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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions placed by Gov. Ralph Northam on large gatherings, Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative will be holding a very abbreviated annual meeting of the membership this year.

The event, which is mandated by the cooperative’s bylaws to occur every year on the third Wednesday in June, will simply meet the most basic requirements for an official meeting. The entire meeting will last only 15 minutes. MEC members are encouraged to forgo attendance of the June 17 event.

“We are disappointed that we’ll be unable to have our traditional annual meeting this year because it’s a great opportunity to meet and visit with those we serve and we look forward to it every year, but unfortunately, nothing is traditional these days. And while we don’t like doing so, we are strongly encouraging our members to stay home this year and not attend the annual meeting,” John C. Lee, Jr., MEC president and CEO said. “Choosing not to attend this year helps us mitigate the potential spread of the virus and helps protect the health of our membership, and our employees.

“Obviously, we want all our members to avoid the virus, and if we had an outbreak here at the cooperative, it would seriously hinder our ability to get the lights back on in a timely manner. And should we experience a substantial outage event, we would be seriously disadvantaged with a lot of employees quarantined at home and that translates into our members being without power longer. We really hope all our members understand the approach to this year’s required meeting and recognize that we are striking the appropriate balance between meeting the cooperative’s bylaw requirements, following COVID-19 precautions and the governor’s mandates, and doing the right thing by our members and employees.”

In meeting social distancing requirements, the cooperative’s annual meeting facilities can only accommodate 50 in-person attendees and that number is also the limit imposed by the governor when the cooperative set its plans for the event. Additionally, only one person per cooperative account will be admitted, and all attendees will be required to bring and wear a face mask. It should also be noted that there will be no meal, no giveaway items, nor door prizes provided at this year’s meeting; and once the 50-person limit for the event is met, others arriving to attend will have to be turned away.

For those who still choose to attend, cooperative officials thank you in advance for your patience in the check-in and registration process given pandemic spacing requirements, noting that the process will not be conducted as it has been in years past. Thousands of members have already voted in the director election through proxy cards sent in lieu of attending the meeting in person. Proxy cards were included with recent electric bills and will be accepted until June 10.

To keep its membership up to date on cooperative business, focusing on the last year’s operations, the cooperative’s annual report has been inserted in June’s Cooperative Living magazine, and other information will be delivered to its members in future editions, including the annual “State of the Cooperative” update from MEC’s president and CEO. The business session will be video recorded, and members will have access to the recording through the MEC website at meckelec. org and social media.