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(Questions and Answers from your study packet RE: CHELCO)
1. What is the name of the rural electric system which serves Okaloosa and Walton counties and portions of Holmes and Santa Rosa counties?
Choctawhatchee Electric Cooperative, Inc (CHELCO).
2. Who owns Choctawhatchee Electric Cooperative?
Its members.
3. How many members does CHELCO have, and how many miles of line?
There are approximately 37,500 meters (businesses and residential members) and slightly more than 3,300 miles of line.
4. Are there other electric cooperatives in the state of Florida?
Yes, CHELCO is one of 16 electric cooperatives. Most, or all, are members of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), headquartered in Washington, D.C.
5. Who is the president of the Board of Trustees of Choctawhatchee Electric Cooperative, Inc.?
Ronald Jones is president of the board. He is one of nine trustees elected to the Board by the co-op members.
6. When and where does CHELCO hold its annual meeting?
Saturday, April 17, 2004, at CHELCO’s Operations Center on Highway 331 in DeFuniak Springs.
7. What is the purpose of the Annual Meeting?
The Annual Meeting of members is required by federal law and the bylaws of the organization. CHELCO members elect trustees to the board and amend the bylaws by mail ballot prior to the annual meeting. The results are announced at the annual meeting. At this time, members also hear reports on the operation of the business enterprise which they own.
8. What is the name of the manager, and what are his responsibilities?
J.E. “Gene” Smith is the CEO and General Manager. He was selected by the Board of Trustees and is responsible to the Board for carrying out the day-to-day operations of the electric system within the guidelines determined by the Board.
9. How many employees are there at CHELCO?
CHELCO has approximately 113 employees. Most are also CHELCO members, and most play active roles within the areas CHELCO serves.
10. When was CHELCO first organized?
1941.
11. What is the source of power for your local cooperative?
Alabama Electric Cooperative, Inc., Andalusia, Alabama.
What type of cooperative is AEC?
A generation and transmission cooperative owned by 21 cooperative member-owners. Four of the member-owners are in the Florida panhandle.
12. What energy sources are used to generate the majority of the power Alabama Electric Cooperative produces?
Coal and natural gas mostly, hydropower in limited amounts.
13. What state and national cooperative associations does CHELCO belong to?
The Florida Electric Cooperative Association (FECA), Tallahassee, Florida, and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA).
14. What is the RUS?
The Rural Utilities Service. RUS was formerly REA, the Rural Electrification Administration. What is RUS's purpose? To provide cooperatives with low-interest loans for the construction of lines and related equipment and to help cooperatives make electric service available to rural residents that would not otherwise receive it.
15. What is Touchstone Energy®?
Touchstone Energy is a national alliance of local, consumer-owned electric cooperatives providing high standards of service to customers large and small. There are more than 600 Touchstone Energy cooperatives in 44 states that deliver energy and energy solutions to more than 17 million customers. CHELCO has been a Touchstone Energy cooperative since 1998.
IMPORTANT: Reading the booklets in the study packet will provide information for your interview. Pay particular attention to the booklet on the history of rural electrification. Each booklet has quizzes in the back. Questions concerning CHELCO will be a major part of your interview. Additionally, you will be asked about personal interests, hobbies, career plans, current events, etc.
The decision to make the Tallahassee trip first came out of a Youth Tour Focus Group, which took place in July at CHELCO. Former Youth Tour representatives and prospective representatives met to look at every aspect of Youth Tour and make suggestions for improvement.
Several nearby co-ops have been making the Tallahassee trip first for a couple of years, and their Youth Tour directors report that the change has had a positive effect on the students. CHELCO’s former representatives who participated in the focus group agreed that they had a greater understanding of Youth Tour after the Tallahassee trip than they did when they came to compete at CHELCO.
Youth Tour, a program for high school juniors, has been in existence at cooperatives across the country since the late 1950s, and CHELCO has participated in the program since 1983. Youth Tour teaches students about their government, allows them to meet their elected officials and expands their knowledge about the cooperatives that supply their homes with electricity.
Students from 10 area schools participate in Youth Tour each year. If your son or daughter is a junior at Paxton, Walton, Freeport, South Walton, Niceville, Baker, Laurel Hill or Ponce de Leon high schools or The Collegiate High School and is interested in this educational program, contact his or her school guidance counselor.
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