Upcoming Annual Meeting of the Members
The board of trustees has determined we will continue to hold a scaled-down, business-only meeting for 2024. We will focus on making sure our members have an opportunity to hear first-hand, in person about how their co-op performed in 2023. During this meeting, the board president, CEO, and cooperative attorney will present information regarding the Cooperative in 2023.
We invite you to the meeting, to be conducted at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 8th, at the Rio Grande office, 4848 State Route 325 S, Patriot, Ohio.
Everyone at Buckeye REC hopes you will join us for the annual business meeting. This is a scheduled opportunity to share your thoughts and ideas with your cooperative directors and staff. We look forward to seeing your faces again. It’s been a while.
OFFICIAL NOTICE TO ALL MEMBERS OF
BUCKEYE RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC.
Annual Meeting of Members
Thursday, August 8th, 2024 at 5:30 p.m.
Members are invited to attend the meeting which will be held at:
The Buckeye Rural Electric Cooperative, Rio Grande office,
located at 4848 State Route 325 S, Patriot, Ohio 45658
Order of Business:
Commencement/Call to Order
Reading of "Notice of Meeting" and proof of publication or mailing
Reading of 2023 Annual Meeting Minutes and action thereon
Board, Office, Committee, and Management Reports
Election of Board Members - Results
Unfinished Business
Adjournment
For more information regarding the 2024 Trustee Election and proposed Code of Regulation changes, click here.
2023 Annual Meeting Minutes
Buckeye Rural Electric Cooperative, INC.
2023 Annual Meeting of Members Minutes
Rio Grande, Ohio
August 12, 2023
A motion was duly made, seconded and carried by voice vote to waive the reading and to accept the 2022 minutes.
President Berridge spoke with the members about capital credits, BREC’s tax-exempt status, taxes paid into the community, and the retirement of former executive vice president, Tonda Meadows. In 2022, BREC returned more than $1.2 million in capital credits and approximately
$2.5 million in sales, property, and kilowatt taxes. He spoke about Ms. Meadows’ service to the cooperative and introduced Kent Eldridge who was selected to serve as the CEO effective January 1, 2023.
Kent Eldridge recognized the veterans and active-duty military or reserves and thanked them for their service and sacrifice. Eldridge also paid tribute to former BREC linemen Blake Rodgers. In remembrance, he requested that all rise for a moment of silence.
CEO, Kent Eldridge, recognized four area high school students and was proud to report that the youth tour was back for the first time since COVID-19 as of 2022. The board of trustees had decided to send two additional students to Washington D.C.
Abigail Baldwin was asked to speak about her experience at the 2022 Youth Tour Washington DC trip. She began her speech by thanking BREC for selecting her as a delegate for 2022.
CEO, Kent Eldridge, spoke to the members about the three steps of receiving electrical power, and what are the cooperative's responsibilities, shared round numbers to describe BREC 2022 financial position and performance.
A video message from Pat O’Loughlin, President and CEO of Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives and Buckeye Power, was played for the members in attendance. This message included the annual
report to the cooperative about the state of the cooperatives in Ohio. Ohio Electric Cooperatives and Buckeye Power are our generation providers.
Kent shared three major projects that are going on at BREC. The first project in 2022 was a six- month long total system software conversion. The second project was the continuation of the ARC fiber grant that was awarded in 2019. This project was unexpectedly delayed due to Covid- 19 and material shortages. The third project was the Ohio Emergency Management Agency Grant. The February 2021 ice storm resulted in over 150 broken utility poles and crossarms and over 640 miles of down and tangled power lines which caused millions of dollars’ worth of damage.
Mr. Eldridge closed with information about what 2023 holds for BREC and the member-owners. He is optimistic about the upcoming year and encourages members to follow us throughout the year.
There was no unfinished or new business.
A motion was made, seconded and carried by voice vote to adjourn at 10:55 A.M.