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G. Thomas Upshaw | President & CEO
As Palmetto Electric Cooperative marks Cooperative Month in October, it’s a good time
to consider a unique feature of co-op leadership, the Board of Trustees.
The members of Palmetto Electric Cooperative’s board are all co-op members themselves who live and work in the
cooperative’s service area. Their peers, fellow co-op members, have elected each trustee to represent
them. The board, which guides the cooperative, sets cooperative policies and rates. The board
also hires the co-op’s chief executive officer (CEO), who manages daily operations.
Trustees embody the cooperative principle of local control. As a locally based, member-owned cooperative,
Palmetto Electric operates to provide quality, reliable service. It does not make
a profit as investor-owned utilities (IOUs) do. In an IOU, the board is made up of major stockholders who
may or may not be IOU customers. And the IOU’s customers, while they may pay for the power, have
little say in how the utility operates. An electric co-op is different.
Electric co-ops, being owned by member-consumers, give each member a chance to vote for qualified candidates
in Board of Trustees elections. The voting is held each spring at Palmetto Electric Cooperative’s Annual Meeting of
members. There are three board seats up for a vote each year for three-year terms. The Annual Meeting also gives
member-owners a chance to hear reports from the CEO and other co-op leaders.
The Board of Trustees meets once a month to hear reports from management on the cooperative’s financial status and to
consider plans for building and maintaining the cooperative’s electric distribution system and other facilities.
Trustees also decide what additional programs and services will be offered to co-op members,
which economic development efforts and community service projects the co-op will support, as well as
other ways Palmetto Electric Cooperative can continue its mission to serve its local member-owners.
With the CEO, some trustees also serve on the boards of statewide and national
cooperative associations and affiliated organizations, along with representatives of other independent, consumer-owned
electric cooperatives. The trustees also commit considerable time to staying abreast of electricity-industry issues and
to honing their leadership skills. Board members are encouraged to complete the Credentialed Cooperative Director
and Board Leader programs offered by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
Directors shoulder great responsibilities and obligations. They are among the most committed co-op member-owners. I hope
all of our co-op members appreciate their dedicated service.
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