The 82nd Member Appreciation Day and Annual Meeting of the Miami-Cass County Rural Electric Membership Corporation was held at the Miami-Cass REMC headquarters, Peru, Indiana, on Thursday, June 17, 2021.
The meeting was held virtually. Members registered for the meeting by completing a card and sending it into the REMC prior to the meeting. All registered members were entered into a drawing for a chance to win one of the following prizes: $500 bill credit, $100 bill credit, $50 gift card or $25 gas gift card. There were 245 cards sent to the REMC which represented 4.7 percent of the voting membership.
Mike Barron welcomed everyone to the meeting at 5:30 p.m., and the invocation was given by Pastor Eric McCoy. The national anthem was sung by Jacob Birk of North Miami High School.
REMC Board Secretary-Treasurer Cindy Scott called the meeting to order. A motion was made and seconded to dispense with the reading of last year’s annual meeting minutes, along with the proof of mailing notice and treasurer’s report. Motion carried. A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes as printed in the June edition of Indiana Connection, which was mailed to each registered member. Motion carried.
Scott then read Board President Jim Savage’s speech since he was unable to attend. In his speech he stated that the staff was working hard to bring fiber optic cable and high-speed broadband internet to the members and customers beyond the REMC system.
CEO Rob Schwartz welcomed everyone and acknowledged the board members present and commented on the unusual circumstances of meeting virtually again in 2021. He also introduced the remaining individuals present and the retirement of Kim Burton at the end of 2021. He then shared that downtime was down somewhat this year, but that membership has increased slightly. He stated that the co-op remains strong, and he does not foresee a rate increase for at least the next couple years.
He also shared about the state of the co-op, mentioned the energy uncertainty associated with the new White House administration, and lastly gave an update on providing high speed internet via the purchase of Broadway Broadband.
Schwartz announced that the board appointments ran uncontested this year and that the following board members were thus duly elected to serve for another three-year term.
DISTRICT 1 – Dennis (Jim) Savage
DISTRICT 3 – Scott Marschand
DISTRICT 4 – Don Willson
Eight scholarship winners were selected from 19 entries.
Prize drawings were conducted with the grand prizes being two $500 credit and 10 $100 credits on member’s electric bill. In addition to the bill credits, 10 $50 gift cards and 20 $25 gas cards were given.
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 5:57 p.m.
