Matthew C. Deaton

More than 600 members and their families enjoyed Alaskan white fish from Brownstown Electric and desserts from The Sweet Life.

More than 600 members and their families enjoyed a great night at the 80th annual meeting of the cooperative. Kirby Staley brought live music in the auditorium, directors were reseated, and briefings from Orange County REMC board members and me were heard. There were over 40 door prizes given away as well. Mary Lea Brown of Orleans was the grand prize winner. She took home $500 in cash.

“Orange County REMC works hard to provide members safe, reliable electric service at the lowest cost but also strives to be more than that,” said Eugene Roberts, board president. “We want to be the company you think of for good information and answers no matter what the question.”

Orange County REMC directors Eugene Roberts, District 1, and Ben Lindsey, District 5, were re-elected in their respective races. I want to congratulate the incumbent directors on winning re-election to another three-year term and continuing the work they have dedicated to the cooperative. The REMC’s seven-member board of directors serves staggered, three-year terms with the next year again having two directors elected. Brownstown Electric was on-site cooking Alaskan white fish for the main course, which garnered rave reviews. I would like to thank The Sweet Life for providing the great dessert selection and Paoli School Corporation for allowing us to hold this event at its facilities.

Your feedback on the annual meeting venue and activities is always welcome, so please let us know how you thought the annual meeting went. If you didn’t fill out the survey, give us a call at the office, we certainly want to hear from you.

The business meeting included an update on the new 1 MW solar array to be located just west of Highway 37S and just south of White River Co-op. Construction has begun with a completion date scheduled for August. I also discussed a feasibility study that will provide valuable information to help the cooperative determine the possibility of providing high speed internet in the future. The results of the study are anticipated in September.

Orange County REMC continues to make improvements related to business efficiency, expense management, and enhancements to the services we provide. We are always just a phone call away, so please never hesitate to contact us if you have a question.

Thank you!

We appreciate all the organizations and businesses who were part of our vendor fair at the annual meeting. Thanks to the following groups that helped make our meeting more valuable to our members:

• Paoli Health and Living
• Adaptive Home Health
• Southern Indiana Center for Independent Living
• Healthy Families
• South Central Area Special Ed Co-op
• IU Health Paoli tobacco education/cessation
• Indiana 211
• Engleking Pharmacy
• Ireland Home-Based Services
• Hoosier Energy
• DNR – Birds Program for kids