Board & Governance

Elections and Voting

WAYS TO VOTE FOR YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

VOTE ELECTRONICALLY:

Members have the convenience of voting online to elect their board of directors.

While members may still attend and vote for directors at the Annual Membership Meeting or by mailed proxy, the electronic voting option is designed to provide a more convenient opportunity for members to be involved in their cooperative. With a service area stretching from the foothills into the mountains and across seven counties combined with busy family schedules, this option enables members who can’t attend the annual meeting to vote for their board of directors.

Members who chose to vote electronically will receive the Notice of Annual Meeting along with instructions relating to online voting in May of each year.

Director Election Kit Sign Up

VOTE BY MAIL:

Members have the convenience of voting by mail to elect their board of directors.

Each year in May, the Notice of Annual Meeting and director election materials are mailed to all members, including information on candidates and a proxy form for members to make their selections. To vote by mail, the form must be signed by the member and returned in the enclosed postage-paid envelope by the date specified in the packet. The proxy must be mailed; it cannot be given to an employee or accepted at any Blue Ridge office.

While members may still attend and vote for directors at the Annual Membership Meeting, the vote-by-mail option is designed to provide a more convenient opportunity for members to be involved in their cooperative. With a service area stretching from the foothills into the mountains and across seven counties combined with busy family schedules, this option enables members who can’t attend the annual meeting to vote for their board of directors.

Look for more information about the vote-by-mail option in the director election materials mailing to each member in early May. Prefer to vote online? Follow the information on the top right corner of your copy of the election proxy for steps on how to do so.

VOTE AT YOUR ANNUAL MEETING:

As always, members may vote in person at their cooperative’s Annual Membership Meeting held each year in June.

To ensure the integrity of the electronic process, a third-party election management firm was selected by the Credentials and Election Committee. Made up of members from across the cooperative’s service area, this committee is responsible for ensuring elections are properly conducted and certifying director election results.

One advantage of being served by a cooperative is the right to elect peers — other members — to serve on the board of directors to lead and guide their cooperative. The option to vote electronically, by mail, or in person at the annual meeting is designed to provide a better opportunity for more members to take part in this democratic process.