LEC members listen to reports on their cooperative.
WE ARE DIFFERENT, as our Annual Report theme put it, and we’re making a positive difference in the Upstate — and beyond.
Members who attended our 2017 Annual Meeting June 3 heard how from my friend Mike Couick, head of the state association of electric co-ops. Mike shared a story about lessons learned growing up in Clover — “right up 49,” as he noted — on an electric cooperative-served farm.
Mike said he and his brother learned to share, be it the good things in life, like their mother’s sweet potato pie, or the bad, such as the death of a family member. “That together thing gets us through lots of good things and it gets us through lots of challenging things,” he said.
Mike graciously noted that LEC has had a similar impact on the 19 other consumer-owned electric cooperatives around the state — “the co-op family,” as Mike accurately calls it. For instance, he noted that LEC’s successful Community Solar program is a model for our sister co -ops. And our 75 Acts of Kindness program, developed to mark our 75th anniversary in 2014, was adopted by 10 other co-ops celebrating their anniversaries. “So 75 Acts of Kindness times 10 became 750 Acts of Kindness,” he noted.
“Once you share that first piece of sweet potato pie,” he added, “ ‘shared’ feels good!” LEC’s Pay It Forward program likewise allows our employees to feel the benefit in sharing with local people in need. As Mike said, “Tell me something better than that!”
But, he added, “You learn to share on the things that are challenges and problems.” Attitude is key, he said, asking, “Are you willing to be optimistic?”
Mike noted how LEC and our fellow co -ops are working together on challenges such as cybersecurity and on the delays and costs of constructing additional nuclear power generation at Jenkinsville. “We can get through it if view it as an opportunity,” he noted.
Like Mike, I feel sure that we can prevail through cooperation, sharing and optimism. Thanks to the 2,852 members who shared their co-op spirit on June 3!
J. David Wasson President and Chief Executive Officer
Dotsy Clayton knows you have to arrive early to Laurens Electric Cooperative’s Annual Meeting to get the full selection of baked goods at the WIRE tent. She ended up choosing the glazed pound cake in the foreground.
Many members had their picture taken in the Tesla brought to the meeting by Central Electric Power Cooperative, the power supply aggregator for LEC and other co-ops around the state.
The Tesla’s “batwing” rear doors make it look a little like the Batmobile – just right for Harrison Terry, 5, and his bat-friend.
Honey and the Hot Rods perform for the membership.
What’s in the box? Harold Yelton’s prize – an Apple Watch! This was the Early Bird prize.
Parker Ziemer took emcee Lou Green up on his challenge to whistle the theme to The Andy Griffith Show. He won a cash prize for his effort.
Jorge Garcia won a cash prize after proving that meeting day, June 3, was his birthday. (He was born in 1940.)
Sara Byars was the oldest person present – she’s 100! Born April 6, 1917, she won a cash prize, too.
Veterans stand for recognition. That’s John Chamberlain (right), a Navy veteran of the Vietnam War who retired at the rank of E-4, and William Watkins (left), an Air Force veteran who served from 1958 to 1980, retiring as a master sergeant.
President & CEO David J. Wasson Jr. addresses the membership.
LEC members listen to reports on their cooperative.
Mike Couick, the CEO of the state association of electric co-ops, shared stories about his own background growing up in the Upstate – and on co-op lines. Couick is a Clover native.
The real “serious business” begins as John Luke Hendrix pulls tickets for the prize drawing.
Emcee Lou Green has the members’ undivided attention as he calls prize winners’ names. And the winners are…
Martha Traynham wins a drill.
Betty Bolden wins a folding chair.
John Thibodeau wins a fryer.
Rhonda Drake wins a mixer.
Wayne Reid wins the 55-inch Ultra HD Vizio TV.
Rufus McMahand wins the hybrid gas and charcoal grill.
Geoffrey Handel of Greenville wins the grand prize, a 2008 Chevy Trailblazer.