matters MEMBERSHIP
A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER FROM BLUE RIDGE ENERGY
February 2018
Vegetation management balances power reliability with scenic beauty
Vegetation management The single major cause of power outages during severe weather is damage to power lines from trees and limbs caused by severe weather such as high winds, heavy snow, ice, or lightning. With more than 8,000 miles of power lines to protect, Blue Ridge Energy works year-round on vegetation management to ensure members have the most reliable electricity possible. While Blue Ridge ranks among the most reliable electric providers, your cooperative has added another method to help achieve reliability in a safe, environmentally friendly manner: aerial tree pruning.
Used by utilities across the nation for years, aerial tree pruning is approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The process is less intrusive to member property and the environment than traditional methods.
As with all vegetation management, members are notified in advance of pruning. Debris is removed from maintained areas, while in nonmaintained areas, debris is either left or bush hogged to the ground. Vegetation management occurs in rights-of-way. A
right-of-way is a strip of land along either side of power lines. It helps protect the lines and allows linemen to work safely while building and maintaining the power system to ensure members receive reliable electricity. This method utilizes trained helicopter pilots who carefully conduct pruning along rights-of-ways. Trained employee “spotters� are located on ground level and are in constant communication with the pilot.
Our vegetation management program combines several growth control methods that balance scenic beauty with safe, reliable electricity. For more information, visit BlueRidgeEnergy.com/ Trees.
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the
perspective From Blue Ridge CEO Doug Johnson
Members Foundation milestones A decade ago, Blue Ridge Energy’s vision for a better future for the members and communities it serves led to the founding of the cooperative’s Members Foundation. As the Foundation commemorates its 10-year anniversary, it’s also celebrating exceeding the $1 million giving mark after awarding the community grants listed on the next page. The Members Foundation is also quickly approaching another milestone with $3 million in total assistance including helping members and families stay warm in the winter with heating bill assistance. This would not have been possible if it weren’t for you, our members, and the success of the cooperative’s subsidiaries. Thanks go to our members who generously round up their monthly electric bills or donate larger amounts of their choice to Operation Round Up. Some even donate their annual capital credits refunds and you’ll see this year’s opportunity to do so on the cover wrap of this issue of Carolina Country magazine. Also contributing up to $50,000 annually to the Foundation from their MEMBERSHIP matters
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profits is the cooperative’s Propane and Fuels and RidgeLink Telecommunications subsidiaries. Members also help guide the Foundation. A Foundation Advisory Committee, made up of volunteer members, reviews applications annually and makes grant recommendations to the Foundation’s Board of Directors for funding approval. While crisis heating assistance remains a cornerstone of Foundation support, improving local quality of life across our service area is being achieved through funding for Foundation grants in the areas of health and wellness, education and youth, environmental enhancement, as well as economic and community development. As we celebrate our 10-year anniversary and giving milestones, we want to take this opportunity to thank you, the members, who generously give to Operation Round Up as well as those who use our propane and fuels services or purchase hearth and home products from our showrooms. Working together, your Members Foundation is helping improve the quality of life in our area and serving others in need of a helping hand!
If you would like to join Operation Round Up to help the Members Foundation improve local quality of life and provide crisis heating assistance, please call a local Blue Ridge Energy office or sign up online at: BlueRidgeEnergy.com/ operation-round-up. To learn more about the Blue Ridge Electric Members Foundation visit: BlueRidgeEnergy.com/ members-foundation.
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Members Foundation 2017 grant recipients Alleghany County Alleghany Partnership for Children
$2,000 To purchase food, supplies, child safety seats and other needed items for the Circle of Parents group.
Alleghany Wellness Center
$4,500 $2,000 toward the expansion of the current program, Health is Power (HIP), and $1,500 for PSR clients attendance of AWC progams of exercise and cooking health
Solid Rock Food Closet
$2,030 Establishment of necessary infrastructure for day-to-day distribution of fresh produce
Wilkes Community College Alleghany
$23,817 Construction of a Welding & Diesel Technology Center
Ashe County Ashe County Sharing Center
$1,000 Funds requested for The Sharing Center Main Pantry, The Children’s Pantry and Backpack Outreach Ministry and the Northwest Ashe Mobile Pantry
Ashe Memorial Hospital
$25,000 Replacement of current operating room lights
Ashe Partnership for Children
$30,000 Remodel of residential property into the Partnership office
Ashe Really Cares
$1,000 Purchase of a commercial refrigeration unit
Ashe Services for Aging
$10,000 Funds to replace exterior porches
Helton Township, Inc.
