Taking a Lap Among the Pines The Occoneechee Speedway lives on through historic preservation

Taking a Lap

Among the Pines

The Occoneechee Speedway lives on through historic preservation

Photos and story by Anne Puetzer

Growing up in North Carolina, I’ve seen my fair share of NASCAR tracks. But this one was different. The secluded Occoneechee Speedway, tucked in a cedar and pine forest along the Eno River, was an unplanned stop during a family day trip to Hillsborough. When the shady, tranquil walk brought us to an opening in a tall, rusty fence originally intended to keep unticketed on-lookers from catching a glimpse of a race, what we saw completely surprised us all. As we stared down at the dirt track my family reacted:

“Wow!”

“That looks fun!”

And most unexpected, from my teenage son: “Hey, cool! I’m pretty sure this is the race track from [Disney/Pixar’s] ‘Cars 3’!”

A rowdy past

As we sat in the grandstands (well, the younger children happily ran up and down pretending to serve us snacks from the old concession stand nearby) it was easy to imagine the roar of 10,000 fans, and cars racing past at speeds up to 90 mph in large clouds of dust. A few old cars stationed along the track further enthused my children, and again the conversation turned to the movie, “Cars 3” (I’ll come back to that).

Occoneechee Speedway is one of NASCAR’s original tracks — and the only surviving dirt track from its inaugural 1949 season. Drivers raced 100 laps at its first race in 1949, and the track went on to host 31 additional NASCAR races. Richard Petty won the final race at this location on September 15, 1968. He drove a ’68 Plymouth 167 laps with an average speed of 87.6 mph, winning $1,600.

The Eno River is located only a few yards off the far side of the track, opposite the grandstands. A curve at the bottom of the track closely follows a bend in the river. Standing on the bank we had to wonder: could a car spinning out of control end up in the river? Apparently, they did.

From track to trail

Named for the Occaneechi, a tribe of Native American Indians who lived near the location 300 years ago, the 0.9-mile track is seamlessly incorporated into other trails that run along the Eno River in Hillsborough.

The speedway was untouched for many years, but in the 1990s, volunteers from the Historic Speedway Group restored several of the

The Occoneechee Speedway, 1949 Richard Petty won the final race at this location on Sept. 15, 1968. He drove a ’68 Plymouth 167 laps with an average speed of 87.6 mph, winning $1,600.

buildings on site. On September 1, 2002, the Occoneechee Speedway trail opened to the public. It is currently under the care of the Classical American Homes Preservation Trust.

While many abandoned race tracks remain just that — abandoned —  Hillsborough certainly has not forgotten its past. This track is now on the National Register of Historic Places, an honor given to only a handful of other racing venues.

On the screen

After our outing, we watched several videos of races at the Occoneechee Speedway. We were amazed at the transformation — my youngest children had a hard time believing it was the same racetrack.

And much to my teenage son’s delight, he was on the right track, as they say. The fictional Thomasville Speedway, a dirt track in “Cars 3,” was inspired by a combination of both the Occoneechee Speedway and the North Wilkesboro dirt track.

And in paying further homage to our state’s racing roots, Junior Johnson, who raced often at the Occoneechee Speedway, voiced one of the movie’s main characters.

Writer and photographer Anne Puetzer, a member of Wake Electric, lives with her husband and their five children in Wake County.

Find the track

The raceway, not visible from any road, is a short ¼-mile walk from the parking area located at 320 Elizabeth Brady Road in Hillsborough. Visit bit.ly/track-trail for more information, including hours (the site is closed after sunset).

carolinacountry.com/extras Watch some Occoneechee Speedway highlights from 1951. Beverage Manufacturer opening a BRAND NEW Facility in Morganton, North Carolina

NOW HIRING

� Machine Operator � Shift Supervisor � Shipping/Receiving Clerk � Batch/Blending Operator � Quality Control Technician � Warehouse Manager � Maintenance Technician � Inventory Control

EARN A $800 BONUS*

If you are looking for an exciting new opportunity in a growing, stable, and family-oriented company with opportunity for growth � Medical � Vacation � Vision/Dental � Sick Leave  � 401(K) � Holidays

APPLY

NOW!

In person 100 Ceramic Tile Drive, Morganton, NC

A publication for Surry-Yadkin EMC members

July 2021

Surry-Yadkin EMC’s office will be closed Monday, July 5, 2021, in observance of Independence Day.

