CULLMAN, Ala. – The 85th Annual Meeting of Cullman Electric Cooperative is scheduled for Sept. 25, 2021, at Northbrook Church. This year’s business meeting will be open for members to attend, but due to concerns for public health and safety, all additional activities planned for the day, including food, games and entertainment, have been canceled.
“The co-op staff had a great event planned, and we are disappointed to miss out on all of the usual fun, food, games and music,” said Cullman EC Board Chairman Robert Tidwell. “For the safety of our members and employees, and to support the health care workers in our community who are working so hard during this pandemic, we felt this was the best decision.”
Registration packets were mailed to all Cullman EC members in the last week of August. Members can sign the registration card, fill out the ballot and submit both using the return-mail envelope included with the packet. The signed registration card and completed ballot must be received no later than Sept. 23, 2021. Members that register and vote will be entered into the prize drawings for one of 10 bill credits between $100 and $500, and the grand prize drawing for a 2008 Ford F-150 truck.
“Cullman Electric has offered mail-in voting and registration for more than 20 years,” Tidwell said. “Every year, close to 7,000 co-op members register and vote as part of the annual meeting, and most of that is done by mail. The co-op has worked to make the process as easy and convenient as possible. On behalf of the entire board of trustees, I want to encourage all co-op members to participate.”
Members who do not register by mail can register in-person at the meeting, starting at 9:00 a.m. at Northbrook Baptist Church. The business meeting will begin at 11:00 a.m. inside the worship center. Members are welcome to attend, but seating will be limited and socially distanced. A live video feed of the meeting will be streaming on the Cullman EC Facebook page.
Three positions on the Cullman Electric board of trustees are on this year’s ballot. Incumbent board members Phillip Garrison (District 1), Robert Tidwell (District 3) and Lisa Weeks (District 5) are all seeking re-election.
Garrison works at J & R Feed Service where he oversees daily production and customer service. He has also helped manage a poultry farm for more than 40 years, operated a bee and honey business (GoldVine Farms) for more than 20 years and worked with beef cattle for more than 50 years.
Garrison is past president of the Alabama Beekeeper Association, president of the Cullman County Beekeeper Association and past president of the Cullman County Farmers Federation. He is a member and deacon of Seventh Street Baptist Church and is active in both the Lions Club and Cullman Farm-City Committee. He has earned the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) Credentialed Cooperative Director certificate and is working toward the Board Leadership certificate.
Tidwell is a graduate of Cullman High School and Auburn University. He holds a B.S. degree in business administration and accounting. He serves as finance manager for General Dynamics Global Imaging Technologies with responsibilities for the Cullman facility. In his career, he has worked with national, state and local governments to bring jobs and enhancements to the Cullman Electric Cooperative service area.
Tidwell is a member of Northbrook Baptist Church where he serves as a member of the choir and music praise team. He has successfully completed the curriculum for the NRECA Credentialed Cooperative Director, Leadership Certification and Gold Leadership Certification.
Weeks is the owner of Weeks Chiropractic Clinic in Cullman and has been a chiropractic physician for 34 years. She earned her Doctor of Chiropractic from Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa. She is a graduate of Athens State University, Wallace State Community College and Holly Pond High School. She currently serves on the Cullman Parks & Recreation Foundation, and the Wallace State Community College Foundation Board. She is a member of the Wallace State Alumni Association.
Weeks has successfully completed the curriculums for the NRECA Credentialed Cooperative Director, Leadership Certification and Gold Leadership Certification.
