SMECO Board Candidates Nominated
The 2015 Nominating Committee for Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) met on Saturday, May 16, 2015, and chose candidates for the five seats up for election on SMECO’s Board of Directors.
The list of nominations follows:
Calvert County (one seat available) Bill Brier Samuel “Jack” Hammett Susan E. Shaw Charles County (two seats available) Fern G. Brown Kenneth L. Dyson St. Mary’s County (two seats available) W. Rayner Blair III William R. Cullins III William R. MorrisIn addition to nominations made by the Nominating Committee, any 15 or more SMECO members acting together may nominate nominations by petition. SMECO customer-members running by petition should also complete and submit a Board of Directors Candidate Application. To obtain a candidate application and petition, contact Lisa Oliver at 301-274-4489 or [email protected].
Completed candidate applications and petitions must be submitted or mailed to SMECO, Attention: Joseph Densford, Board Attorney, 15045 Burnt Store Road, P.O. Box 1937, Hughesville, Maryland 20637 by Thursday, July 2, 2015. Nominations will be posted in each SMECO office and available online.
SMECO customer-members will elect five directors to serve three-year terms by voting for one Board seat in Calvert County, two seats in Charles County, and two seats in St. Mary’s County.
Members may vote in person at SMECO’s 2015 Annual Members’ Meeting on Wednesday, September 2, 2015, at the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf. The venue provides ample parking, comfortable seating, and accessibility.
Absentee mail-in ballots will also be available to members who wish to vote but cannot attend the meeting. Requests for absentee mail-in ballots must be received between July 27 and August 14, 2015. To request an absentee mail-in ballot, call 1-888-440-3311, extension 4722, or complete an online form on the Co-op’s website. Customer-members may also mail a request for an absentee mail-in ballot to SMECO Annual Meeting, P.O. Box 670, Hughesville, MD 20637.
SMECO will mail member identification cards with information about the meeting to customer-members in late July or early August.
SMECO provides electricity to more than 160,000 services in southern Prince George’s County, and in Charles County, St. Mary’s County, and all but the northeast portion of Calvert County. Co-ops are distinctly different from investor-owned utilities because co-ops are owned by their customers, and these members elect the men and women who serve on the Board of Directors.
Co-ops also issue capital credits to their members. What are capital credits? They are the member’s share of the co-op’s margins, based on how much electricity the member purchased and the rate at which the account was billed. SMECO’s margins—revenue less expenses—are used as working capital for new construction and system improvements. When SMECO’s Board of Directors determines that a percentage of the capital credits can be distributed to members through a general refund, capital credits will be issued by check or credited to members’ electric bills. Follow SMECO on Facebook and on Twitter. The SMECO 24/7 mobile app is available here.
