A day in the life of a lineman and the Michigan Partners for Power 2018 project in Bolivia headlined the 80th Annual Meeting of HomeWorks Tri-County Electric Cooperative on August 19 in Mount Pleasant.

Blanchard linemen Rick Warchuck and Cody Teegardin talked about their jobs as linemen and how being away from home for mutual aid during storms affects their families. Both men also jokingly volunteered for the 2018 project in Ponton Yata, Bolivia, although Warchuck was already one of the cooperative’s two volunteers in Buena Vista, Guatemala, in 2015. General Manager Mark Kappler kicked off fundraising for the international project at the meeting and members responded. One winner of the $100 cash prize drawing turned her gift back in as a donation to the Bolivia project.

A record number of members (202) registered for the meeeting, with guests adding up to total attendance of just over 400. Members passed an advisory resolution for the board to consider moving to mail balloting for director elections. Currently, members vote at their district meeting in May, or request an absentee ballot. Mail ballots should help increase participation at a reasonable cost, estimated at about $1 per member in the districts holding elections.

HomeWorks Tri-Country live streamed the Annual Meeting on Facebook for the first time, making it easy for members to attend the event without leaving the comfort of their homes.