Bright Ideas grants available

Brain Bins. Bulldogs Weather Center. Brave Kids Club. Grow Baby Grow. Making a Brighter World. Farm to Table. Sustainable Agriculture. Barbie Bungee.

Those are the innovative projects that were funded in 2020 through Surry-Yadkin EMC’s Bright Ideas Education Grant program. Now SYEMC is looking for a new slate of grant recipients.

Local educators at schools in the Surry-Yadkin EMC service area are eligible to apply for the Bright Ideas grants. The grants, offered annually to teachers to bring creative classroom learning projects to life, support innovative projects that energize classroom learning and enhance student success.

“As students and teachers face the challenges of the past year, we’re excited to be able to continue our long history of supporting them with grants that fulfill needs in local classrooms,” said Wendy Wood, manager of communications & community relations for Surry-Yadkin EMC. “As a community-focused organization, we are committed to building a brighter future for our students and our region, and we encourage all educators with ‘bright ideas’ to submit an application.”

Surry-Yadkin EMC expects to award $6,250 in Bright Ideas grants this year to K-12 teachers across its service area in Surry, Yadkin, Stokes, Wilkes and Forsyth counties. Grants are available in all subject areas, and teachers can apply individually or as a team.

The application period for the Bright Ideas grant program is now open, with an early bird deadline of Aug. 16, 2021, and a final deadline of Sept. 15, 2021. Teachers submitting an application by the early bird deadline will be entered for a chance to win one of five $100 Visa gift cards. To apply, teachers must include a budget; explain the implementation, goals, creative elements and evaluation of the project; and have approval from their school’s principal. Applications will be judged blindly through a competitive evaluation process, with judges looking for projects that feature inventive and creative approaches to learning. Grant-writing tips and applications can be found at ncbrightideas.com.

For more than 25 years, North Carolina’s 26 electric cooperatives have offered Bright Ideas grants to teachers. Since the program began in 1994, educators statewide have received more than $13.6 million in Bright Ideas grant funding, and more than 2.7 million North Carolina students have participated in close to 13,000 Bright Ideas-funded projects.

ConnectWith: Directors are part of cooperative membership

Directors oversee many aspects of cooperative

One of the many differences between an electric cooperative and other types of utilities is who runs the cooperative and is responsible for decisions that are made. An electric cooperative is operated by a board of directors which is made up of members elected by the membership to act in their best interests and the best interest of the cooperative.

For Surry-Yadkin Electric Membership Corporation, the board of directors is made up of 10 members, one from each district in the five-county service territory. The elections for directors are held annually prior to the co-op’s Annual Meeting with winners announced during the meeting. Directors serve three-year terms. Two years, there are three seats elected, and the third year, there are four seats elected.

“The owners elect the board and place in its hands the administration of the assets and responsibilities of the cooperative,” according to the Roles and Responsibilities of Electric Cooperative Boards of Directors as outlined in the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) “Guides for Electric Cooperative Development and Rural Electrification.”

Each cooperative’s board of directors has five principal functions, according to the NRECA Guide. Those include: 1. Legal — to ensure the legal right of the cooperative to exist 2. Trusteeship — to act in the best interest of the members 3. Planning — to develop programs and carry out plans based on ideals that reflect the thinking of its members, with realistic goals adjusted to the purposes of the cooperative 4. Resources — to assure the availability of basic resources, including personnel, loan funds, wholesale power, and revenue, according to the cooperative’s size and needs 5. Control — to monitor operations to assure compliance with board policy, budgets, member relations, loan covenants, contractual compliance, and long-range planning.

“In these five areas, directors must delicately balance their responsibility to establish policies and procedures for the cooperative with their responsibility to allow the staff to control day-today operations,” the Guide explains.

The individual directors also have duties and responsibilities in their roles, above and beyond the functions of the whole board. A director must be loyal to the cooperative entity; obedient in his or her duties in accordance with applicable laws, bylaws, contracts and policies; and have due care to perform his or her duties as a member of the board, or any committee of the board in a manner he or she reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the cooperative.

The board also is responsible for monitoring the cooperative’s finances and approving annual budgets, as well as approving major contracts.

