A New Year and a New Adventure

Four years ago my eyes were opened wide to how fragile and vulnerable the world around me really is when a coal fired power plant was planned about eight miles from my front door. The benefits have included trying new things like paddling, fishing, looking for slave graves deep in the woods on a hot afternoon with church elders  (I was lucky and walked behind my boss who spotted a large rattlesnake obscured by overgrowth. And yes, it was a large snake and he killed it with a stick).

These adventures have allowed me to see the world around me, and especially the world outside the confines of my house and car, with a new perspective. It has changed the food I buy, what I like to eat (fighting coal taught me to like egg salad sandwiches), who my friends are (and aren't), expanded my news resources, and made me a pretty decent social media user.

In an effort to dial back the work a little, I am posting a photo here every Friday, called The Friday Photo. The photo will be something that caught my eye, maybe the first time I saw it, or the 20th time. I hope it will encourage others to look at the world around them with fresh eyes occasionally, or better yet, a world you haven't ventured into before.

            

A College and a Home

This weekend as the air is chilled with the early taste of fall, students, faculty, and alumni will come together to celebrate the many things that make Guilford College uniquely enduring, and endearing, College and "home."

Many many years ago it was a location for the Underground Railroad. Before the Civil War Guilford was a leader in educating both girls and boys. The College stood firm in support of social, racial, ethnic, religious differences, justice, and equality, many years before the phrase "politically correct" was ever spoken.    

This weekend alums will return to campus and marvel at how young the students look. We will roam the hallways and classrooms of buildings we once planned our days around. We will do a double take when a woman says she lives in a dorm that was all male (mostly) when we were on campus.

For some of us it will have been many years since we were on campus. Others were there in the Spring for class reunions. Some alums back on campus this weekend drive past the College daily on their way to work. A few lucky ones have the privilege of working there. No matter how long it has been since we last were there, Guilford leaves an indelible mark on each student lucky enough to call it "my College."

The values and the principals the College has stood on so firmly were woven into our time there and remain with us daily. There is a kinship among Guilfordians that I have never seen experienced among  alums from other schools. We are forever connected to the College and to each other.

There will be new faces, and familiar faces worn with time. The older buildings will stretch wide to welcome us down their hallways again. We will marvel at how the campus is the same and yet so much better. Perhaps it is all crisper in our eyes now because we know what we took away with us left us connected to one another, and will always bring us back.  


      

Driving Co-op Reform

This morning's scan of the news included three articles on Cobb EMC. I couldn't have started the day any better.

The Cherokee Tribune reported that the current Chair, Larry Chadwick (serving since 1982) and the Vice-Chair, Sarah Brown (elected in 1979) will not pursue re-election. The Atlanta Journal Constitution includes an article on the "New Day" at Cobb EMC, which will include open board meetings, quarterly reports, a member advisory committee, a new logo, and bills for service coming from the co-op, not the beleaguered for-profit Cobb Energy. The Marietta Daily Journal, which has faithfully stayed on top of this complex and long lived issue, included the recent release of Chip Nelson's salary as the new EMC CEO.

I had no idea that today would be the first time I could tell fellow Washington EMC co-op members that if Cobb can begin to operate in a transparent manner that better serves the members, surely we can do the same here.

A lot of ground work has been laid for the Annual Meeting this Saturday. Some people are coming because of the opposition to the Board Chair, who has been on the board for 37 years. Others are coming with questions that deserve answers. Some are coming for both. Maybe the bonus will be that members who come because of the door prizes stay for the question and answer session with the Board, and see there are other benefits to membership besides a chance at a nice door prize.        

    

Waiting for Saturday

When I decided to fight a coal fired power plant 3.5 years ago, I didn't know much about energy production and my knowledge of efficiency and conservation was pretty pedestrian. And I was clueless about the poor condition of our rivers and streams.

What I didn't know at the time, was that there were also some serious problems with the governance at my electric co-op, Washington EMC. It became very clear at the first Annual Meeting in October 2008 that the Board of Directors had no interest in member concerns and questions.

This Saturday is the fourth meeting I will attend since the plant was announced. In the past three years the Board and CEO have refused to recognize members, told us the EPD would answer our questions (which it can't do when the questions concern the governance and decisions made by the Board and CEO) and tried to hide behind a CEO who has said very plainly he doesn't like speaking in front of large groups.

Hello? He works for the 15,304 metered customers who are MEMBERS of the company paying him. Surely once a year he can manage to answer our questions. We aren't interested in shouting, but we are entitled to being treated politely AND having our questions answered where all members can hear the questions and the answer.

In May two FACE members and I met with the CEO Frank Askew, CFO Wendy Sellier, EMC attorney Skip Wommack, the Board Chair Mike McCoy (who has served for 37 years without opposition until this year, but term limits is another issue), and Billy Helton, who lives in and represents the district where the plant would be located.

We agreed that we disagree on the plant, asked some questions, and were still disappointed in the lack of research and business planning they could use to support their insistence on this $2.1+ B project. We did get them to agree to a Q&A after the door prizes are drawn at the end of the business meeting (which is the reason most people attend. If the prizes were drawn first the room would be empty in 5 New York minutes).

When I confirmed the Q&A with Askew in August, he back pedaled saying that because FACE has said that we know people are intimidated by speaking out, EMC leaders would instead speak with people one on one. I may not agree with Billy Helton's support of the plant, but ALL MEMBERS owe him their thanks for insisting that the Board honor their previous agreement.

Yesterday I posted the 990 tax return with the Board and CEO compensation figures in it. I don't want to take issue with how much Askew is PAID BY MEMBERS, but I do think that for someone making north of $209,000 a year now, he could and should have answered the questions raised by the people writing his paycheck at earlier meetings.

I, nor FACE, are endorsing or supporting a candidate in the one contested race. What the organization is doing is encouraging members to attend the meeting this Saturday (Elder Middle School on the Linton Rd in Sandersville with registration and voting beginning at 8:00, business meeting at 10:00, Q&A immediately after prizes are drawn at the end of the business meeting). FACE understands that there are many people in the community who are afraid for their jobs. or have other pressures exerted on them to support the plant. FACE and others in our community are willing and ready to ask questions and hear the answers in a public setting where all EMC members can listen and learn for themselves.

Whether you support Plant Washington or not, EMC members need to be involved in OUR co-op. There are serious issues which need to be addressed even if the plant goes away tomorrow. All of us need to step up and do our part as members to put this co-op back on track to serve the members better than we have experienced in the last 3+ years.

The Often Awesome Army of Heroes

I have been heartened by the incredible coming together of friends, family and the larger community in Greensboro, NC to support a young man stricken by ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). The Often Awesome Army produced an award winning web series focusing on Tim LaFollette's spiral into the disease and how people came together to be with him and Kaylan.

A hometown friend has beautifully described his relationship to Tim and what community means to those who survive him. His blog is here along with links to learn more about Often Awesome and their work.