SPARE CHANGE, BIG IMPACT — Twenty high school graduates were awarded Operation Round Up® scholarships thanks to NAEC members who “round up” their electric bills. Seventeen students will receive one-time scholarships of $1,000. Three students — Hunter
Rohr and Laurel
— will receive $1,000 annually for up to four years. You can join Round Up to help fund future scholarships.
Jackson Corp Mountain Home
Caden Delsoto Mountain Home
Olivia Fosness Mountain Home
Rose Keen Salem
Anna Kellar Norfork
Ora Love Melbourne
Rylee Roberts Mountain Home
Marley Rohr Melbourne
Laurel Smeltzer Mountain Home
Hunter Belvedresi Viola
Hyslip Highland
Belvedresi, Marley
Smeltzer
Up ® scholarship recipients!
Board selects Cunningham for open seat
Scholarship applications due April 1
The North Arkansas Electric Cooperative Board of Directors selected Jerry Don Cunningham to fill the remaining term of Beth Carter, who resigned from the board in November after serving since 2005. Cunningham’s term will run through mid-2030.
The North Arkansas Electric Cooperative (NAEC) member-funded Operation Round Up® program awards thousands of dollars in scholarships to local graduating high school seniors each year. In 2024, 15 students were awarded $1,000 scholarships, and three students were awarded $4,000 scholarships to be disbursed in $1,000 installments for up to four years.
To fill the position, the board accepted résumés from interested Baxter County members. After reviewing the three submissions, the board voted Dec. 8.
NAEC is accepting applications for the 2025-2026 scholarship program. The application is or through high school counselors’ offices.
“The NAEC family thanks Beth for her years of service,” CEO Mel Coleman said. “She became a trailblazer as the first woman on the NAEC Board of Directors and spent the past two decades leading with a members-first perspective.”
Applicants must mail or deliver the typed application to NAEC by April 1. They must include a transcript and two letters of recommendation — with at least one from a nonschool employee who is not a relative.
LIHEAP helps qualified with electric bills
To be eligible for the scholarship, high school seniors must graduate at the end of the 2025 school year, and their parents or legal guardians must be NAEC members. Applicants also must have a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale through the first semester of senior year. The scholarship must be used to attend an accredited institute of higher learning on a full-time basis. For more information, please contact Tori Moss, NAEC marketing and communications director, at (870) 895-6210 or tmoss@naeci.com
The federal government’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) provides help for qualifying members with their energy costs during the summer and winter months.
LIHEAP is administered by community action agencies, not North Arkansas Electric Cooperative. In NAEC’s service area, those are Northcentral Arkansas Development Council and Ozark Opportunities. Northcentral Arkansas Development Council serves residents in Fulton, Izard,
Auto bank draft: Members' easiest payment option
residents in Baxter and Marion members needing assistance to reach out to the agency serving their county for more information. (See sidebar below.)
Members can help fund future scholarships by enrolling their accounts in Operation Round Up. Volunteers allow their electric bills to be "rounded up" to the next dollar each month. Call (870) 895-3221 to join today!
Automatic bank draft is the most convenient payment method NAEC offers. Enrolling in this free service ensures the bill is paid on time each month. It also eliminates the cost of a stamp or time spent in the drive-
Winter assistance should be available in January. Applications are accepted by community action agencies on a first-come, first-served basis as long as funds are available.
Automatic bank draft is an electronic transfer from your checking or savings account to NAEC’s each month. On or about the 14th of every month, the amount of the bill is deducted from
Development Council Fulton County — (870) 895-3628 Izard County — (870) 368-4329 Sharp County — (870) 994-7353 Stone County — (870) 269-5427
To enroll your account(s) in auto bank draft, call (870) 895-3221 or visit an NAEC office during regular business hours.
County — (870) 425-5118
County — (870) 425-5118
The amount of LIHEAP help available varies based on a person’s income, number of people living in the home, type of energy source and other factors. Businesses are excluded from
Sending an automated call when your home is going to be part of a planned outage or mailing a capital credits check are only two of the many reasons why NAEC might need to contact you. It's important to keep a current mailing address and at least one phone number and email on file. To update or check your contact information, call (870) 895-3221, visit an NAEC office or submit a form available at naeci.com/contact-naec.
free service ensures the electric bill is paid on time each month and eliminates the cost of a stamp or time spent visiting an
Facebook.com/NorthARElectric High school juniors have until March 5 to submit an application for Youth Tour, an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia June 14-20. Download the application at naeci.com.
NAEC’s Operation Round Up® program funds scholarships and donations to nonprofit organizations. You can enroll in Round Up by calling NAEC at (870) 895-3221. As an example, a $125.60 bill would “round up” to $126.
Goodwin, Wiles reelected
North Arkansas Electric Cooperative (NAEC) members reelected Larry Goodwin of Calamine and Dennis Wiles of Horseshoe Bend to six-year terms on the NAEC Board of Directors.
Survey & Ballot Systems of Minnesota conducted the election on NAEC’s behalf. The company mailed each NAEC member a ballot, candidate biographies and a 2025 Annual Report in May. Ballots received by Survey & Ballot Systems by June 21 were considered valid.
NAEC attorney Roger Morgan announced election results during the 86th Annual Meeting at the Salem Civic Center on June 23. Survey & Ballot Systems received 1,887 ballots from members.
Incumbents Goodwin and Wiles were nominated by the nominating committee for the Sharp County and Izard County positions, respectively. Both ran uncontested as no valid petitions were received by the deadline. Goodwin received 1,404 votes. Wiles received 1,501 votes.
A recording of the Annual Meeting is posted on the Annual Meeting webpage at naeci.com
A 'Capitol' experience
Attention: Credit and Debit Card Users
Your credit and debit card information will not transfer to NAEC’s new billing software. If you have a saved credit or debit card payment profile or a recurring payment method tied to a credit or debit card, you’ll have to redo those once NAEC converts to the new system in August. Please note: All existing payment options still will be available in the new system. For more information, please visit naeci.com/smarthub or call (870) 895-3221.
North Arkansas Electric Cooperative's delegates on the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour visit the U.S. Capitol during the June trip. Pictured, from left, are AJ Brawley, Malakai Milton, Bell Harber and Trinity Gaskins. Juniors can apply for the 2027 trip in February.