“A board is extremely important to the success of the organization,” says the Guide. “Boards represent owners and have final responsibility for the organization. It therefore follows that board members must understand their duties and responsibilities and diligently carry them out.”

There are four key codes of ethics to See Directors, page D

Manager ' s Message | GreG Puckett

Warm months are a good time to schedule home energy audits

Dear Valued Member,

Our area experienced a short summer-like heat wave in mid-May, and now we are in the middle of the hot summer peaking season. Our region has two peaking (peak-energy-use) seasons — the summer months (June through September) when afternoon temperatures are hot and the winter months (December through March) when morning temperatures are colder.

During these peaking months, members have higher kilowatt-hour use from heating or cooling homes and other appliance use, meaning higher bills. If you feel like your power use may show something out of the ordinary causing higher than typical bills, our member services representatives and our member support and energy services departments are here to help.

I want to encourage members to reach out to our member services representatives (MSRs), who can review your billing history with you. They will ask certain questions to determine if a situation needs to be addressed and they will look to see if a member’s use is significantly different than in previous years. If the high-bill concerns remain, our member support and energy services department can provide a more in-depth look at the account, and a home energy audit can be scheduled.

Home energy audits also can be scheduled for any member who is interested in finding ways to make their home more energy efficient, whether they are having unusually high bills or not.

A home energy audit utilizes tools such as a blower door test and thermal imaging camera to highlight air leaks where warm and cool air can seep into a home and cause unnecessary energy use. The audit report following the visit by our team will provide a list of improvements and repairs — some simple do-it-yourself projects and others that may require more work — that will improve the home’s energy efficiency.

Kim Blackburn, manager of member support & energy services, and Jaye Hall, who works on energy efficiency and energy audits, explained that when a member is referred to their department, they will go through a series of questions with the member. These questions are to help narrow down what might be causing high usage, such as water leaks, HVAC issues, or a bad well pump motor, just to name a few.

The team, which also includes Scott Tate and Paul Gillespie, will then schedule a home visit to conduct the home energy audit. If the member is a rental tenant, then the landlord must be present during the home energy audit.

Jaye said there are some basic energy efficient changes anyone can do, such as switching to LED or energy efficient lighting, adding weather stripping and pipe insulation, adding a hot water heater blanket, having your HVAC unit serviced regularly, changing air filters regularly, or caulking where air leaks are found.

In several cases, they have determined the cause of the high usage to be issues with well pumps, hot water heaters and HVAC units. Occasionally, the cause has been a bad clothes dryer element, issues with a freezer, and appliances pulling more energy than they should be due to age.

The team also talks to the members about the various rate options available that could help them save money.

As a member of Surry-Yadkin EMC, our members also have access to the ElecTel Cooperative Federal Credit Union. ElecTel provides a variety of loan options, with one specifically meant to help fund home energy efficiency projects. More information on ElecTel and its loan options can be found at ElecTel.org or by calling 800849-5600.

If you have concerns about your account, please reach out to our MSRs and our member support and energy services team by calling 336-356-8241 or 800-682-5903. For more energy efficiency tips, you can visit syemc. com/content/cost-saving-tips.

Jaye Hall conducts a blower door test on a member’s home. The blower door pulls the air from the home, allowing air leaks to be visible on a thermal imaging camera as dark places such as the picture below around the window seal.

Cooperatively yours,

Greg Puckett Executive Vice President & General Manager

consider as a director. Those are representing the interests of all, not special interests; respecting and supporting the majority decision of the board; being prepared to make constructive decisions; and acting as a trustee of the cooperative.

Other duties of a director include attending board meetings regularly; becoming knowledgeable about the industry and the director’s duties to the cooperative through training and certification; making decisions that affect the cooperative and its members and employees; representing the cooperative professionally; assuming board leadership when asked; keeping the general manager informed; and respecting the relationship between the board and the general manager.

The Surry-Yadkin EMC Board of Directors focuses on the co-op’s mission statement — providing outstanding service that powers our rural communities — as it makes decisions affecting the cooperative, its members and its employees.

Surry-Yadkin EMC directors also must meet specific qualifications which are outlined in the cooperative’s Bylaws in section 5.02.

SYEMC launches Energized! podcast

Surry-Yadkin EMC’s Communications team kicked off its new podcast, Energized!, in early June featuring a discussion with Greg Puckett, executive vice president and general manager.

