www.nueceselectric.org20 Texas Co-op Power NEC November 2014

Frank Wilson–Retail Division manager with Nueces Electric Cooperative–checked his watch, then surveyed the massive hall set with hundreds of din-ing tables and padded folding chairs. “Okay, show time, everyone!” he hol-lered. “Open the doors! And SMILE!”

On cue, a red-shirted volunteer pushed opened the entrance doors to NEC’s 75th annual membership meeting, held October 9, 2014, at the Richard Borchard Regional Fairgrounds in Rob-stown, Texas.

Approximately 2,100 people attended the meeting (of which 1,080 were reg-istered co-op members), where they enjoyed a catered barbecue supper, elected directors, visited with family and friends, and vied for door prizes.

Volunteers signed up members and handed out goodie bags, then pointed everyone toward voting booths and the ballot box. From there, American flag-waving volunteers steered members and their guests to serving tables laden with steaming plates of barbecued bris-ket, sausage, pinto beans, and potato salad, prepared by Howard’s Bar-B-Que.

“My husband, Jaime, and I were the very first ones in line!” exclaimed Chris Guillermo of Orange Grove. “We arrived at 3:45 p.m. and waited. We wanted to be the first ones inside. This

is our third year to be first!”

At their table, Luis and Abbey Bazan with their children Kyleen, 9, and Bran-don, eight months old, sat with Diana Bazan, Luis’ mother. “Oh, no, we don’t mind driving from San Diego for the annual meeting,” Diana said. “My hus-band, Rodolfo, couldn’t come because he’s working. Every year, we love to come so we can relax and enjoy the food. It’s worth every mile!”

Members Carlos and Karen Garza of Calallen haven’t missed an annual meeting for at least seven years. “Good meal and good prizes,” Carlos com-mented over his plate of barbecue. “And the electric price is just right. Can’t beat it!”

Down a few tables, Vernon and Mathilda Simnacher of Robstown sat with their friends, Kenneth and Vir-ginia Ahlrich of Corpus Christi. All are long-time NEC members.

“My wife’s parents and mine were members since 1946,” Simnacher said. “Before my parents got electricity, we used lamps at home. Then in 1946,

Nueces Electric Cooperative came out and put power lines to our house. After Mathilda and I married, we lived in Robstown. Later we moved to the country, and we’ve been with Nueces ever since.”

Ahlrich’s ties with NEC run even deeper.

“My father, W. A. Ahlrich, was in a group of farmers who traveled to Wash-

ington, D.C., to convince President Franklin Roosevelt to bring electric-ity to the country,” he said. “Then he served 40 years on the NEC board of directors. As a child, I attended the first annual membership meeting in 1940. And I haven’t missed one since!”

While members ate, the Carroll High School Madrigal Singers–directed by Stacy Weatherston–performed. Out-side, a Kids’ Area outside kept children entertained with crafts, face painting, games, and a bouncy moonwalk. A small petting zoo–hosted by Cuddles and Critters–allowed kids to touch and pet a rabbit, goat, chickens, ducks, pot-bellied pigs, and a pony.

Article by Sheryl Smith-Rodgers. Photos by Sheryl Smith-Rodgers and Mary Goldstone.

“Good meal and good prizes. And the electric price

is just right. Can’t beat it!”

~ Carlos Garza, NEC Member

NEC 75th Annual Meeting

At 7 p.m., the polls closed, and NEC president Brian Menking opened the business meeting. The U.S. Navy Color Guard from MAS Kingsville presented the colors, and Pastor Justin Moss with Calallen Baptist Church gave the invocation. Co-op members approved minutes for the 2013 annual meeting and the treasurer’s report, both presented by secretary/treasurer David Rosse. Then Menking and CEO John Sims gave their annual reports.

“After five years of planning, the new headquarters facil-ity was completed in September, and the co-op officially moved in on October 28, 2013,” Menking said. “It has been a positive adjustment to come from a facility which was originally built for 18 employees in 1949.” NEC cur-rently employees 82 people.

According to Sims, 2013 ended with favorable net mar-gins. Contributing items included “NEC Retail’s excel-lent job on maintaining consistent rates given erratic seasonal impacts, and the stepped-up use of cash man-agement techniques in mitigating interest expense,” he said.

After tabulation of votes, election results were announced. Directors elected were: Dr. Rumaldo Z. Juarez, District 1; Gregg Truesdale, District 2; and Don-ald Wayne Herrmann, District 4.

Co-Bank provided NEC with a $5,000 matching grant, which was presented to Nueces Charities by Ken Gajdos of Co-Bank to director Tommy Ermis. This October, Nueces Charities–funded since 1996 by NEC employees through Operation Round-Up–reached the $1 million milestone. The program awards grants to deserving local non-profit organizations that positively impact the com-munity.

Winners of the NEC Retail Member Referral Program were Janie Saldivar Esquivel, $250, and Dennis Yak-lin, $500.

A hearty helping of door prizes, such as small appli-ances, fishing rods, ice chests, gift baskets, gift cards, and electric bill credits ended the evening with a bang.

