Cramer Gallimore
More power to you
Rep. Michele Presnell (R-Yancey) presents the electric cooperative’s regulatory reform bill to the House Public Utilities Committee. Rep. Bryan Holloway (R-Stokes) presides in the Appropriations Committee Room of the Legislative Office Building. The bill passed unanimously with bipartisan support.
Your co-op delegates at work in Raleigh Grants for schoolteachers Now through September, North Carolina’s 26 electric cooperatives are accepting applications for the Bright Ideas education grant program. More than $600,000 will be awarded to teachers across the state to fund creative classroom projects for the 2013–2014 school year. “It is an honor to reward the hard work and creativity of Tar Heel teachers who, in turn, will improve education in North Carolina classrooms,” said Lindsey Listrom, Bright Ideas coordinator for North Carolina’s electric cooperatives. Tar Heel teachers in grades K–12 can receive funding for innovative, classroom-based projects that would not otherwise be funded. Each year, close to 600 grants are funded across the state to teachers in eligible schools in a variety of disciplines, including music, art, history, reading, science, careerplanning and information technology. Since 1994, the Bright Ideas education grant program has reached more than 1.5 million students in North Carolina by awarding more than $8.5 million in grant money to sponsor more than 8,300 projects. Additional information on the program and applications are available online at www.ncbrightideas.com
More than 150 board members and employees from electric cooperatives across North Carolina visited the state legislative building on March 13 for the annual “Rally in Raleigh.” During the rally, cooperative leaders met with their local representatives in the North Carolina House and Senate to discuss issues facing electric cooperatives, including copper theft, regulatory reform and tax reform. Legislation plays a key role in the cooperatives’ ability to deliver safe,
affordable, reliable power. Legislation and regulation are key drivers of cost, including an aging infrastructure and incorporating new technology to meet members’ expectations. Co-op board members and staff discussed these issues and also shared success stories with elected officials about the projects in their districts, including: new construction, energy efficiency, economic development, grid modernization and community outreach.
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Did you join the Youth Tour to Washington? Fifty years ago, the Rural Electric Youth Tour to Washington, D.C., hosted its first group of high school students to learn about electric cooperatives, as well as U.S. government and history. North Carolina cooperatives have sent more than 1,600 students throughout the years, some who remain close to home and others who have scattered throughout the country. If you have represented a cooperative on the Tour, join other alumni in a listing compiled by the North Carolina Association of Electric Cooperatives. Add what you’ve been up to since the Youth Tour — your education, your career, your location and your favorite memories of that week spent in D.C. The database of Youth Tour alumni is being put together at www.ncelectriccooperatives.com/youthtour
8 May 2013 Carolina Country
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