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CEO and President Mike Malandro gives the Members Report at a well attended 85th Annual Meeting.
CEO and President Mike Malandro gives the Members Report at a well attended 85th Annual Meeting.

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.

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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.”

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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.

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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

A full recap of the Cooperative in 2022 can be found online at www.choptankelectric.coop/financial-information

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