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McNeill to Retire from Blue Ridge Electric Board of Directors
Bradley McNeill
Bradley McNeill, of Ashe County, is retiring from the Board of Directors of Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation after 15 years of dedicated service.
McNeill was first elected to the Board in 2004. His retirement will be effective at the conclusion of his three-year term which ends at the annual membership meeting on Thursday, June 27.
In his role on the Board of Directors, McNeill served on various committees including finance and rates, compensation, and was chair of the Ashe Facilities committee. McNeill also served as chair of the state conference for cooperative directors. During his tenure, he achieved top level Board leadership certification and credentials as a cooperative director, both of which required training and competencies in areas including understanding multi-faceted operations in the electric utility industry, strategic planning, finance, governance and director duties and liabilities.
A graduate of East Tennessee State University, McNeill received his master’s degree from Appalachian State University and retired from a career in education as principal of Ashe County High School. He previously served on the Board of Trustees of Ashe Memorial Hospital and as president of Ashe Chapter of NC Community Foundation. He is a Board member of the Wilkes-Ashe-Watauga Scholarship Endowment and is a member of West Jefferson First Baptist Church. He resides in West Jefferson with his wife, Pat.
At their meeting on March 26, Blue Ridge Electric’s Nominating Committee will select one or more nominees for McNeill’s Ashe District board seat as well as nominees for three other board seats in the cooperative’s other directorate districts of Caldwell, Watauga and Alleghany which are up for election this year.
In addition to nominations made by the cooperative’s Nominating Committee, members can have their name placed on the 2019 proxy and ballot through the nomination by petition process. The cooperative’s bylaws require that nominations by petition be made no less later than 5 pm on Monday, April 1, 2019, or at least 60 days prior to the Annual Membership Meeting (being held June 27 this year) and be signed by 20 or more cooperative members (five from each of the four directorate districts).
The list of nominees will be posted at each Blue Ridge Energy office and provided in director election kits sent to members on May 29.
Members interested in being considered as a candidate for the Board of Directors must complete and submit a director application packet by contacting Julie O’Dell, chief administrative officer, at jodell@blueridgeenergy.com or 1-800-451-5474, Ext. 3202. When going through the Nominating Committee process, the application packet is due by 5 pm on Friday, March 1, and for members using the nomination by petition process, the deadline is by 5 pm on Monday, April 1.
The following are the minimum qualifications to serve as a director of Blue Ridge Electric as outlined in Section 3.02 of the cooperative’s bylaws. Full qualifications can be found at BlueRidgeEnergy.com or at any Blue Ridge Energy office:
- Must be a citizen of the United States
- Must be at least 21 years old
- Must be receiving electric service from the cooperative at their primary residence, which is where a member is registered to vote and spends most of their time
- Must not have had a membership that has been in a state of suspension
- Electric service must not have been involuntarily disconnected for nonpayment at any time during the 12 months preceding the candidate application
- Must not have been involved at any time in meter tampering reported to law enforcement
- Must be legally competent and available to attend regular Board meetings, committee meetings, training and other events. Directors who miss more than two consecutive regular Board meetings may be subject to removal action by the Board and the Board may develop additional policy guidelines on attendance requirements.
- Must not in any way be employed by, financially interested in, or serving as an officer, director, trustee or equivalent for a competing enterprise with the cooperative or its subsidiaries or a business that sells products, services or supplies to the cooperative or its subsidiaries
- Must not have a close relative who is in any way employed by, financially interested in or serving as an officer, director, trustee or equivalent for a competing enterprise with the cooperative or its subsidiaries or a business that sells products, services, or supplies to the cooperative or its subsidiaries
- Must not have been convicted of a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude or a felony pursuant to state or federal laws, or
- Must not have been a regular or former full time employee of the cooperative or its subsidiaries.
Detailed information on the nomination processes can be found in the cooperative’s Bylaws available at any Blue Ridge Energy office or on the cooperative’s website at www.BlueRidgeEnergy.com.