matters MEMBERSHIP
A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER FROM BLUE RIDGE ENERGY
February 2019
Vegetation management balances power reliability with scenic beauty
Vegetation management The single major cause of power outages is damage to power lines from trees and limbs during severe weather such as high winds, heavy snow, ice, or lightning. With more than 8,000 miles of power lines to protect, Blue Ridge Energy works year-round on vegetation management to ensure members have the most reliable electricity possible. While Blue Ridge ranks among the most reliable electric providers, your cooperative has added another method to help achieve reliability in a safe, environmentally friendly manner: aerial tree pruning.
Used by utilities across the nation for years, aerial tree pruning is approved by the ANSI (American National Standards Institute). The process is less intrusive to member property and the environment than traditional methods.
As with all vegetation management, members are notified in advance of pruning. Debris is removed from maintained areas, while in nonmaintained areas, debris is Vegetation management occurs in rights-of-way. either left or bushhogged to the ground. A right-of-way is a strip of land along either side
of power lines. It helps protect the lines and allows linemen to work safely to build and maintain the power system to ensure members receive reliable electricity. This method utilizes trained helicopter pilots who carefully conduct pruning along rights-of-ways. Trained employee “spotters� are located on ground level and are in constant communication with the pilot.
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Our vegetation management program combines several growth control methods that balance scenic beauty with safe, reliable electricity. For more information, visit BlueRidgeEnergy.com/Trees.
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M
the
perspective From Blue Ridge CEO Doug Johnson
giving back:
Members Foundation There’s no better feeling than giving back. That’s the tradition of the Blue Ridge Energy Members Foundation and the power of partnership between members and your electric cooperative. In its 12th year, the Members Foundation has given over $1.1 million worth of community grants to improve local quality of life for all ages (see recent grants on the next page). Including assistance for households needing help staying warm in winter with heating bill assistance, the Foundation has given back over $3 million. This would not have been possible if it weren’t for you, our members, and the cooperative’s subsidiaries. Thanks go to our members who generously round up their monthly electric bills or donate larger amounts of their choice to Operation Round Up®. Some even donate their annual capital credits refunds and you’ll see this year’s opportunity to do so on the cover wrap of this issue of Carolina Country magazine. Also contributing up to $50,000 annually to the Foundation from their profits are the cooperative’s
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Propane and Fuels and RidgeLink telecommunications subsidiaries. Members also help guide the Foundation. A Foundation Advisory Committee, made up of volunteer members, reviews grant applications annually and makes recommendations to the Foundation’s Board of Directors for funding approval. While crisis heating assistance remains a cornerstone of Foundation support, improving quality of life across our service area is being achieved through funding for Foundation grants in the areas of health and wellness, education and youth, environmental enhancement, as well as economic and community development. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you, the members, who give to Operation Round Up, as well as those who use our propane and fuels services or purchase hearth and home products from our showrooms. Working together, your Members Foundation is helping improve the quality of life for people in our area, and we’re also serving those in need of a helping hand!
If you would like to join Operation Round Up to help the Members Foundation improve local quality of life and provide crisis heating assistance, please call a local Blue Ridge Energy office, return the stitched in magazine post card or sign up online at BlueRidgeEnergy.com/ ORU. To learn more about the Blue Ridge Energy Members Foundation visit BlueRidgeEnergy.com/ members-foundation.
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Members Foundation 2018 grant recipients Alleghany County Alleghany Partnership for Children
$15,000
To fund Haven of Hope Advocacy Center for children that includes rooms for exams, interviews and supervised visitation
Piney Creek Volunteer Fire Department
$20,000
Construction of a new fire station and community center
Solid Rock Food Closet
$2,500
Purchase of pre-packaged, kid-friendly backpack food for summer 2019 feeding program
Ashe County Sharing Center
$3,000
Support for Ashe Senior Mobile Pantry providing food for over 3,000 homebound seniors
New River Conservancy
$15,000
To help secure 350 acres of Elk Shoals as part of the New River State Park
Shoes For Kids
$10,000
Shoe closets for children served by Ashe County Partnership for Children and Foster Care program
Ashe County
Caldwell County Caldwell County Lions Activities Assoc., Inc.
$500
10 free eye clinics annually to local low income recipients
Caldwell Opportunities, Inc.
