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The 2012 Nominating Committee for Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) met on Saturday, May 19, 2012, and chose candidates for the five available seats up for election on SMECO’s Board of Directors. 

The list of nominations follows:

Calvert County

Samuel “Jack” Hammett

Charles County

Fern G. Brown

Kenneth L. Dyson

Janet K. Gummere

Doris M. Makle

St. Mary’s County

Walter Rayner Blair III

William R. Cullins III

In addition to nominations made by the Nominating Committee, any 15 or more SMECO members acting together may make other nominations by petition. SMECO customer-members running by petition should also complete and submit a Board of Directors Candidate Application. To obtain a candidate application and petition, contact Lisa Oliver at 301-274-4489 or Lisa.Oliver@smeco.coop. Completed candidate applications and petitions must be submitted or mailed to SMECO, Attention: Joseph Densford, Board Attorney, 15045 Burnt Store Road, P.O. Box 1937, Hughesville, Maryland 20637 by Friday, June 22, 2012, at 4:00 p.m.Nominations will be posted in each SMECO office and mailed to each member with the Annual Meeting notice.

SMECO customer-members will elect five directors to serve three-year terms by voting for one Board seat in Calvert County, two seats in Charles County, and two seats in St. Mary’s County. No seats are up for election in Prince George’s County.

Members may vote in person at SMECO’s 2012 Annual Members’ Meeting on Thursday, August 23, 2012, at the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf. The venue provides ample parking, comfortable seating, and accessibility.

Absentee mail-in ballots are also available to members who wish to vote but cannot attend the meeting. To request an absentee mail-in ballot, call 1-888-440-3311, extension 4722, or visit the Co-op’s website at www.smeco.coop. Requests for absentee mail-in ballots must be made by 4 p.m., Tuesday, August 14. 

SMECO will mail Annual Meeting notices with registration cards, details about the meeting, and candidate biographies to each customer-member by the end of July 2012.

SMECO is a customer-owned electric cooperative providing electricity to over 152,000 services in Charles County, St. Mary’s County, southern Prince George’s County, and all but the northeast portion of Calvert County.  Co-ops are distinctly different from investor-owned utilities because co-ops are owned by their customers, and customer-members elect the men and women who serve on the Board of Directors. 

Co-ops also issue capital credits to their customer-members.  What are capital credits?  They are the member’s share of the co-op’s margins, based on how much electricity the member purchased and the rate at which the account was billed.  SMECO’s margins—revenue less expenses—are used as working capital for new construction and system improvements.  When SMECO’s Board of Directors determines that a percentage of the capital credits can be distributed to members through a general refund, capital credits will be issued by check or credited to members’ electric bills.