Empowered is a monthly newsletter for members of
MEET YOUR NEW TRUSTEES
Central Rural Electric Cooperative has new members on the board of trustees. John G. Tytenicz was named the district two trustee and Sidney Sperry was named the district four trustee.
A quorum was not met at the district two election held on September 9 in Carney, nor at the district four election held on September 16 in Guthrie. In accordance with the bylaws, the Central board of trustees interviewed the candidates and appointed the trustees for the districts. Tytenicz will follow Stu Preston, and Sperry will follow Len Tontz who both retired from the board in October. Tytenicz is from the Luther area. He has worked at the Redbud Power
BYLAW BALLOT BREAK DOWN Bylaw amendments were passed at the 2021 Annual Meeting. Learn more at MyCentral.coop /AnnualMeeting.
John (Greg) Tytenicz, District 2 Trustee
Sidney (Sid) Kyle Sperry, District 4 Trustee
Plant and Oklahoma CoGen, and has been farming for more than 35 years. Tytenicz also served as a Luther volunteer firefighter.
Sperry has worked in various roles for Oklahoma’s electric cooperatives for 41 years, recently retiring as the Director of Public Relations and Communications at the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives. He is currently the President and CEO of SPIDI Technologies, LLC.
Sperry is from the Guthrie area. He holds a BA in English and Speech Communication from Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva.
AMENDMENT I
AMENDMENT II
AMENDMENT III
Removed the requirement of written membership application to allow for a more simple, convenient experience for new members signing up for service.
Provided more flexibility in meeting attendance and voting requirements. Allows the registration of a member to count toward quorum requirements, allows longer voting time frames and streamlined the business of the meeting.
Made members, regardless of the length of membership, entitled to capital credits, as long as they are in good standing with the cooperative and do not have any long-term debt.
PASSED
PASSED
PASSED
GOBBLE ENERGY SAVINGS Save energy during this holiday season
The kitchen is to Thanksgiving, what pigskin is to football, a necessity. Each Thanksgiving, Americans prepare 46 million turkeys, and it takes a lot of electricity to roast that many birds. NOVEMBER 2021 Central Board of Trustees: Gary McCune (District 1) Greg Tytenicz (District 2) Carol Dvorak (District 3) Sid Sperry (District 4) Mark Pittman (District 5) James Wells (District 6) Bill Davis (District 7) Hunter Robinson - Chief Executive Officer Empowered Editors: Jillianne Tebow - Vice President of Business Development and Marketing Larry Mattox - Director of Communications Kory Frazier - Marketing and Communications Specialist Ivy Hill - Marketing and Communications Specialist
www.MyCentral.coop facebook.com/MyCentralCoop twitter.com/MyCentralCoop instagram.com/MyCentralCoop
Contact Us: editor@MyCentral.coop 405-372-2884 | 800-375-2884 3305 S. Boomer Rd. | P.O. Box 1809 Stillwater, OK 74076
Notice: Central’s office will be closed Nov. 11 for Veteran’s Day and Nov. 25-26 for Thanksgiving. Central Rural Electric Cooperative is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
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Eight kilowatt-hours of electricity is needed to cook an average turkey, which means Americans use 36.8 million kWh of electricity for one holiday. Below are eight easy ways to reduce unnecessary energy use while enjoying all of your family’s favorite holiday dishes.
• Open the oven door as few times as possible. Opening the oven door can lower oven temperatures by as much as 25 degrees. • Try using small appliances to cook instead of the stovetop or oven. Thanksgiving side dishes use one to two kWh of energy per dish. • Let your dishes air-dry to save up to 10 percent on dishwashing energy costs. • Use glass and ceramic baking dishes. They retain heat better than metal, allowing you to reduce the oven temperature.
• Don’t buy a bigger turkey than you need. According to Food Network, plan for 1 1/2 pounds per guest.
• Cook oven dishes along with the main course to save time and energy.
• Lower the thermostat a couple of degrees before your guests arrive. Your house will warm up from guests and using the oven.
• Let leftovers completely cool before putting them in the fridge.
