This month we celebrate two important dates. The first one is of course July 4 where we celebrate our country’s independence. This is always a great time to spend with family and friends at a cookout and watch the fireworks. The other important date is the 72nd Annual Meeting of Atchison Holt Electric. This is quite an accomplishment to have been in business providing affordable, reliable electric power to this region for 72 years. We have a great meeting planned. We will have the annual reports by the president, treasurer and general manager. Our special guest this year is Duane Highley the Director of the Power Production Division of Associated Electric. Associated Electric owns and operates the generating and high voltage transmission systems that produce and deliver the electric power to us. Mr. Highley is one of the most knowledgeable people on the current affairs that affect the production of electric power in today’s political climate. If at all possible, it would be well worth your time to attend the meeting to hear him speak.

There are many other reasons for you to attend the annual meeting. The cooperative business model that we have is second to none. This is a business model that is unique in the fact that you own the cooperative. You as a member have a voice in the direction of the cooperative through electing a board of directors and also coming to the annual meeting to ask any question that you might have. We will provide to you a nice meal that can be eaten under the big top tent or at a picnic table in the park. This is a great time to visit with your friends and neighbors. The board of directors, management staff and employees will all be in attendance to answer any questions you may have. If they do not know the answer, we will sure find out and get back to you.

The summer is in full swing now and when we get busy we tend to not look for overhead wires. These wires are carrying very high voltage and are very dangerous if you come in contact with them. A contact with an overhead wire can cause serious injury up to and including death. One more thing that we would like to caution you on is your machinery and the overhead wires. As this machinery gets bigger and bigger it gets closer to the overhead wires in and around the areas where you are working. We have experienced way too many contacts this year with spray booms crossing terraces and contacting the overhead line that is running through the field. We just want to caution you to be aware of your surroundings and be careful. We want you around to enjoy everything that this country has available to you. So please always “LOOK UP AND LIVE.”