JUNE 22, 2020 – Delta-Montrose Electric Association (DMEA) held its 2020 Annual Meeting last week, Thursday, June 18, on the popular virtual meeting and conference platform, Zoom. DMEA Board President, Bill Patterson, officially called the meeting to order a few minutes after 3:00 p.m., with more than 100 members logged on and attending from the comfort of their own home. In total, 105 members attended the meeting, not including DMEA’s board and management team.
The meeting followed a traditional agenda including a formal vote on the three board candidates running unopposed in this year’s election:
- Damon Lockhart – District 6
- Enno Heuscher – District 7
- Stacia Cannon – North Region
DMEA’s legal counsel, Jeff Hurd, facilitated the elections using Zoom’s polling feature. Members were asked to cast their vote on the following:
As a member of DMEA in good standing, I submit this vote for the 2020 Board of Directors: Damon Lockhart for District 6, Enno Heuscher for District 7, and Stacia Cannon for the Northern Region.
- YES
- NO
- Abstain
The results were as follows:
- 60 members participated in the vote
- 59 voted YES (98%)
- 0 voted NO (0%)
- 1 voted ABSTAIN (2%)
As a result, Directors Lockhart, Heuscher, and Cannon retained their seats on DMEA’s Board of Directors for another three-year term. Heuscher was appointed to the District 7 seat at the regular DMEA board meeting on May 26, after his candidacy was determined to be uncontested. The District 7 seat became vacant after director Mark Eckhart resigned his position in February. Per the co-op’s bylaws, all board vacancies must be filled within four months of the date of the vacancy.
Following the election proceedings, President Patterson gave a report focusing on the past year’s progress of DMEA’s fiber internet subsidiary, Elevate Fiber. He touched on the recent community support Elevate provided when the local schools and businesses were forced to close their doors due to COVID-19. Elevate began offering free installations and two free months of internet service immediately for families with students in the home and local educators. As a result, 325 families were able to get a fast and dependable internet connection from Elevate.
Another notable milestone Patterson highlighted was Elevate becoming EBITDA positive in 2019. EBITDA stands for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. A financial measurement used across almost every industry, EBITDA is one of the most meaningful indicators of the overall profitability of a business. Elevate reached this crucial metric two years earlier than anticipated.
Following Patterson’s report, DMEA’s Chief Executive Officer, Jasen Bronec, reviewed DMEA’s major accomplishments from 2019, with a significant focus on DMEA’s imminent exit from Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and the new partnership with Guzman Energy. Bronec noted that the co-op does not anticipate a rate increase throughout the remainder of 2020 and into 2021, thanks in part to the upcoming reduced cost for wholesale energy that DMEA will be paying to Guzman Energy. Members can read a more in-depth review of DMEA’s performance last year in the co-op’s annual report.
Members then had the opportunity to ask questions during the member comment period. Members who were unable to attend the meeting or have additional questions can continue to submit them to questions@dmea.com. The meeting concluded with DMEA Board Vice President, Kyle Martinez, announcing the winners of various door prizes. The following first 20 members to register for the meeting received a $50 gift card to a local restaurant:
- Hedy Hodges
- Barry Willits
- Diane and Joe Carabetta
- Marilyn Pipkin
- Lexie Polich
- Shelly Christopherson
- Eldon Markus
- Adam Good
- Les Renfrow
- Eric Cegielski
- Elaine Probasco
- Joseph Brummit
- Rebecca Culmer
- Karen Wagner
- Ginnette Waterman
- Turbo Tech Investments
- Heather Melsness
- Lyle Miller
- John Broadbooks
- Leslie Bracewell
In addition, five members in attendance were also randomly drawn to receive the following door prizes:
Dan Scinto - $200 Paonia Shopping Spree
- $100 gift card to Cirque Cyclery
- $100 gift card to SolTree Hats
Samuel Brown - $100 Home Depot Gift Card
Marjorie True - $200 Montrose Shopping Spree
- $100 gift card to The Great Outdoor Store
- $100 gift card to Fabula
Lester Griffin - $75 Murdoch’s Gift Card
Dave Knutson - $200 Delta Shopping Spree
- $100 gift card to The Davis Clothing Company
- $50 gift card to Dog House Espresso
- $50 gift card to Daveto’s Italian Restaurant