Free Lunch and Prizes for OPALCO Annual Meeting Attendees

This coming Saturday morning, May 16^th, Co-op members and their families will “get on the ferry and ride” to participate in OPALCO’s 72^nd Annual Meeting. Attendees will be treated to a healthy sack lunch with a fresh sandwich, salad and cookie – and the lunch sack is a reusable, insulated bag! Coffee and cold beverages will also be served. General Manager Randy Cornelius will be handing out gifts as members get on the ferry – and each member will have the chance to win one of more than fifty fabulous door prizes such as power and garden tools, Mariners tickets, a load of gravel, generous gift certificates, kitchen tools and appliances, camping and sporting equipment, OPALCO bill credits, art and merchandise from local businesses. Every member who attends will automatically receive a $5 credit on their next bill.

All six board of director candidates will be on the boat and available to talk with members. The candidates are: Winnie Adams, Moriah Armstrong, Roger Crosby, Joan Pedrick, Jeff Struthers and Chris Thomerson (see www.opalco.com for candidate bios). Six lucky member-voters who get their absentee ballots to the Eastsound OPALCO office no later than Friday, May 15^th at noon will be drawn to receive a $50 credit on their next bill. Ballots can also be cast at the annual meeting on the ferry this Saturday where the election results will be announced. A quorum of at least 100 members is required at the annual meeting for the election to be held.

Energy Services Coordinator Martha Warachowski will be on hand to help you save money on your bill and increase your energy efficiency. System Engineer Joel Mietzner will be available to talk about the new automated meters and infrastructure. Stuart Clark, OPALCO’s account executive from Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), will address the group about upcoming BPA rate increases and smart grid technology.

Members from San Juan Island will board the ferry at 8:25 am (or ride the Mystic Sea by reservation only – call 376-3549 to reserve a seat); Orcas Island at 10:20 am; Shaw Island at 10:35 am; and Lopez Island at

11:00 am. Please arrive early for parking and registration. For the full travel schedule, please go to www.opalco.com.

OPALCO is a member-owned cooperative electrical utility serving more than 14,000 accounts on 20 islands in San Juan County.  OPALCO provides electricity that is 97% greenhouse-gas free and is predominately generated by hydro-electric plants. OPALCO was founded in 1937 to bring electricity to rural islanders and is one of 900 electric co-ops in the United States today.