It’s Annual Meeting Time!
You’re Invited: Canoochee EMC Annual Meeting
Join us Tuesday, Oct. 14, at the Tattnall Campground for our Annual Meeting of Members. As a valued member of Canoochee EMC, your attendance and participation are essential.
Why Attend?
• Connect With Your Co-op: Meet our team, directors and fellow members.
• Learn About the Future: Explore innovative technologies shaping our energy future.
• Enjoy the Event: Enjoy refreshments and a special performance by Heartfelt.
What to Bring?
All Canoochee EMC members were mailed a postcard with the invitation. This includes information that helps our staff with the registration process. Please bring this card with you.
We’re Here to Serve You
Our team is ready to answer your questions about energy efficiency, electric vehicles and more during the Annual Meeting. Come prepared to learn!
Mark Your Calendar
We look forward to seeing you Tuesday, Oct. 14! Registration begins at noon, and our business meeting will start at 2 p.m.
Tattnall Campground 3769 Campground Road Claxton, GA 30417
Local Couple Learns More About Cooperatives at Conference Sponsored by Canoochee EMC
H Hector and Liza Nicola of Hinesville were selected by Canoochee EMC to represent the cooperative at the annual Georgia Cooperative Council’s Couples Conference. This three-day event gives couples from across Georgia the opportunity to explore the cooperative business model and its positive impact at the local, state and national levels.
“As a cooperative, our mission goes beyond delivering reliable electricity. We’re committed to investing in future leaders and strengthening our communities,” says Joe Sikes with Canoochee EMC. “Supporting the Georgia Cooperative Council’s Couples Conference each year is one of the many ways we fulfill that commitment.”
This year’s conference was held Aug. 22-24 at the Historic Windsor Hotel in Americus. Couples enjoyed a weekend of fellowship, education and networking in a setting that blended historic charm with modern insight into cooperative leadership.
Throughout the weekend, couples participated in interactive, informative sessions hosted by Georgia EMC, Pineland Telephone, AgGeorgia Farm Credit and AgSouth Farm Credit. These sessions focused on the seven cooperative principles:
• Voluntary and Open Membership
• Democratic Member Control
• Members’ Economic Participation
• Autonomy and Independence
• Education, Training, and Information
• Cooperation Among Cooperatives
• Concern for Community
The sessions also highlighted how cooperatives differ from traditional businesses, and how these differences benefit communities across Georgia. Small-group settings encouraged
thoughtful conversation and peer-topeer learning among attendees.
In addition, couples visited the Sumter EMC headquarters in Americus, where they toured the facilities and learned firsthand how a local EMC operates to serve its members efficiently and effectively.
Couples returned home inspired to deepen their involvement with their
local cooperatives and to play active roles as community leaders.
“This wasn’t just a weekend getaway. It was a journey to learn, discover and meet new people. We were proud to have been able to represent Canoochee EMC,” says Liza Nicola.
“It’s a pleasure to educate others about the benefits of the cooperative business model,” adds Kristi Greer, Executive Director of the Georgia Cooperative Council. “Cooperatives exemplify perfectly what can be accomplished by working together for the benefit of all.”
The 2025 Georgia Cooperative Council Couples Conference was made possible through the generous support of Georgia’s electric membership corporations (EMCs) and the Georgia Cooperative Council.
Liza and Hector Nicola of Hinesville represented Canoochee EMC at the 2025 Couples Conference.
Celebrate Your Electric Co-op This Month
D Did you know that electric membership corporations follow a business model that’s different from most utilities, stores and organizations?
The cooperative business model means, in part, that your utility belongs to you, the consumer who buys electricity from it. Because each consumer
of the utility is also an owner—or a member—each consumer has a say in the way the cooperative operates.
For example, your cooperative has a board of directors. Each of its members is also a member-owner (like you), and each is elected by the other memberowners, often during an annual meeting, where you can learn about what your utility is doing and offer your input to its leaders.
