Pee Dee Electric Cooperative, Inc. held its 72nd Annual Meeting at the Florence Civic Center on Saturday, October 29th. Greatly surpassing the required number to meet quorum, over 2,200 members registered prior to the noon business meeting. With family and friends in attendance, the audience was estimated at over 5,000.

E. LeRoy “Toy” Nettles, Jr., President and CEO, presented the annual state of the co-op message. During a multi-media presentation, he spoke about “Today’s Successes and Tomorrow’s Possibilities” telling of the investment in technology the cooperative has made in recent years that is helping to reduce costs and giving members more control over their energy bills. Mr. Nettles reminded the audience that PDEC had recently issued Capital Credits checks totaling nearly $4 million. Capital Credits are monies over and above the cost of doing business and returned to the membership on a pro rata basis. Pee Dee Electric has issued Capital Credits checks to members for the past 35 years. Mr. Nettles said, because of the strong leadership of the locally elected Board of Trustees, Pee Dee Electric Cooperative will continue to be financially sound, even in hard economic times.

Four co-op members were elected to the eleven member Board of Trustees. Three incumbents by acclimation: Pat Toney – District 3, Preston Gainey – District 5 and LaShon Sellers – District 6. Lee C. White was elected to the District 11 seat.

PDEC was established in 1939 to provide dependable and reliable service at the lowest possible cost to the members. Because of the Good Value, Capital Credits, Good Service and being Financially Sound, Pee Dee Electric Cooperative is ranked among the top cooperatives in the nation and #1 in South Carolina in retiring Capital Credits.

Each registered member received a $20 energy voucher and was eligible to win one of 50 door prizes, a Bonus Prize of a $300, $400 or $500 energy voucher and the Grand Prize, a GMC Envoy. A health fair presented by Carolina Hospital System gave members a chance to check on blood pressure, cholesterol and other health-related issues. WIRE (Women Involved in Rural Electrification) held a drawing to raise money for scholarships with prizes of $200 and $300 cash.

Pee Dee Electric, a Touchstone Energy Cooperative, is a member-owned electricity distribution cooperative and serves approximately 30,000 accounts in Darlington, Marion, Florence, Dillon, Lee and Chesterfield counties.

For more information visit PeeDeeElectric.com, call 843-665-4070 or toll free 866-747-0060.