After last year’s postponement due to COVID-19, GVEC was pleased to host the 2021 Annual Meeting live and in person on June 25 at the Gonzales High School Special Events Center.
A total of 1,745 members participated, either in person or by proxy. Attendees and GVEC employees alike were delighted to be back in person and celebrated the Cooperative’s resilience, compassion and continued financial strength amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Members began arriving and registering at 5:30 p.m. While waiting for the business meeting, attendees mingled, enjoyed refreshments, chili dogs and listened to a prerecorded selection of classic and contemporary country music. They also browsed exhibits featuring GVEC products and services, including from GVEC AC/heating services and high-speed internet.
Customer Service Representatives were available to help members sign up for the SmartHub® self-service customer portal and TextPower™, a convenient service allowing members to report outages and receive a power restoration estimation by text message.
GVEC Board President Lewis Borgfeld opened the business meeting at 7 p.m. and Board Vice President Melvin E. Strey delivered the invocation.
Next came the election of District Directors. Three of 2021’s elections were uncontested: Henry C. Schmidt Jr. will serve as District 3 Director; Gary Birdwell will serve as District 9 Director; and David Warzecha will serve as District 11 Director. District 6 was a contested election in 2021. Leo York received 860 total votes and Joe A. Castilleja 814 total votes, making York the new District 6 Director.
Three additional elections deferred from 2020 were also conducted. All three incumbents from these districts ran unopposed and had remained in their position from 2020 to 2021. Consequently, each Director will serve two more years before standing for reelection in 2023: Lewis Borgfeld, District 2; Morris Harvey, District 5 and Mark Roberts, District 8.
This year’s Annual Meeting Video, titled Empowering Life, emphasized ways COVID-19 impacted GVEC’s 2020 projects and initiatives, forcing us to adapt and adjust in ways never before necessary. This, in turn, created new opportunities to empower lives across the Guadalupe Valley in innovative ways, helping to ease pandemic hardships among those we serve.
For example, COVID-19 triggered explosive demand for new internet installations. GVEC’s Internet team worked tirelessly to fulfill that need, adding over 17,000 total new Wireless and Fiber Internet customers in 2020. The Cooperative also suspended electric disconnects for nonpayment and late fees. Our charitable foundation, meanwhile, increased Power Up billing assistance by $20,000, and we paid $6.6 million in capital credits to members, the largest such payout in Cooperative history. GVEC also donated Wi-Fi coverage to local school systems, allowing students and teachers without home internet to participate in online learning. Other topics included in the 2021 Annual Meeting video include the following:
- Our new Peak-Time Payback demand response program, designed to reduce overall energy usage during peak demand periods and stabilize transmission rates
- Our new Drone Inspection program, which allows the Cooperative to inspect transmission infrastructure in a dramatically decreased amount of time
- Growth in our beyond the meter services despite the pandemic, including AC/heating, Solar and Battery, and Electrician services.
- Completion of GVEC’s second E-Rate project in 2020, this one in partnership with Moulton ISD. This project increased the district’s internet speed from 100 Mbps to 750 Mbps, while lowering its monthly costs. The project also allowed GVEC to bring Fiber Internet service to Moulton, while upgrading and enhancing the electric grid.
- Community initiatives, economic development activities and the 2020 financial report
Amid a year of struggle, loss and recovery throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, GVEC’s Public Service Awards (PSA) presentation took on added meaning in 2021. GVEC introduced the award in 1986 to recognize people, businesses and organizations who’ve provided consistent, unselfish and considerable service to their communities and to the people around them.
COVID-19 pressed and mobilized Cooperative communities in unprecedented ways. As such, GVEC believed it appropriate to recognize two healthcare organizations that were instrumental in helping plan, implement and coordinate the region’s pandemic response: Gonzales Healthcare Systems and Guadalupe Regional Medical Center.
Both these outstanding local hospitals stepped up to provide services to those needing it most, implementing new policies and procedures to keep patients and medical personnel safe. Long hours became a way of life for many of these professionals in their steadfast dedication to caring for COVID-19 patients. More recently, these same hospitals have been critical in setting up COVID-19 vaccination clinics, helping drive new cases dramatically lower. These hospital employees are the unsung heroes of COVID-19, working tirelessly and selflessly for the public good. That’s why GVEC chose to honor them with these awards.
Members can view the Annual Report as well as the video presentation online at www.gvec.org.
