MAY 2024
THE MESSENGER A Publication for North Arkansas Electric Cooperative Members
Ballots being mailed in May North Arkansas Electric Cooperative (NAEC) will conduct the election for two board of director positions, one from Fulton County and one from Baxter County. Both positions are at-large voting, so all NAEC members regardless of location are eligible to vote on both positions. Members will receive an envelope with the NAEC logo from Survey & Ballot Systems around the third week of May. The Minnesota company is handling the election and tabulation of votes on behalf of NAEC. Along with the ballot, the envelope will include the 2023 Annual Report, candidate biographies and a prepaid postage return envelope to mail the ballot to Survey & Ballot Systems. Ballots cannot be given to NAEC. They must be mailed to Survey & Ballot Systems and received by June 14 to be considered valid. Members on the nominating committee (James Elbert, Izard County; Joe Dillard, system-at-large; Richard Hanson, Baxter County; Randy Jones, Sharp County; and Jeremy Stone, Fulton County) met April 9 and reviewed résumés for the positions. After consideration, they nominated: Beth Carter, Baxter County; and Ted Kerley, Fulton County. A petition also was received from Steve Hall of Fulton County. Results will be published here and at naeci.com. The 2024 Annual Meeting will entail only a business session at the co-op’s Salem headquarters at 10 a.m. June 18. Members can watch the meeting live at naeci.com; a recording also will be available. HONORING THE FALLEN — Our offices will be closed May 27 in observance of Memorial Day. We honor those who died serving our country. A dispatcher will be on duty, and personnel will be on call in the event of an outage.
Supporting law enforcement
NEXT, Powered by NAEC donates $8,000 to help aid in the purchase of bulletproof vests and other tactical gear for local sheriffs’ offices. Pictured, from left, are: Izard County Sheriff Charley Melton, Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery, NEXT Chief Operating Officer Scott Hamby, NEXT Director of Business Development and Marketing Cortney Varner, Sharp County Sheriff Shane Russell, Fulton County Sheriff Jake Smith and NAEC/NEXT CEO Mel Coleman.
Enroll in free bank draft option Automatic bank draft is NAEC’s most convenient payment option. Enrolling in this free service ensures your electric bill is paid on time each month and eliminates the cost of a stamp, a lobby visit or a trip through the drive-thru lane. Automatic bank draft is an electronic transfer from a member’s checking or savings account to NAEC’s each month. You will continue to receive an itemized statement of the bill unless you also request E-Bill notifications only. On the 10th of each month (or the next business day if the 10th falls on a weekend), the amount of the bill will be deducted from your bank account. To enroll in automatic bank draft, please call NAEC at (870) 895-3221 during regular business hours; visit our office in Ash Flat, Mountain Home or Salem; or sign up through the Member Account Portal at naeci.com or the NAEC app.
EFFICIENCY TIP OF THE MONTH Looking for an easy way to manage home energy use? Smart plugs are inexpensive and offer convenient solutions for scheduling and controlling your favorite electronic devices. With smart plugs, you easily can manage your coffee maker, lighting, home office equipment, video game consoles and more. Smart plugs can help you manage devices through a smart phone app, your home assistant or voice control. By conveniently powering off or scheduling devices, you can save energy and money.