Annual Meeting
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Co-op Annual Meeting
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Scholarships given away to members
Choptank Electric Celebrates 85th Annual Member Meeting
April 27th, 2023
Denton, Md – Choptank Electric Cooperative held its 85th Annual Meeting on April 27, 2023, at the Talbot County Community Center with over 300 guests in attendance. Members re-elected four Board members, the Cooperative awarded ten $1,000 scholarships to students in attendance and shared significant highlights from 2022 about Choptank Electric and its subsidiary, Choptank Fiber.
Mike Malandro, President and CEO of Choptank Electric, started by thanking our members for being the heart of our cooperative as owners. He summarized the success of the Cooperative last year by pointing out that we “maintained over 6,000 miles of electric lines across the Eastern Shore, continue to receive a 99% reliability rating from the ASAI, and we are pleased that our long-term investments continue to pay off.” He added that the Cooperative made “great strides with grid upgrades to modernize electric service and protect against cyber threats.”
Jeff Rathell, Chairman of the Board, applauded the Cooperative’s dedication to rural members by providing broadband services through Choptank Fiber. “We are proud to provide our communities with this necessary resource that has become the lifeblood of our modern world,” adds Jeff. Choptank Fiber has passed over 3,500 homes, constructed over 1,250 miles of distribution fiber, and secured over $38 million in grants as of December 31, 2022.
The following uncontested Board members were re-elected to another three-year term: John Burke Jr. of Cecil County, Craig Mathies of Somerset County, Jeff Rathell of Talbot County and Robert Thompson of Ocean Pines District.
Ten $1,000 "Luck of the Draw" Scholarships were awarded at our 2023 Annual Meeting!
Choptank Electric’s Luck of the Draw Scholarship winners were drawn from those who applied and attended the Annual Meeting. Winners included:
• Delaney Bennett of Wicomico County
• Catherine Cronan of Talbot County
• Emma Duff of Cecil County
• Kinley Elliott of Caroline County
• Ashton Elzey of Dorchester County
• Gunnar Hoffman of Caroline County
• Kai Kelly of Talbot County
• Emilie Schanken of Dorchester County
• Blaire Smith of Wicomico County
• Drew Swanger of Wicomico County
Please visit our Scholarship Page for more information and to apply for next year.
A full recap of the Cooperative in 2022 can be found online at www.choptankelectric.coop/financial-information
Click here to view the 2023 Annual Meeting Minutes
View the 2023 Annual Meeting Below
View 2022's Recorded Livestream Below
Thank you to all members who joined us last year for our 84th Annual Meeting!
Thank you to all of our members who joined us for our 84th Annual Meeting on Thursday, April 28, 2022, at the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center. It was a chilly, brisk afternoon. We were able to hold a live meeting this year and streamed it live for those that could not physically attend. The business portion of the 2022 Annual Meeting began at 6 p.m., registration and meal service started at 4:30 p.m. Thank you to all the vendors and volunteers that helped to put on this important meeting.
The business meeting was called to order by Board Chair Jeff Rathell followed by Craig Mathies giving a heartfelt opening prayer. A solemn moment of silence was given for long-time director Carl Widdowson and serviceman Gavonn Bailey, who both passed away earlier this year. Board treasurer Doug Scott reported on a strong financial year despite the pandemic. Among the highlights were revenues of $134.7 million and an operating margin of $6.2 million. Scott noted that the cost of purchased power constitutes about 54 cents of every $1 on the electric bill. During the business meeting, members voted to re-elect Board Members Matthew Holloway to represent Wicomico County, Amy Brandt to represent Caroline County and Donna West to represent Worcester County
CEO & President Mike Malandro reported to members that we have successfully continued our mission of providing affordable reliable electricity to the 55,599 member accounts we serve, and noted that we keep the power on at an outstanding 99.98% of the time. He then took questions and comments from the crowd.
At the meeting’s conclusion, ten $1,000 Luck of the Draw scholarships were awarded to ten well deserving students seeking higher education. Bill credits were also randomly awarded to very happy members. For more information about the 2022 Annual Meeting, call our Member Service Center at 1-877-892-0001.
2022 Choptank Electric Cooperative Annual Member Meeting Minutes