$6,870
Two ADA operators with wireless handicap push plates for those with accessibility concerns
Caldwell Senior Center
$5,000
Support for ongoing Medicare program counseling and enrollments
Chapel of Rest Preservation Society
$2,890
New fire alarm system to deter theft, vandalism and fire
Communities in Schools Caldwell Co.
$1,855
Funding for 10 Chrome Books for CIS students
Helping Hands Clinic
$3,000
Pilot project support or uninsured adult dental care
Koinonia, Inc
$5,000
Mini-split HVAC unit
Teacher Treasures
$500
Ongoing free school supplies for Caldwell County educators
The Caldwell Halfway House
$5,000
Ongoing interior renovations for residents
OASIS
$2,000
Funding for utility deposits and other housing obstacles for families fleeing abuse
Sugar Grove Developmental Day School
$7,500
Playground improvements for infants, toddlers, tweenie and preschool students
Western Youth Network
$2,500
Expansion of child mentoring program in Avery County
Special Olympics
$2,500
Engage children and adults with intellectual disabilities in a sports program to improve health, quality of life
Spirit Ride Therapeutic Riding Center
$3,700
Therapeutic Riding/Equine Facilitated Learning for clients ages 3-17
Shoes for Kids received $10,000 to fund shoe closets in Ashe County.
Watauga County
Multi County
Total $114,315 The Blue Ridge Energy Members Foundation was formed to help members participate in the cooperative’s mission of helping local communities in its service area. Foundation funds are used in two ways: first, to provide crisis electric and fuel bill assistance to members coordinated through local helping agencies, and secondly, to provide grants to local non-profit organizations for projects that help sustain and build quality of life. Funding comes from members participating in the cooperative’s Operation Round Up® and Operation Round Up Plus® programs, memberdonated capital credits, as well as contributions from the profits of the cooperative’s two subsidiary companies.
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a special message for our disabled veterans. . .
No Barriers Warriors Expeditions Blue Ridge Energy is seeking disabled veterans to participate in the No Barriers Warriors Expeditions this summer, a five-day program in Colorado designed to help disabled veterans transform their lives through curriculumbased experiences in challenging environments. The expeditions are described as “one-part adventure, one-part curriculum, and one-part physical challenge” and are designed to push participants mentally and physically to help them connect with fellow disabled veterans and break through barriers in their lives. Blue Ridge Energy will take care of all the expenses. Nominate yourself or someone you think deserves this special opportunity by April 15, 2019. For an application and to learn more about this exciting opportunity visit BlueRidgeEnergy.com/No-barriers.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Attention youth!
EDITOR
Scholarship and leadership opportunities are available as part of Blue Ridge Energy’s support of local communities.
Doug Johnson
Renée R. Whitener
PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR Susan Simmons
DISTRICT OFFICES Caldwell Watauga Ashe Alleghany Wilkes PowerLine®
(828) 754-9071 (828) 264-8894 (336) 846-7138 (336) 372-4646 (800) 451-5474 (800) 448-2383
Toll Free
(800) 451-5474
(PowerLine® is an automated account information and outage reporting system.)
(for members outside of the service area.)
To report an outage at any time, call PowerLine at (800) 448-2383. OFFICE HOURS: 8:30 am - 5:00 pm, Monday-Friday Kiosk available 24/7 + Night deposit Visit us on the web: BlueRidgeEnergy.com +
County, Blue Ridge Energy helps administer the Charles and Lucille Suddreth scholarship, which awards $800 for a student attaining a twoyear degree. Financial need and academic performance are the primary criteria and the deadline for applications is March 31, 2019. Apply at BlueRidge Energy.com/scholarships.
To qualify for these opportunities, high school students must join Blue Ridge Energy’s Leadership Track in their freshman or sophomore years, or as early as possible during high school. To join or learn more, go to BlueRidge Did you know. . . Energy.com/youthQualifying seniors are invited to leadership-track.
apply for up to eight $4,000
In February, qualifying renewable scholarships? seniors involved in Blue Ridge Energy’s Leadership Track will be invited to apply for up Leadership camp opportunities, as to eight $4,000 renewable scholarwell as college bound workshops, ships for students seeking a four-year are also available to high school degree. Awards are based on leadersophomores and juniors in the Blue ship performance, resume developRidge Energy Leadership Track. ment and a personal interview. Learn more at BlueridgeEnergy.com/ youth-leadership-track. Additionally, for students in Caldwell
This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
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