REGULAR BOARD MEETING
June 27, 2022
The Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees of Newberry Electric Cooperative, Inc. was held at the Newberry Electric Cooperative, Inc. located in Newberry County, State of South Carolina on Monday, June 27, 2022.
The meeting was called to order by Chairman Johnnie L. Dickert at 6:34 p.m. followed by the invocation with the determination of a quorum present.
The secretary reported that the following Board Members were present:
C.J. Bishop Leon Fulmer William Lominick, Sr.
Blake Brigman Douglas Hipp John Nichols
Johnnie Dickert J. Craig Kesler
Also present were President and CEO G. Keith Avery, Vice President of Engineering Kevin Shull, Engineering Analyst Michael Martin, and Executive Secretary Deirdre Murphy. Trustee Melanie Hawkins and Attorney Thomas Pope, III were absent.
President and CEO Avery introduced Kevin Shull to the trustees. Mr. Shull is the newly hired Vice President of Engineering. Previously, he had been with an electric cooperative for the past 17 years. He thanked everyone for the opportunity here at Newberry Electric.
Engineering Analyst, Michael Martin, described in detail a cyber-security software that he has been using on a trial basis. He expressed how pleased he is with the DarkTrace software, and the issues it has detected. Several trustees stated that a demonstration of this software was shown at a recent conference. After much discussion, a motion was made by Trustee Hipp to add DarkTrace as an added layer of cyber-security for Newberry Electric at the four-year contract price. The motion was seconded and passed without opposition.
The Board dispensed with the reading of the minutes of the May 2022 Regular Board Meeting. A motion was made by Trustee Hipp to accept the minutes as emailed with the needed correction. The motion was seconded and passed without opposition.
Committee Chairman John W. Nichols reported that the Finance Committee held its regular meeting on Monday, June 20, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. The committee members are Trustees C.J. Bishop, Johnnie Dickert, William Lominick, and John Nichols. All were present along with President and CEO Avery.
Chairman Nichols reported that the Finance Committee reviewed the cash disbursements for May 2022. All expenditures were found to be in order, and the committee is presenting this report as general information. The consensus of the board was to accept the report.
Attorney Thomas H. Pope, III was absent, therefore there was no Attorney Report.
President Avery reviewed the functions and activities he attended or participated in during the month of June. He attended a meeting with Dr. Sanela Porca, the Executive Director of the Pacer Centre for Excellence in Business Research and Entrepreneurship at USC-Aiken, to discuss the economic development impact of the county. He also attended a meeting with Santee Cooper to discuss the transmission lines. President Avery attended the 5th anniversary of Samsung being in Newberry.
President and CEO Avery reviewed in detail the operational data for May 2022. He stated that he would like to have a meeting to review each line of the Form 7 in detail with the trustees. The amount of write offs for May is $3229.22. A motion was made by Trustee Hipp to accept this amount. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
President and CEO G. Keith Avery asked Mr. Shull to review the Engineering and Operations and Operational Support reports for the month. Mr. Shull stated that Engineering has continued to work on the Fairview and Hollands relay upgrades. Prosperity Substation upgrades are an ongoing process. Lee Electric has completed the Prosperity Circuit #7 Re-Conductor and started on Long Lane Circuit #3 upgrades. Mr. Shull and Mr. Nick Shealy, Vice President of Operations, met with EZ Block Chain on data mining to discuss locations and power requirements. Linemen Hogan Sanders and Chandler Williams attended apprentice training.
President and CEO Avery reminded the trustees of the NRECA Regional Meeting to be held in October 2022. Several trustees expressed an interest in attending.
President Avery reviewed the Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina Communications Committee Meeting Minutes from June 2, 2022, the ECSC Board Meeting Highlights for June 7, 2022, and the Central Electric Power Cooperative June 8, 2022 Executive Committee Meeting Minutes Summary. All were accepted as information.
President Avery reminded the trustees of the SC7 Lunch and Learn to be held on Thursday, July 14, 2022 at the Newberry Firehouse Conference Center. Several trustees expressed an interest in attending the event.
President Avery referenced a patronage dividend check and certificate from CEE-US for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2021.
President Avery stated that his meeting with Dr. Porca was to discuss what economic impact the Newberry Opera House has had on the community. President Avery has secured a grant of $25,000.00 to help with an impact study. Hopefully, other funds can be secured to help. After some discussion, Trustee Kesler made a motion to donate $2,500.00 to the study, if other funds can be raised to pay for the cost. There is no deadline for the funds to be raised. The motion was seconded and passed without opposition.
There being no further business and without objections, Chairman Johnnie L. Dickert adjourned the June 2022 Regular Board Meeting at 8:25 p.m.
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SECRETARY APPROVED
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CHAIRMAN