It’s hard to believe it is time to write another president’s report from the board of directors for REMC. It seems like I just finished last year’s.

It has been another positive year for your Fulton County REMC. The board meets every month to monitor the co-op’s finances and other activities. The board also reviews and updates policies affecting the co-op’s operations as needed.

Board member Eric Walsh resigned this past year. We are so grateful for his years of service. The board followed the procedure stated in the bylaws to select a replacement for him. We conducted interviews to select the new board member and selected Blain Hizer to fill the remainder of the term.

Leander Hoover represents Fulton County on the Indiana Electric Cooperatives board, and I represent Fulton County on the Wabash Valley Power Alliance (WVPA) board, where I serve as chairman.

The co-op has added two new faces this year. Kelley Kitchen was hired as our CFO, and Evan Howard was to the line department. The line department has been busy upgrading lines and adding new service installations. Fulton County REMC hired a contractor to help with the new line builds. Approximately 30 miles of line were built or replaced this past year. The plan is to continue with the replacement of aged lines.

The co-op continues to pay out capital credits. All co-op members should have received their checks in December.

As I stated last year, we are working on building another substation. That process is in the engineering phase. New construction is to start in 2025. It will be located on Hwy 25, north of Rochester. Another project that the board and staff will take on this year is a cost-of-service study. It has been 10 years since we completed the last one. We need to do this as all materials, labor, and the cost of power continue to rise.

I hope you will take a few minutes to come by the Fulton County REMC building on June 24 for the Annual REMC Meeting. We will have a drive-thru event starting at noon and ending at 6 p.m. While there, members will be able to vote for your board members. Every member attending will receive a bill credit. There will also be drawings for bill credits at our Facebook live meeting at 6:30 p.m. I would like to encourage you as a member to thank your co-op employees for their dedicated service to us, the membership.

Sincerely yours,
DENNIS BURTON
President