Turkey Trots in Oklahoma
Edmond Turkey Trot 5k and 1-mile wobble Thursday, Nov. 25 • 8 a.m. Downtown Community Center 28 E. Main St., Edmond edmondturkeytrot.com Oklahoma City Turkey Tracks 5k and 1-mile fun run Thursday, Nov. 25 • 8:30 a.m. 5th Street and Harvey Avenue, OKC okcturkeytracks.com Piedmont Turkey Trot 5K Thursday, Nov. 25 • 8:30 a.m. 15 Jackson Ave NW, Piedmont piedmontturkeytrot.com
Tulsa Turkey Trot 5k and 1-mile fun run Friday, Nov. 26 • 8:30 a.m. BOK Center, 200 S. Denver Ave., Tulsa runsignup.com/Race/OK/Tulsa/ FleetFeetTurkeyTrot
THANKSGIVING SPREAD
Every list you’ll need for Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving
onTV
The list below includes must-watch shows, movies and football games for your classic Thanksgiving meal entertainment. Do you know which had more viewers last year, the Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade or The Superbowl? 21.98 million viewers tuned in to the parade last year, while the Superbowl racked in 30.3 million viewers.
Thanksgiving Classic 95th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
Air Time Where to Watch 9 a.m. in all time zones NBC 7:30 p.m. ET
PBS and Apple TV
Game Bears at Lions Raiders at Cowboys Bills at Saints
Kickoff time 12:30 p.m. ET 4:30 p.m. ET 8:20 p.m. ET
TV channel Fox CBS NBC
The USDA recommends leaving a turkey to thaw in your fridge, not at room temperature.
Stores open
Thanksgiving Day
To cook on Thanksgiving Day: 10-lb turkey- Thaw on Monday 15-lb turkey- Thaw on Sunday 20-lb turkey- Thaw on Saturday
Restaurants open Thanksgiving Day
CVS 8 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Homeland 6 a.m. - 11 p.m.
Buffalo Wild Wings 11 a.m. - 1 a.m.
Dollar General 7 a.m.-10 p.m.
Sprouts 7 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Cracker Barrel 6 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Walgreens 6 a.m. - midnight
Ihop 6 a.m. - 11 p.m.
Family Dollar 8 a.m. - 9 p.m.
No one wants to become an internet sensation, especially while trying to cook Thanksgiving dinner. Below are eight tips on how to safely fry a turkey and not ruin your family’s Thanksgiving dinner. 1. Never leave your fryer unattended. Ever. 2. Fry your bird outdoors and off decks, out of garages and at least 10 feet away from houses and structures. 3. Never operate a fryer when it rains or snows. Take our word, electricity and water don’t mix. 4. Keep children and pets away from the frying zone. The insurance company isn’t going to care if the dog knocked over your fryer trying to catch the cat.
How long does it take to thaw a turkey? According to the USDA, the general rule for defrosting a turkey in the fridge is to allow at least 24 hours for every four to five pounds of turkey.
DEEP FRY SAFELY
McDonald’s 5 a.m. - Midnight Subway 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.
5. Avoid water-based marinades. You don’t want a trip to the Emergency Room when the oil pops and splatters. 6. Follow the directions. You can throw away the Ikea directions but keep you and your family safe by following your fryer’s directions. 7. Do not overfill oil in the fryer. The oil will overflow, hit the burner and ignite. Which leads to our last tip... 8. Keep an up-to-date fire extinguisher ready at all times in the off chance you didn’t follow the previous tips.
Starbucks 5 a.m. - 10 p.m.
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DID YOU ATTEND THE ANNUAL MEETING? We want to know! Please take a minute to complete our survey. Scan the QR code and fill it out online.
SHARING SUNBEAMS Central Launches Community Solar Program
Central members can now purchase electricity from a 500-kW solar array on Central’s campus. Residential members can purchase blocks of 100 kilowatt hours for $2.63 per block. This cost is in addition to current rates. Only 340 blocks are available for purchase – so blocks will be offered as first-come, first-serve. Central’s Community Solar project is an alternative for members who want to use solar power without having the expense and overhead of purchasing solar panels for their homes.
“The program will give access to solar energy to all members, not just those who can afford solar panels at their homes,” said Hunter Robinson, Central CEO. The Community Solar program embodies the cooperative way by bringing members together to meet the demand for sustainable energy and access to solar. If you would like to learn more about community solar and how you can get involved, visit MyCentral.coop/ CommunitySolar.
COPY THE TURKEY Kids! Copy the turkey below, have your parent snap a photo of you with your turkey drawing and tag Central on social media @MyCentralCOOP.
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