By Staff
Special to The Standard
Despite concerns about Hurricane Frances, thousands turned out Saturday, Sept. 4, 2004, to celebrate Southern Pine Electric Cooperative's 66th Annual Meeting.
Members were lined up and waiting for the registration booths to open at 8:30 a.m. and continued registering throughout the day. At 9 a.m. local Southern Gospel group Higher Ground took the stage and had hands clapping and feet tapping. At 10:30 a.m. the well-known professional Southern Gospel group Brian Free &Assurance claimed the stage and thrilled members for more than an hour with their inspirational sounds.
The Youth Program began at 9 a.m. and continued until the completion of the business meeting. Children were treated to clowns, pony rides, face painting, balloons, games and the Cooperative Environment program which featured live amphibians and reptiles native to this immediate area.
The Escambia Co. Sheriff's Department used Southern Pine's National Child Identification kits, sponsored in partnership with other Touchstone Energy Co-ops, the American Football Coaches Assoc. and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to fingerprint hundreds of children in the Youth Program.
Kudos to D. W. McMillan Hospital for once again sponsoring the free mini health fair for all attending members and their families. Free blood pressure monitoring, Accu Cheks and vouchers for more in-depth, free screening at the hospital were administered to all who stopped by the fair.
Project R.O.S.E. (Recycled Oil Saves Energy) set up a display in the Resource Fair and provided members and their families with information about the importance of recycling motor oil. They also discussed the correct methods to utilize when draining and disposing of used oil.
AllKids Insurance of Alabama was on site, offering information about this low cost, often free, insurance program available to all children aged 19 years and under.
The East Escambia Co. Chapter of the American Red Cross was also in attendance, though many volunteers were busy elsewhere opening shelters for those fleeing Hurricane Frances. Volunteers present provided information on the plethora of programs offered locally by the ARC.
The business portion of the meeting began at 1 p.m. Nominations for three board of trustees who would serve three-year terms were presented to the membership for a vote. Cleve Roberson, District 3; Vernon Baggett, District 6; and Allen Lang, District 9, were all re-elected by proclamation at the conclusion of the business session.
Many exciting and useful gifts were awarded to lucky members throughout the course of the business meeting. Members claimed such prizes as freezers, refrigerators, TVs, video/DVD players, microwaves, etc. But the big winner of the day was Bernice Floyd of Damascus, who won the 1994 Ford F-150 truck.
Southern Pine Electric Cooperative, a Touchstone Energy