We all have other places we could be on Tuesday, April 2, 2013.
We know it's a lot to ask that you make time to drive to
Kingstree after work to vote at Santee Electric Cooperative's 2013
Annual Meeting, from 1 to 6 p.m. at Kingstree Senior High School.
But we hope you come, not just for the door prizes, but for the
higher purpose of an open election process like what united members
back in 1939.
More than seven decades ago folks not unlike you started Santee
Electric Cooperative to meet a need in Florence, Clarendon,
Georgetown and Williamsburg counties. They knew cooperatives
offered not just electric power but a greater power-the power to
change our communities. Our earliest members rolled up their
sleeves and worked together to get the lights on.
Think about the impact electricity made in rural areas. Women
lived longer not having to work dusk to dawn at backbreaking
chores. Farm production jumped. Things like running water, lights,
and stored food were possible-and with those leaps forward came new
challenges and opportunities.
We have electricity now-in fact, it's a given. Does that mean we
don't need our cooperative any more? Is our job in the Pee Dee
region of South Carolina done?
We say no- not by a long shot. Today, we're still working together
for the common good. At Santee Electric, we're working to keep your
power reliable, affordable and safe. We're working to attract and
retain industries that bring jobs to our communities and members.
We're looking out for you in the halls of government in Columbia
and Washington, D.C. We're working diligently to offer new and
emerging technology, programs and services that help members manage
their energy use for comfort, convenience and savings.
Cooperatives aren't like other businesses. We're not focused on
making a profit. At our core we exist to serve you and to meet
community needs. At the Annual Meeting, we'll salute our VIPs-that
is, YOU, the members of Santee Electric Cooperative-who keep the
lights of cooperation burning bright.
Cooperatives offer the perfect tool for tackling tasks too big
for one person to handle alone, tasks based on a common purpose.
That purpose is as solid as the ground under our feet at the Annual
Meeting. Standing together, we are still building our communities,
bringing dreams to reality, and giving youth a better future.
We hope you'll join us on Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013.
We've taken special measures this year to designate preferred hours
at 3 p.m. to try and expedite the voting process for the elderly
and persons with disabilities.
Floyd L. Keels
President and Chief Executive Officer