The Okanogan County Electric Cooperative (OCEC) will hold a drive-through event on Sept. 14 from 3-5 p.m. in the parking lot of the Winthrop Barn, to distribute energy-efficient light bulb packages, load-sensing power strips and water faucet aerators to OCEC members.
The gift packages will be handed out, following safety guidelines, on a first-come, first-served basis, and are supported financially through the Bonneville Power Administration’s energy efficiency program.
Additionally, OCEC is working with The Cove to deliver gift packages to OCEC and The Cove members who may not be able to make it to the Sept. 14 event, with plans to pass out the gift packages at one of The Cove’s Thursday food banks.
Gift packages are a staple at the OCEC’s annual April member meeting. However, due to COVID-19 restrictions, OCEC’s board was not able to hold its April meeting with broader membership attendance.
“To conform to the OCEC by-laws, we had a short annual meeting in April,” said OCEC General Manager David Gottula. “[We were hoping] to have a more traditional informational meeting this fall, [but] obviously because of COVID-19, we are now just going to have a drive-through event.”
“We hope to have our traditional meeting next April, but that is dependent on the situation,” Gottula said.
This year’s 81st annual meeting was held April 20 at the OCEC offices via conference call, including OCEC’s seven-member board of directors and general management team. The meeting lasted 10 minutes, and dealt with the re-elections of three incumbent board members, as well as the election of a fourth to replace a retiring board member. Travis Thornton, Dale Sekijima and Sara Carlberg were elected to three-year terms, and Cara Godwin was elected to a two-year term. Other board members are John Kirner, Alan Watson and Michael Murray.
OCEC sent mail-in ballots for the elections, receiving a total of 688 votes, which was about the normal turnout for OCEC election voting, according to Gottula.
