Winnie Adams to Step In for Roger Crosby at OPALCO — Annual Meeting on May 1

Winnie Adams will serve out the remainder of Roger Crosby's term until 2012

On Thursday, April 15^th, the OPALCO Board of Directors accepted Roger Crosby’s resignation from the board with great appreciation and gratitude for his twenty-two years of service. Winnie Adams was appointed by the Board to finish out Crosby’s term, which expires in 2012. Adams will be at the annual meeting on Saturday, May 1^st to meet and greet members on the ferry.

Past board president Bob Myhr said, “Roger’s keen mind and extensive legal background made him an extremely valuable member of the board for more than two decades. His dedication and commitment to OPALCO served the Co-op well in keeping us on course. Roger will surely be missed for his expertise—and his friendship.”

Winnie Adams was a candidate in the 2009 OPALCO election. She graduated from Stanford School of Education with a Masters degree. After several years of classroom teaching, and two summers working as a white water raft guide, she joined the environmental education staff of the Yosemite Institute. In 1977, she moved to Waldron where she built a small house powered by solar energy. In 1990, Winnie and her husband Bob Gamble moved to Orcas and began living part time on the grid. She has now lived on two islands and worked on three. Winnie has kayaked and sailed the area and knows this county: the topography, the micro-climates and the disparate human community and the need for community process.

“I have a sense of OPALCO’s  history, a deep commitment to the co-op model, a unique experience informed by the dual perspective of living on and off a power grid, and decades of informing myself about power generation and conservation,” said Adams. “OPALCO is a shining star among the small rural electrical cooperatives providing us a long history of excellent management, service and low rates.  Because we are small we are more agile than many co-ops are in these times of change. As a board member I intend to build on the legacy of strong financial footing and excellent service while considering a wide horizon of conservation and power sources.”

OPALCO’s 73^rd Annual Meeting is coming up on Saturday, May 1^st. The meeting is early this year (see travel schedules at www.opalco.com) and breakfast will be served. There will be gifts for everyone who attends—including a $5 bill credit (one per membership). Absentee ballots are due to the Eastsound office no later than noon on Friday, April 30^th and six ballots will be drawn to receive a $50 bill credit each! Please vote—and don’t miss the boat!

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.