$5,000 New flooring for safety and efficiency
Ashe Memorial Hospital received a $25,000 grant to replace their operating room lights.
Caldwell County Caldwell County REACT
$3,000 Disaster and emergency assistance to first responders and education about disaster preparedness
Caldwell Senior Center
$5,000 Funds used to support Medicare counseling and enrollments
Communities in Schools Caldwell County
$1,435 Funding of “Pathways to the Future” program
Helping Hands Clinic
$5,000 Support of the Urgent Care Clinic
South Caldwell Christian Ministries
$3,000 Support of the food pantry program
The Caldwell Halfway House
$10,000 Support of a safe and healthy environment for alcoholics and addicts as they recover and re-enter society
Watauga County
ut ric on
Casting Bread Food Pantry
$3,218 Establishment of a Welcome Center to allow patrons of pantry/soup kitchen a waiting area
Community Care Clinic
$5,000 Expansion of mental health offerings and tobacco cessation services for low income individuals $7,500 Restoration of St. Matthews Chapel
m/ on.
Friends of St. Matthews Chapel Hospitality House in Boone
$2,500 Support of the Garden Program which contributes fresh produce, eggs and herbs to the kitchen/pantry
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Hunger & Health Coalition OASIS
$13,000 Replacement of incandescent tube lighting to LED bulbs for annual cost reduction of $1,100 per year $2,000 To fund utility deposits for families fleeing intimate partner violence
Multi County American Red Cross
$5,000 Funds to support Disaster Cycle Services
Special Olympics
$5,000 Funds to engage those with intellectual disabilities in a sports program with their peers Total $175,000
The Blue Ridge Electric Members Foundation was formed to help members participate in the cooperative’s mission of helping local communities in its service area. Foundation funds are used in two ways: first, to provide crisis electric and fuel bill assistance to members coordinated through local helping agencies and secondly, to provide grants to local non-profit organizations for projects that help sustain and build quality of life. Funding comes from members participating in the cooperative’s Operation Round Up® and Operation Round Up Plus® programs, memberdonated capital credits, as well as contributions from the profits of the cooperative’s two subsidiary companies.
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a special message for our disabled veterans. . .
No Barriers Warriors Expeditions Blue Ridge Energy is seeking disabled veterans to participate in the No Barriers Warriors Expeditions this summer, a five-day program in Colorado designed to help disabled veterans transform their lives through curriculumbased experiences in challenging environments. The expeditions are described as “one-part adventure, one-part curriculum, and one-part physical challenge” and are designed to push participants mentally and physically to help them connect with fellow disabled veterans and break through barriers in their lives. Blue Ridge Energy will take care of all the expenses. Nominate yourself or someone you think deserves this special opportunity. For an application and to learn more about this exciting opportunity visit BlueRidgeEnergy.com/ No-barriers.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Attention youth!
EDITOR
Scholarship and leadership opportunities are available as part of Blue Ridge Energy’s support of local communities.
Doug Johnson
Renée R. Whitener
PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR Susan Simmons
DISTRICT OFFICES Caldwell Watauga Ashe Alleghany Wilkes PowerLine®
(828) 754-9071 (828) 264-8894 (336) 846-7138 (336) 372-4646 (800) 451-5474 (800) 448-2383
Toll Free
(800) 451-5474
(PowerLine® is an automated account information and outage reporting system.)
(for members outside of the service area.)
To report an outage at any time, call PowerLine at (800) 448-2383. OFFICE HOURS: 8:30 am - 5:00 pm, Monday-Friday Kiosk available 24/7 + Night deposit Visit us on the web: BlueRidgeEnergy.com +
Additionally, for students in Caldwell County, Blue Ridge Energy helps administer the Charles and Lucille Suddreth scholarship, which awards $800 for a student attaining a two-year degree. Financial need and academic performance are the primary criteria and the deadline for applications is March 31, 2018. Apply at BlueRidge Energy.com/scholarships.
To qualify for these opportunities, high school students must join Blue Ridge Energy’s Leadership Track in their freshman or sophomore years, or as early as possible during high school. To join or learn more, go to BlueRidge Did you know. . . Energy.com/youthQualifying seniors are invited to leadership-track.
apply for up to eight $4,000
In February, qualifying renewable scholarships? seniors involved in Blue Ridge Energy’s Leadership Track will be invited to apply Leadership camp opportunities as well as college bound workshops for up to eight $4,000 renewable scholarships for students seeking are also available to high school sophomores and juniors in the Blue a four-year degree. Awards are Ridge Energy Leadership Track. based on leadership performance, resume development and a personal Learn more at BlueridgeEnergy.com/ youth-leadership-track. interview.
This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
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