Tri-County Holds 75th Annual Meeting

Members of Tri-County EMC, employees and local and state dignitaries gathered on October 16 for the 75th Annual Meeting of Tri-County EMC at the headquarters in Gray, GA. The cooperative’s CEO, C. Hill Bentley, gave an overview of last year’s accomplishments, and addressed the challenges of the coming years. Tom Daniel, Tri-County EMC Attorney, announced election results. The re-elected board members for Post 1 were Dan Greene (District 1), Brenda P. Green (District 2), and Sammy Hall (District 3). These members, all incumbents, will serve three-year terms.

During the meeting, Tom Thompson, Jr., Chairman of the Board of Directors, announced that this would be his last term serving on the Tri-County EMC Board of Directors. “I have been here for 29 years and I’ve made the decision that when I complete my term in one more year then I will also retire,” said Thompson. “It’s been a great privilege to work with the staff and the board. I’ve never worked with a greater group of people than the employees, the staff and the board at Tri-County.” Cary Walton of Putnam County was nominated from the floor as a candidate for the Post 2 seat currently held by Thompson. (Post 1- District 2). Chester Mercer, Post 1-District 1, and Tommy Noles, Post 1-District 3, both incumbents, were also nominated as candidates in their respective districts. Additional candidate nominations for any of the posts above can be sent to the nominating committee.

2015 Nominating Committee

District 1
1. Thomas Comer
2. Tracy Gattie
3. Robert Hopkins

District 2
1. Ted Jenkins
2. Rebecca Sharp
3. Bob Neligan


District 3
1. Jack Brock
2. Brandon Cantrell
3. Hunter Bacon

Candidates can also be nominated by petition. Petitions require 100 member signatures and must be turned in to Tri-County EMC at least 90 days prior to the Annual Meeting.

The Power of You, a history book produced by Tri-County, was debuted at the meeting, along with a short film celebrating the history of the coop. Through interviews with members, historical information through archives, and photographs from the coop, the book and film tell the story of what it was like before the lights came on and how a group of local citizens gathered together to bring electricity to the area 75 years ago. Both the film and the book can be viewed at www.tri-countyemc.com/history.da.

Tri-County EMC has been closely monitoring the legislative issues affecting the coop industry in order to keep future costs down. Work is currently being conducted to analyze the costs of the EPA Clean Power Plan. Many EPA regulations have taken a major toll on coal plants, including the closing of Plant Branch. The environmental regulations that were put on Plant Scherer and Plant Hatch are projected to raise wholesale power cost rates by 8%.

Through these challenges, the main goal of the cooperative remains the same - to bring reliable electric service to cooperative members at an affordable cost. “We can fight to keep EPA regulations at bay and wholesale power costs down, but the only costs we can truly control are our operating costs,” said C. Hill Bentley, CEO. “We’ve managed to keep operating costs at less than 15 percent.” Community service continues to be a priority at Tri-County.

Operation Roundup, a program that funds local service projects through member donations, reached a milestone this year with $1,000,000 in member contributions since 2001. “That goes right along with what a cooperative is all about,” said Bentley. “One of our principles is to serve the community, and Operation Roundup is a way for us to do that.” Seven scholarships were awarded in the past year, and from the service area were chosen to participate in the Washington Youth Tour, the Cooperative Youth Leadership Camp, and the Cooperative Education Conference for Couples.

Ten Tri-County EMC employees and one director were recognized with Service Awards and are listed below:

Jeremy Arant, Energy Services Analyst, 5 years of service
Chris Bryant, Crew Leader, 10 years of service
Lee Marsh, VP of Distribution Services, 10 years of service
Margaret Pauldo, Customer Service Representative, 10 years of service
Joycelyn Bivins, Cashier, 15 years of service
Sherry Posey, Customer Service Clerk, 15 years of service
Charles “Buck” Womble, Lead Engineering Technician, 15 years of service
Sammy Hall, Director, 17 years of service
Dawn Haskins, Sr. Executive Vice President, CFO, 20 years of service
Chester Mercer, Director, 20 years of service
Dennis Rowland, 35 years of service
Bobby Davis, 40 years of service About Tri-County EMC

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