If you would like to serve on the board of directors, you can run for a seat, and your neighbors and friends will be the ones casting votes for you.
Electric co-ops have been lighting up rural homes for nearly 90 years. In October, National Cooperative Month gives anyone whose electricity comes from a cooperative a reason to celebrate.
Don’t Scare Pets on Fright Night
I It’s all in good fun when your Halloween decorations jump out to scare the kids. But for your pets, who don’t understand what’s happening, Halloween night can be unnecessarily frightening.
As you transform your usually quiet home into something spookier with lights and decorations, keep your pets in mind, and keep them safe from trickor-treaters and things that go bump in the night.
Here are some tips to keep your pets safe and calm during this scary season:
• Hang strings of lights, wires and cords away from the path trick-ortreaters will take to your door so youngsters and your pets won’t step on them. Curious pets might try chewing or eating decorative lights and can suffer a life-
threatening electric shock or risk ingesting shards of glass. Glass can damage your pet’s mouth and internal organs.
• Save the candy for the kids. Chocolate can kill your dog or cat. It’s toxic to them. Keep candy wrappers out of the way. Aluminum foil and cellophane can also cause vomiting and intestinal blockages.
• A jack-o’-lantern may look like a yummy treat to a pet, but after sitting outside for a few days, yours will probably grow bacteria that could cause intestinal inflammation, upset stomach and diarrhea in a pet who nibbles on it.
• Avoid lighting candles in any area where your pet might walk. Excited pets can knock them over. Plus, cat fur will catch fire.
• Save the cute costumes for your kids.
On a pet, a costume can be restrictive and make it hard to hear or see.
• Doorbells and screaming children are especially frightening to some animals, so keep them inside in a quiet, secure area.
• If you have a black cat, do not let it roam outdoors during Halloween week. Too many black cats—an icon of Halloween—have become the victims of pranksters and worse.
The Transformer
Official Publication of Canoochee EMC
P.O. Box 487
Reidsville, GA 30453
(800) 342-0134
Joseph A. Sikes, Editor
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Connie Thrift District 3
President
Bob Floyd District 4 Vice President
Kim Blocker District 9 Treasurer
LaNell M. Oliver District 6
Secretary
Ed Bradley Jr. District 5
Robert Dasher District 8
Kenneth L. Durrence District 7
Lavanda Lynn District 2
Bernard Purvis District 1
Michael Wasson, Chief Executive Officer
Andy Whiten, Chief Operations Officer
Mat Olson, Chief Financial Officer
Patrick Burkhalter, Chief Administration Officer
Kyle E. Durrence, Member Services Manager
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR POWER IS OFF . . .
1. Check your fuses or breakers.
2. Check with your neighbors.
3. Call (800) 342-0134 or (912) 557-4391.
There is a dispatcher on call 24 hours a day for your convenience.
OFFICE HOURS
Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Closed Saturday, Sunday and holidays
Branch offices
Highway 196 West Hinesville, GA 31313
Highway 280 East Pembroke, GA 31321
OFFICIAL NOTICE 2025 Canoochee EMC
Annual Meeting of Members
T The Annual Meeting of Members of the Canoochee Electric Membership Corp. (EMC) will be held at the Tattnall Campground at 2 p.m. on Tuesday Oct. 14, 2025, as provided in the Bylaws to take action on the following:
• Report of officers, manager and committees;
• Election of three directors to serve terms of three years; and
• Transaction of all other business that might be brought before the meeting or adjournment thereof.
In connection with the election of directors, the following member-owners have been nominated by the Committee of Nominations to serve a term of three years as provided by the Bylaws.
• District 1: Bernard Purvis
• District 3: Connie Thrift
• District 9: Kimberly Blocker
Dated at Reidsville, Ga., this 25th day of August 2025.
Touchstone Energy Senior Citizen of the Month
Congratulations to Melvin Smith of Collins for being selected as the October 2025 Touchstone Energy Senior Citizen of the Month.
