A Year Of Growth
For more than 80 years, members of Concho Valley Electric Cooperative have looked forward to the fellowship at the co-op’s mid-July annual meeting. Planning for such an event begins many months in advance, and after canceling the 2020 meeting due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the co-op’s board of directors decided that the safety of members and employees was the top priority for the 81st annual meeting.
Rather than gather inside San Angelo’s cavernous Foster Communications Coliseum, co-op members drove a route composed of tent stations and CVEC vehicles in the coliseum parking lot July 15. The first station offered snacks, yo-yos and puzzles to members who brought their children. At the second station, members stopped to receive a brightly colored extension cord and to enter a drawing for one of more than two dozen prizes.
The annual meeting began when the gates to the coliseum parking lot opened at 5:30 p.m. Concho Valley EC members are often early, and they lived up to that reputation. Shortly after the gates opened, more than 105 members had already made their way to each of the stations and registered for door prizes. By 7 p.m., 351 members had dropped their names into the box for a chance to win. Each member in attendance was automatically registered for one of 28 prizes to be given away following a drawing on Facebook Live the day after the annual meeting.
2020 was a year of growth for CVEC, and total revenue for the co-op increased from $41.4 million to $43.5 million. Of every co-op dollar spent in 2020, 54 cents went to cover the cost of wholesale power provided by Golden Spread Electric Cooperative. Golden Spread EC is owned by 16 co-ops, including Concho Valley EC, and those co-ops purchase their power from GSEC and share in its capital credits.
Even though no co-op business was completed at the annual meeting, members could still track the business of the co-op by watching a video posted on the website, where they also could download a copy of the annual report. In the video, Kelly Lankford, CVEC executive vice president and CEO, recounted the challenges posed by the pandemic in 2020 and explained how co-op staff stepped up to continue delivering the reliable electric service members expect.
Despite the pandemic, Lankford said, co-op staff completed significant improvements to the infrastructure, including installing electronic reclosers, automated switches and capacitor banks. In addition, CVEC updated substations and created a 24-hour dispatch center that adds a new level of safety for lineworkers and allows more members more access to people when calling about an outage. Another important aspect of Concho Valley EC’s operation is its concern for community, a fundamental principle for all co-ops.
The day following the annual meeting, Burleson conducted the prize drawing, and a video of the drawing also is posted on the co-op’s website. The winner of the grand prize—a 70-inch TV—was Clifford Long, and an Apple iPad went to Stephen Miller. Bill credits for $100 went to Santiago Perales Jr., Ruth Krueger, JABS Holdings, Laura Lacy and Gary Duncan. Other prizes included appliances, tools, and gift cards.
Looking forward to July 2022, the board of directors, management and employees are expecting a return indoors to the Foster Communications Coliseum, along with a delicious meal and in-person festivities.
