2024 Annual Meeting

RIDGELAND, SC – 4,933 members registered and voted at Palmetto Electric Cooperative’s 2024 Annual Meeting.

Drive-thru registration and voting was held May 2, 3, and 4 at the co-op’s Ridgeland office. Members were able to drive-thru, register and cast a vote for the Board of Directors election. Palmetto Electric employees were on hand to distribute registration gifts and assist members with any questions.

“I want to sincerely thank the 4,933 members who took part in the business of their cooperative and made the 2024 Annual Meeting a success,” said Berl Davis, Palmetto Electric president and CEO.

“Energizing our students for a brighter future” was the resounding theme of this year’s meeting and celebrated the success of students and teachers who participated in the cooperative’s educational initiatives including Bright Ideas, EnLIGHTenSC Book Challenge, Cooperative Youth Summit, Washington Youth Tour, Touchstone Energy Bowl and Safety Days. The business meeting, livestreamed online on Saturday afternoon, highlighted some of the ways Palmetto Electric Cooperative supported education in our community this past year. 

• Palmetto Electric sponsored a total of six high school students to attend the Cooperative Youth Summit and Washington Youth Tour. Three students participated in the Cooperative Youth Summit, including Alex Rosier of Hampton County High School, who won a $5,000 scholarship for her team’s original podcast. Three other high school students attended the Washington Youth Tour, including Garrett Simons of Hilton Head Island High School who won the $5,000 R.D. Bennett Community Service Scholarship for his project, “Making Birthdays Bright.” Simons partnered with Pockets Full of Sunshine to build and deliver 233 birthday boxes to 11 local food banks throughout our service area.

• In the fall of 2023, we celebrated a significant milestone in $10 million raised since 1989 through Operation Round Up. When our members round up their electric bill to the next dollar each month, we are able to provide funding for food, shelter, clothing, health and educational needs for individuals and organizations throughout our service area. Palmetto Electric Trust administers part of Operation Round Up funds to give Bright Ideas grants to local teachers or projects that fall outside of traditional school funding. In 2023, we were able to give 46 teachers a total of $39,360 in grants. 

• Elementary students from Hilton Head Island School for the Creative Arts, Sawyer Blakley Costello and Kaia Bishop, were named top winners in the state’s enLIGHTenSC Book Challenge. They wrote and illustrated an original story called The Electric Trail that was printed and delivered to elementary schools throughout the state. To further inspire and educate our youngest members, we hosted electrical safety demonstrations throughout the summer and school year and continued our popular Virtual Safety Days program online.     

• For the 10^th year in a row, Palmetto Electric was able to provide the opportunity for three local high school athletes to participate in the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl. One of the students – Zion Dobson of Hampton County High School – was also named a finalist for the prestigious South Carolina Mr. Football award. A $1,000 scholarship from WIRE (Women Involved in Rural Electrification) was also awarded to Aiden Wallace of May River High School.

• Palmetto Electric continued to show its commitment to its members by returning more than $3 million in Capital Credits. The cooperative scored a 90 on the American Customer Satisfaction Index Survey (ACSI), which marks the eighth year in a row that the cooperative has scored 89 or higher and puts Palmetto in the 95th percentile. Palmetto Electric also gave utility tax credit grants of almost $430,000 to Hampton County and $200,000 to the Town of Bluffton to further economic development in our service territory.

• Board of Directors incumbents William J. Nimmer (Beaufort County, Position 1), Alicia Holland (Beaufort County, Position 4), and Nicholas T. Gohagan (Hampton County, Position 1) all ran unopposed and were re-elected. Incumbent, Thomas G. Stanley Jr., defeated Albertha “Dee-Dee” Johnson-Mikell to fill the Jasper County, Position 1, seat. Board officers elected included Jeremiah E. Vaigneur, chairman; D. Terrell Smith, vice-chairman; and Carolyn Grant, secretary-treasurer.

• This year’s grand prize winner was Jordan Mole of Early Branch. He won the 2014 Toyota Tacoma.

2024 Annual Meeting Prize Winners

• $100 Ace Hardware Gift Card: Bertrand Sauber

• $100 Ace Hardware Gift Card: Robin Pritchard

• $100 Walmart Gift Card: Peter Johnson

• $100 Walmart Gift Card: Donald Mayer

• $100 Visa Gift Card (from CEEUS): Robert Riedl

• Apple Airtag 4-pack: Georgie Ann Jarrell

• YETI Hopper M12 Backpack Soft Cooler: Karol Lindow

• Solo Bonfire Firepit & Surround: Debra Teresi

• Ninja Foodi 6-in-1 Air Fryer/Cooker: Margaret Stretch

• Stanley Quencher 40 oz H2.O FlowState Tumbler: Kenneth Toomer

• AeroGarden Harvest Elite: Richard Evans

• Weber Traveler Portable Gas Grill: Patricia Shepard

• Caraway Ceramic Cookware Set: R.W. Deloach

• BISSELL Little Green Pro Portable Carpet Cleaner: Allan Bender

• Amazon Kindle Scribe: Shelly Stewart

• SLK by Selkirk Pickleball Bundle: Sylvia Gubasci

• KitchenAid Stand Mixer: Rochie Johnson

• EGO Power+ Electric Lawn Mower, Blower & Trimmer: Patricia Jedrick

• Bode Inflatable Paddle Board Package: John Phillips

• GRAND PRIZE - 2014 Toyota Tacoma with Extended Cab & Tool Box: Jordan Mole