General Manager
