Spring Brings Annual Meetings
By Charise Swanson
Spring is in the air, and with it comes the beginning of the season for our member cooperative annual meetings. Our New Mexico Rural Electric Cooperatives team loves to get out and see all of you as we travel around our great state of New Mexico. We have 15 electric cooperative members and three associate members in Arizona and Texas. We cannot forget to mention our two generation and transmission cooperatives in Oklahoma and Colorado, which supply our power.
These upcoming meetings give us the opportunity to share pertinent information about accomplishments and the challenges we face in our cooperative world, in our state, and across the nation.
Your participation is important. When you sign up for service with an electric cooperative, you become a member-owner of the cooperative. As a member, you have a voice in how the cooperative is operated. Your voice can be heard by serving on the board of directors or the nominating committee or by voting at each annual meeting to ensure your cooperative is led the way you would like. Collectively, every member’s voice helps shape the success of the electric cooperative.
Did you know we have the only member-owned, nonprofit model of its kind? You are the governance. Cooperatives were formed so rural America could serve itself with electricity when no one else would. The power—literally and figuratively—belongs to the people and is governed by the people who own it: you.
Electric cooperatives have governing bylaws that require them to host annual meetings. Cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled by their members. Each year, members have the opportunity to participate in the election of directors/trustees to oversee the leadership of the cooperative.
Candidates are carefully chosen by a nominating committee, with members who take great pride in putting forth the most qualified candidates. Members have several options to cast their votes: by mail-in ballot, in person at the annual meeting, or even electronically in some cases. Members have equal voting rights, and each member gets one vote.
Annual meetings are a tradition that celebrates our cooperative business model. These meetings bring members together to learn more about how their electric cooperative is performing financially, working to serve power needs, and planning for future development. Members may also receive updates on residential and commercial energy-efficiency programs.
The annual meeting is the perfect time for members to meet their cooperative’s board of directors and employees.
The financial condition of the cooperative is reported every year. Fiscal responsibility is an important part of any business, and all employees have a responsibility for financial controls relevant to their roles at the cooperative. Financial transparency is a priority at your cooperative.
The annual meeting is also a time to celebrate you, our members. Each cooperative’s annual meeting is structured differently, but the objective is the same: to celebrate the cooperative’s achievements and success with their member-owners.
I hope you plan to attend your cooperative’s annual meeting this year. Don’t forget to visit the New Mexico Rural Electric Cooperatives booth and say “Hello.” I hope to see you there!