Members of 4-County Electric Power Association viewed the co-op’s 2020 annual meeting from the comfort of their own homes. In following with COVID-19 guidelines and recommendations, 4-County officials made the decision to have the meeting online. Members tuned in June 4 by accessing the 4-County YouTube channel, Facebook page or by dialing in. “Even though this isn’t our normal meeting format, we’re thankful to interact with our members. We look forward to having a more traditional format, hopefully, next year,” 4-County CEO Brian Clark said at the beginning of the meeting. Two directors were reelected: Mike Banks (representing District 4, Noxubee County) and Bill Bell (representing District 7, at-large). They will serve three-year terms. Members viewing the meeting also heard business and financial reports from co-op officials. Clark said the co-op is beginning its fiscal year without a rate increase. He also lauded the cooperative for its response to COVID-19 challenges and to storms (in particular, those in April that left 70 broken poles in their wake). Clark applauded the 4-County Foundation, which has surpassed the $1 million mark in giving. The foundation also awarded $24,000 to its service area to assist in COVID-19 relief efforts (particularly to assist food pantries). The 4-County CEO emphasized the co-op’s dedication to community through its programs and employee volunteer efforts. He also provided 4-County members with an update on the co-op’s research on broadband. The association was hoping to announce the results of a member survey about the issue, but that process has been delayed. “As our members know, we recently conducted a survey of our membership on our potential broadband project. We were working with the Mississippi State University Social Science Research Center to collect the results and collate and interpret the data for us,” said Clark. “Unfortunately, at the time we began the survey, the country began to suffer the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the SSRC was unable to participate in collection and were forced to delay the reporting of the survey data. We had hoped to have a full report ready for release today but we won’t have deep data for a few more weeks. We are continuing to work with the SSRC and we may even do more polling to make sure we understand what our members think. “Right now, our raw data shows that about 5,500 members responded. We want to thank those members who participated, and let everyone know that the results will be delayed and we’ll keep everyone updated as we move forward,” Clark said. The co-op plans to have a decision this fall on whether or not to offer broadband service. Board President Jay Gilliland of Mathiston said, since its inception 81 years ago, the co-op has continued to provide reliable, affordable power to its members. “We hope to do so for another 81 years,” Gilliland told those watching and listening. Clark said the co-op remains focused on safety. “We have achieved over 1 million hours without a lost-time accident, for the second time in 4-County’s history. We are actually right at 1.2 million hours without a lost-time accident. Let’s keep it up!” Annual meeting prizes and broadband survey participation prizes, including two retired 4-County fleet trucks, were awarded during the meeting, Truck winners were Joyce Allen and Thomas Breland.
