2023 Annual Meeting Minutes & Financial Report

Little River Electric Cooperative, Inc. held its 2023 membership meeting on September 16, 2023, at 12:30 p.m. by real-time virtual meeting streamed on its Facebook page.

Jeff Lewis, General Manager, gave a brief introduction to the meeting. Mr. Lewis then called Travis Burriss, Chairman of the Little Riber Board of Trustees, to speak.

Mr. Burriss called the 83rd Annual Meeting of Little River to order. Steven Hughes, Right-of-Way Manager, gave the invocation. The National Anthem was shown followed by the Pledge of Allegiance given by local students. Mr. Burriss called for a motion to approve minutes from the 2022 Annual Meeting. There were no proposed changes, and the motion carried. Mr. Burriss thanked the eighth Trust Board members overseeing the disbursement of “Operation Roundup.” These members are Jean Smith, Karen McMullan, Linda Kidd, Gale King, James Bach, Janice Hawthorne, Marissa Busbee, and John Calhoun. Mr. Burriss also thanked all members that participated in rounding up their bill to the next dollar. This money goes to help members that need help regarding emergencies. In the last year, the Cooperative had $40,000.00 contributed to these funds and was able to assist 50 members and organizations throughout the community. He further thanked those that donated money at the voting sites for the annual food drive.

Mr. Burriss recognized and thanked the Credential and Election Committee members who worked with general counsel in this year’s elections. These members are Don Campbell, Brad Cuttill, T.A. Ferguson, Gerald Hanks and Marissa Busbee.

Mr. Burriss thanked and recognized the Cooperative’s current Board of Trustees for their commitment and service to the Cooperative. These members are: Terry Ricketts, Vice President, District Five; Patsy Wilson, Secretary- Treasurer, District Six; Wayne Gary, District Eight; Wayne Erwin, District Seven; Mike Johnson, District Three; Robert Parker, District Two; and Bill Davis, District Four. Finally, Mr. Burriss recognized Jeff Lewis for his first two years with the Cooperative. He then turned the meeting over to Mr. Lewis.

Jeff Lewis, General Manager, thanked the Trustees. He spoke on statistics of the Cooperative: that we have 2200 miles of line serving almost 15,000 meters. The Cooperative has a staff of 32 employees. He greatly thanked the employees for their hard work. He spoke on potentially going back to an in-person annual meeting in 2024.

Mr. Lewis then spoke on the financial aspects of the Cooperative, indicating that it is in sound financial standing. This year, Little River will return over $300,000 in capital credits in the form of bill credits and checks to those who received electricity in 1998 and 2022. Little River’s system grew 3.1 percent during calendar year 2022, with 381 meters added to the system. This was a 4 percent increase over 2020. Earlier this year, Little River completed the transition to a new accounting and billing software. He is confident that the update will be beneficial to members.

Mr. Lewis then shared some of the accomplishments and milestones Little River achieved during the last year. He spoke on safety being our number one priority. The Cooperative tracked no lost time due to accidents. The new record for no lost time is now 1,355 days (over three and a half years). He then spoke on the right-of-way maintenance program. At the end of this calendar year, we will be doing a five-year rotation. The Cooperative also does assessments on damaged poles on our system. Mr. Lewis further spoke on the system-wide maintenance program, which includes an annual pole inspection complete on a ten-year cycle. We recently replaced 120 poles in the Crescent and Donalds substation area.

Mr. Lewis concluded by extending his gratitude to the employees and urged members to remain actively engaged and voice their thoughts and concerns. Mr. Lewis then turned the meeting over to John Andrew Bishop, general counsel for the Cooperative.

Mr. Bishop informed the Cooperative that a quorum has been met to hold the annual meeting. He said that proper notification was submitted to all members in advance of this meeting as required by the Cooperative’s bylaws and the South Carolina Code. A notice was also posted on the website. He then discussed the meeting of the Credential and Election Committee which occurred at his office on August 25th. This year, the Cooperative has four districts up for re-election. District One: with one candidate, Travis Burriss, the incumbent, he has met all qualifications to run for reelection. District Four: the incumbent, Bill Davis, has met all requirements to run and an additional candidate, Joe M. “Mike” Price, has also met all requirements to run for this seat. District Five: with one candidate, Terry Ricketts, the incumbent, he has met all requirements to run for re-election. And finally, District Six: with one candidate, Patsy Wilson, she has met all requirements to run for re-election. Mr. Bishop then turned the meeting back over to Board President Travis Burriss.

There was no unfinished business or new business. Mr. Burriss, upon motion and second, adjourned the meeting.

PATSY W. WILSON
Secretary-Treasurer

The financial report for year ending December 31, 2023