The Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees of Newberry Electric Cooperative, Inc. was held at Newberry Electric Cooperative, Inc., located in Newberry County, South Carolina, on Monday, February 23, 2026.
The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by Chairman Johnnie Dickert, followed by Trustee Blake Brigman’s invocation, with the determination of a quorum present.
The secretary reported that the following Board Members were present:
Barbara C. Bishop Leon Fulmer, Jr. J. Craig Kesler
Melanie B. Hawkins William Lominick, Sr. Johnnie L. Dickert Douglas E. Hipp John W. Nichols
M. Blake Brigman attended via Webex.
Also present were President and CEO G. Keith Avery, Attorney Thomas Pope, III, CFO Arthur Guy, Accounting Supervisor Lisa Wicker, CPA William R. Rountree, and Executive Assistant Tara Chapman.
Mr. Guy introduced Mr. William R. Rountree, CPA, for McNair, McLemore, Middlebrooks & CO., who delivered the results of the company's audit for the year ended December 31, 2025. Mr. Morris expressed how the staff provided all the information needed for the audit. He stated that Newberry Electric has a clean, unmodified good opinion for the year. Following the presentation, Mr. Rountree, Mr. Guy, and Mrs. Wicker left the meeting.
The meeting continued with the reading and approval of the January 2026 Regular Board meeting minutes. Trustee Nichols made a motion to approve the meeting minutes as emailed. The motion was seconded and approved without objection. The meeting continued with the reading and approval of the January 2026 Special Board Meeting minutes. Trustee Lominick made a motion to approve the meeting minutes as emailed. The motion was seconded and approved without objection.
Finance Committee Chairman John W. Nichols reported that the Finance Committee held its regular meeting on Monday, February 16, 2026. The committee members are Trustees Johnnie Dickert, William Lominick, Craig Kesler, and John Nichols. All were present, including President and CEO Avery.
Chairman Nichols reported that the Finance Committee reviewed cash disbursements for January 2026. All expenditures were found to be in order, and the committee presents this report for general information. The board's consensus was to accept the report.
President and CEO Avery presented to the Board, in detail, the proposed updates to the Trustee and Attorney Benefits previously discussed at the February 2026 Finance Committee meeting.
The Finance Committee recommended that Newberry Electric Cooperative discontinue its contribution toward monthly premiums for dependent insurance coverage and will no longer cover Trustee and Attorney Aflac policy premiums. Trustees and the Attorney may elect to continue dependent coverage. However, the full cost of coverage will be the responsibility of the Trustee. To offset this change, there will be an increase in the Trustee per diem and the Attorney retainer fee. The motion was seconded and approved by unanimous vote and will go into effect on March 1, 2026.
Attorney Thomas H. Pope, III, stated that he did have an Attorney’s Report. Attorney Pope went over the Board Resolution required to authorize the amendment and resolution of the 2025 Deferred Revenue Plan. After some discussion, Trustee Nichols made a motion to accept the revised 2025 Deferred Revenue Plan. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously.
Chairman Dickert then requested that the meeting go into executive session. President Avery and Mrs. Chapman left the meeting at this time. After some discussion, the Board approved that the meeting reconvene in Regular Session. There were no actions taken or votes acted upon during the Executive Session.
President and CEO Avery reviewed the events and meetings he attended in February. This included meeting with Newberry County’s new County Administrator. Attending Co-op Day at the State House.
President and CEO Avery reviewed the operational data for January 2026 in detail. The amount of write offs for January is $5,210.13. A motion was made by Trustee Hipp to accept this amount. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
President and CEO Avery reviewed the Engineering and Operations and Operational Support reports for the month. Inspections on all substations, including Fairview and Hollands Substation reclosers, have been completed. Sectionalizing has been performed on Mill Road in Pomaria due to excessive blinking and outages. Reported that there were no outages due to load during the record breaking cold snaps.
President and CEO Avery went over the upcoming NRECA PowerXchange conference, to be held in March 2026. He confirmed that seven Trustees plan to attend the event.
President and CEO Avery discussed details of the upcoming NRECA Washington Legislative Rally, to be held in April 2026. Five Trustees expressed interest in attending the event.
President and CEO Avery informed the board that the Washington Youth Tour and the Cooperative Youth Summit applications are due by March 1, 2026.
President and CEO Avery reviewed the memo from Central Electric Power Cooperative, Inc., requesting certification of trustee qualifications for the Central Trustee Appointments for their Annual Meeting, to be held on March 18, 2026. Trustee Nichols made a motion to appoint Chairman Dickert and President Avery as the Cooperative’s appointed Trustees for Central Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
President and CEO Avery reviewed the sponsorship request from Horry Electric Cooperative, Inc., for their Bright Ideas 5k event. After some discussion, a motion was made by Trustee Kesler to accept this request as information. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously.
President and CEO Avery reviewed Central Electric Power Cooperative, Inc.’s meeting summaries for the February 9, 2026 Member & Energy Services, February 9, 2026 Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, February 10, 2026 Power Committee, and the February 10, 2026 Engineering Committee.
President and CEO Avery reviewed a sponsorship request from Newberry High School for their Special Olympics event. A motion was made by Trustee Lominick to donate $450.00 for the event. The motion was seconded and approved by a unanimous vote.
President and CEO Avery reviewed Central Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. Market Renewable Energy Credit (M-REC) Program and Rider, allowing qualifying commercial and industrial members the option to purchase renewable energy credits to offset their energy usage. Trustee Nichols made a motion to approve the Resolution of the Board of Trustees of Newberry Electric Cooperative, Inc., adopting the Market Renewable Energy Credit Program and Rider. The motion was seconded and approved by a unanimous vote.
The next scheduled Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees will be held on Monday, March 30, 2026, at 6:30 p.m.
There being no further business and without objections, Chairman Johnnie L. Dickert adjourned the February Regular Board Meeting at 8:36 p.m.
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SECRETARY APPROVED
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CHAIRMAN