The 83rd Member Appreciation Day and Annual Meeting of the Miami-Cass County Rural Electric Membership Corporation was held at the Peru Circus building in Peru, Indiana, on Thursday, June 16.
All registered members who attended received a thermal cooler, a $15 bill credit and were entered into a drawing for a chance to win one of the following prizes — a $500 or a $100 bill credit. An all-you-can-eat buffet of hamburgers, chicken, hot dogs, potatoes and macaroni and cheese was provided by Nelson’s Port-A-Pit of Wakarusa. The Peru Amateur Circus provided the entertainment.
Emcee Mike Barron welcomed everyone at 7:30 p.m. and the invocation was given by Dr. Cole Westword. The national anthem was sung by Grant Ebert of North Miami High School.
REMC Board President Jim Savage called the meeting to order and thanked everyone for coming. He thanked the Peru Circus performers, leaders and coaches for a great show. He then briefly commented on the fiber project that is ongoing to help bring high-speed broadband to the rural communities. He then thanked all of the REMC and Broadway Broadband employees and the CEO for their dedication and hard work.
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 2022 Indiana Connection, which was mailed to each registered member. Motion carried.
Total attendance was estimated at over 800. There were 300 registered members, which represents nearly 6.1 percent of our total voting membership.
As part of his announcements, CEO Rob Schwartz welcomed everyone and commented on the ability to meet together in person again. He discussed the state of the co-op, including financials and system reliability. He stated that the REMC has not experienced a rate increase since 2014 and that there are no plans to increase in 2022, either. He also shared how the current inflation issues and ups and downs in the market are affecting the cost of power in a negative way.
Schwartz then shared an update on Broadway Broadband’s fiber project and the grant money the subsidiary received to help with the construction of approximately 1,000 miles of wire. He then shared that 2021 was a safe year with no lost-time injuries. Lastly, he thanked the REMC and Broadway Broadband employees for their dedication to providing safe, reliable service to the members, and he recognized the board members for their contributions.
Miami-Cass REMC attorney Jeremy Fetty 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 — Cindy Scott
DISTRICT 4 — Mark Hahn
Seven scholarship winners were selected from 10 entries.
Prize drawings were conducted, with the grand prizes being a $500 credit and five $100 electric bill credits.
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 8 p.m.