Energized! can be found at syemc.com or on popular podcast platforms by searching Energized or Surry-Yadkin.

Episodes will include informational and educational topics like the history of the co-op, rate options, Operation Round Up and much more.

Meet your directors

Alvin Reid Jr. — District 5

Alvin Reid Jr. has been a member of Surry-Yadkin EMC for about 50 years. He has served on the board of directors for almost 6 years. He serves on the board’s Bylaws, Policies and Service Rules Committee.

His awards and certificates include the Credentialed Cooperative Director (CCD), and he has taken several courses toward the Board Leadership Certificate (BLC).

He retired from school administration with Surry County Schools, serving as assistant principal at East Surry High School, the same school from which he graduated. He also taught school in Forsyth County for 27 years.

“I thought it would be a good opportunity to serve in this capacity. I wanted to learn as much as I could about the cooperative and maybe contribute something back from the experiences of my professional career,” said Reid of serving as a co-op director. “I feel that it is a great honor and privilege to serve on the board, and it has been a rewarding experience.

“I like the fact of knowing that I have a very reliable source of power. I feel that is also a great value. It is a good, secure feeling knowing that I am a member of such a great cooperative.”

He is a long-time member of the Christian faith and attends First United Methodist Church of Pilot Mountain. He and his wife have been blessed with a wonderful family — two children and their spouses and five grandchildren. The couple enjoys spending time with their family and attending their ballgames and other activities.

He received a Bachelor of Science from Appalachian State University and a Master of Arts from Gardner-Webb University. He enjoys working in the yard and garden, and over the years, he has played his share of golf and really likes spending time in his shop doing repairs or building something with wood, such as furniture, rocking horses, jewelry boxes and the like.

Lee Von “Toby” Speaks — District 7

Lee Von “Toby” Speaks has been a member of Surry-Yadkin EMC for 60 years. He has served on the board of directors for 30 years, most recently winning a contested election in 2018. He serves in the role of board president and serves on and chairs the Finance and Accounting Committee, the Ethics Committee, the Bylaws, Policies and Service Rules Committee, and the Economic Development Committee. In addition, Toby has served as the president and vice president of the North Carolina Association of Electric Cooperatives as well as on several other statewide committees.

His awards and certificates include Credentialed Cooperative Director (CCD), Board Leadership Certificate (BLC), and Director Gold Credential (DGC). At one time, he was named Wilkes County Young Farmer of the Year, and his family also was named Wilkes County Farm Family of the Year. He serves as a Wilkes County Farm Bureau director. Speaks also has served in several positions and committees at his church, Knobb’s Baptist Church.

He has worked as a career farmer, mostly in the areas of tobacco and poultry.

“I love the people I serve, and I appreciate the opportunity to serve not only my community and district, but all the people in the Surry-Yadkin system,” said Speaks.

“The service and the connection that the employees have with the members are what I like about being a member of SYEMC. Even before I was elected to the board, I knew quite a few of the employees, who are the connection with the membership. I have always cherished that connection and the opportunity to get to know many of the people we serve.”

In addition to church, family and farming, Speaks enjoys community work, mainly at the ballpark as both a volunteer and a player. He enjoys mowing and has always loved baseball. He said today, you could put a bat in his hand and he would be out there swinging ... or trying to, anyway.

Reminder: SYEMC Annual Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 26

At the June meeting of the SYEMC Board of Directors, a nominating committee was appointed to make nominations of director candidates for districts five, six, seven and nine. These seats are currently held by Alvin

