As a member-owner of this cooperative you have a voice. There are many ways you can make your voice heard. One way is to vote in the board of directors election. Another is to provide feedback to us. 

Recently, we asked you to weigh in on the upcoming annual meeting through a short online survey. We wanted to know if you preferred the drive-in style format we tried last year or would like us to return to an in-person family event. 

We appreciate you taking the time to provide your thoughtful feedback. All comments were read by members of the co-op board of directors.  

Last year, due to COVID-19, we had to adapt our annual meeting format to comply with the state and local safety requirements. In addition, we wanted to ensure that our employees, directors and member-consumers were safe. After considering a variety of options, a drive-in style event made the best sense. The attendance at the event far exceeded what we could have imagined in the middle of a pandemic. 

Your survey feedback showed that most of you preferred an in-person annual meeting. Your REMC’s board and employees also miss engaging in person with the membership. This event has been a way to gather as a community, hear from co-op leaders and elect fellow member-consumers to the board. We have enjoyed planning activities like Bingo, kids’ entertainment, a live band and sit-down meal for our membership.

As we begin preparing for this year’s event, we will explore how we can safely offer an in-person annual meeting. To do this, we will need to move the meeting back to Aug. 26. We will use the additional time to work closely with local officials and monitor all state and local guidelines during the planning process. Safety is our number one priority. We will provide more details on this event in an upcoming issue of Indiana Connection. 

Thank you again for being an active participant in your cooperative.