Reid Jr. (Dist. 5), Stephen Joyce (Dist. 6), Lee Von “Toby” Speaks (Dist. 7) and David Pendry (Dist. 9). Nominations will be handled as defined in Section 5.05 of the SYEMC bylaws, below. SECTION 5.05 - Nominations. b. Indicating the Directorate District 1. Nominations by Committee: It shall be the duty of the Board, at a from which the Member Petition Nominee will run; and regular or special meeting held in c. Containing the printed names, June of each year, to appoint one main addresses, telephone numbers cooperative member from each Dis- and original dated signatures of at trict of the Cooperative, to serve on a least fifty (50) Members, each of Nominating Committee (“Nominat- whom maintains his primary resiing Committee”). Neither employees dential abode within the boundaries of the Cooperative nor any Coopera- of the applicable Directorate District. tive subsidiary, incumbent directors, Each Member’s signature must be Close Relatives of such Directors, presented in the same name as he is nor known candidates to become billed by the Cooperative. The signaDirectors, shall be eligible to serve ture must be dated within 90 days of on the Nominating Committee. The the election. Nominating Committee shall meet at 7:00 pm, the fourth Tuesday in July at the Cooperative Headquarters and make nominations to fill Director seats which are expiring at the The Member’s main address must be stated as it appears on said Member’s account, without regard to any other address used for billing purposes. Annual Members Meeting. Nomina- After the Elections and Credentials tions may include a greater number Committee verifies that a Member of nominees than are to be elected. Petition complies with this ByThe Committee shall prepare and law, the Cooperative shall post the post at the principal office of the Member Petition Nominations in Cooperative a list of Nominations for approximately the same location as Directors (“Nominating Committee the Nominating Committee NominaNominations”) on or before the first tions on or before 12:00 o’clock noon Monday in August. As determined on the third Friday in August. by the Board, and as allowed by the Governing Documents, the Cooperative may reasonably compensate or reimburse Nominating Committee Members. 2. Member Petition Nominations: Without regard to the actions of the Nominating Committee, Cooperative Members are also entitled to nominate additional individual Members to run for election for any Director position for which Members are scheduled to vote at any Annual Member Meeting (“Member Petition Nominations”). The deadline for filing Member Petition Nominations shall be 12:00 o’clock noon on the second Tuesday in August preceding the Annual Member Meeting. MemNominations for Directors shall be made only by the Nominating Committee or by written Member nominations as set forth herein. All nominations, however made, shall specify the nominee’s district. Write in candidates and/or floor nominees are not eligible for election to the Board. The Secretary shall mail to the Members, either with the notice of the meeting or separately but at least seven (7) days prior to the date of the meeting, a statement of the number of Directors to be elected and the names and addresses of all nominees. The statement shall separately list nominations made by the Commitbers make such Member Petition tee from any nominations made by Nominations by delivering a written petition. petition (“Member Petition”) for each Failure to comply with the provisions Member Petition Nomination: of this Section shall not affect the a. Listing the name of the Member validity of any action taken by the Petition Nominee; Board after its election.

Member Connections is a monthly publication intended for the members and friends of Surry-Yadkin EMC.

Board of Directors

Lee Von (Toby) Speaks, President Willard Swift, Vice President Karoline Overby, Secretary David Miller, Treasurer

Board Members

Brenda Hardy Stephen Hutson David Pendry Alvin Reid, Jr. Eddie Campbell Stephen Joyce

Greg Puckett, Executive Vice President and General Manager

Wendy Wood, Editor

Surry-Yadkin EMC 510 South Main Street Dobson, North Carolina 27017 336.356.8241 | 800.682.5903 www.syemc.com Office Hours Mon-Fri: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. To report an outage, day or night 336.356.8241 | 800.682.5903 An Equal Opportunity Employer

Connect with SYEMC

syemc

@SurryYadkinEMC

SurryYadkinEMC

Serving the Yadkin Valley since 1940.

Cooperative Word Search

As a member of an electric cooperative, you’re part of something special! Read the facts below to learn how co-ops are unique. Then, find each fact’s bolded word in the Word Search and circle it.

I F B K S U X O G A P Y K Q A S E V I T A R E P O O C A K P V Q M B W S H F F H I P Q M T S G E P U T U O A W C W V S C L I M O R L E R K X E N T O M N T B E M I M O Y P O W M G D V H E G W P N Y N E A M Z W X Q W R E Y F O C O N U I G A J O K S T X F I E I N O C L Q W S E R V E R L O I P I G Z O L N A H W T P K T B K L Z I B Q M B F C N A Y O A G V E U H V F G E H L Q F H E Y X S S C B S L U D W V F G A U E V G I R E Z H Q S Q M Q J D P T T A W

WORD BANK

Ä Cooperatives are local organizations and businesses, so they understand the communities they serve. Ä Co-ops don’t have customers.

They have members. Ä All co-ops are guided by the same set of cooperative principles. Ä “Concern for community” is the seventh cooperative principle. Ä Co-ops are led by the members they serve. Ä You’re a member of an electric cooperative, but there are also housing, grocery and other types of co-ops.