Vernon and Mathilda Simnacher of Robstown (left) sat with their friends, Kenneth and Virginia Ahlrich of Corpus Christi. All are long-time NEC members.

Members Carlos and Karen Garza of Calallen.

6,124 members submitted a vote

Dinner was catered by NEC members, Howards BBQ.

2,100 people attended the meeting,

www.nueceselectric.org22 Texas Co-op Power NEC November 2014

www.nueceselectric.org 1.800.NEC.WATT

Meet the $500 BIG Winner

Congratulations to NEC Members Juan and Virginia Gonzalez of Robstown for winning the $500 electric bill credit. All members who mailed in the voting ballots by Octo-ber 7th were entered to win. in total, 5,705 members returned their ballots. Congratulations again!

Co-Bank Donates $5,000

Co-Bank, one of NEC’s primary financial lenders, donated $5,000 to Nueces Charities, Inc, the Co-op’s charitable foun-dation. The majority of Nueces Charities funds come from generous members who round-up their electric bill to the nearest dollar.

Each year, Nueces Charities donates approximately $125,000 to the community. If you know a 501(c)3 who could apply, direct them to visit: www.nuecescharities.org.

Director Tommy Ermis and Co-Bank’s Ken Gajdos

Virginia Gonzalez and NEC Manager, Frank Wilson

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$75 NEC electric bill credit Ramon Perez$75 NEC electric bill credit Thomas W. Griffith$75 NEC electric bill credit Michael Stevens, Jr.$75 NEC electric bill credit Gracie Chaney$75 NEC electric bill credit Wayne Holbert$75 NEC electric bill credit Rance Vaughn$75 NEC electric bill credit Thomas Lancaster$75 NEC electric bill credit John Heflin$75 NEC electric bill credit Jesse Rosas$25 NEC electric bill credit Maria T. CooperYETI cooler $235 value Paroda DeitchGift Basket Joe C. KuntscherGift Basket Arnulfo Benavides, Jr.$25 Wal Mart Gift Card Nancy Munguia$25 Wal Mart Gift Card Ruben M. Benavides$25 Wal Mart Gift Card Juanita Kolodzie$25 Wal Mart Gift Card Toribio Vasquez$25 Wal Mart Gift Card Charles T. Conard$25 Wal Mart Gift Card Rafael Chavez$25 Best Buy Gift cards Javier Saenz$25 Best Buy Gift cards Susan Place$50 Wal-Mart Gift Card Cheryl A. Jackson$50 Wal-Mart Gift Card Julia MasonCamp Chair Jose A. LopezCamp Chair Emma G. BarreraBlender Richard WilburnCoffee Maker Maria Nora GarzaToaster/Oven Eufracio RuelasMicrowave Edward VinesCrock Pot Nelson LancasterIce Kool Cooler John HarwellColeman Tent David J. TajchmanShakespeare Reel/Fishing Pole James L. VahalikShakespeare Reel/Fishing Pole Pleas A. Mcgee, Jr.LED Decorative Candle Holder Melvin LandavazoBox of Dominoes David NortonComforter Jose V. WilmotTravel Cooler H R MillerTravel Cooler Gloria Trevino

Door Prize Winners!In addition to the $10 bill credit each member received for attending, over $2,500 in bill credits and prizes were drawn at the 2014 Annual Meeting held on October 9, 2014 which was held at the Richard Borchard Regional Fairgrounds.

NEC Retail Member Referral Program Each October, NEC Retail recognizes the top two refer-ring members for their Member Referral Program. They present the big winners with checks at the NEC Annual Membership Meeting.

The Grand Prize winner, Dennis Yaklin of Kingsville, TX referred fifty-two members. Dennis’ mother, Armella “Nook” Yaklin, was on hand to accept the check for her son.

Janie Saldivar Esquivel of San Benito, TX was the runner up. She referred twenty-eight members.

Congratulations to Dennis and Janie!

If you are an NEC Retail member and have questions regarding the Member Referral Program, please contact NEC Retail directly at 1.800.NEC.RD4U or visit their web-site at www.necretail.com.

Armella, “Nook,” Yaklin and Frank Wilson

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With 6 acres of crop maze and a mind-boggling design, the Klepac family is excited to bring the “MAiZE craze” to Robstown, TX.

NEC Members, Klepac Farms, is not new to this area. Fourth and fifth gen-eration Texas farmers, they grow corn, cotton, grain sorghum, and wheat in Nueces and San Patricio Counties. The Rockin’ K Maze is their newest venture -- a family-oriented entertainment venue that opens to the public on Sat-urday, September 27, 2014.

Part of a popular “agri-tainment” trend, it will be joined this year by more than 253 affiliated MAiZE sites across the United States, Canada, and Europe.

Rockin’ K Maze and the Klepac family hope to give visitors a chance to experi-ence a unique source of old-fashioned farming fun in this uniquely-designed labyrinth -- the design of which will be revealed a few weeks before opening! Visitors of all ages will be given age-appropriate “passports” to help guide them through the maze, where getting

lost means having fun..

If the 6-acres of trails are too daunting for wee folks, there’s a hay bale mini-maze for them to explore -- as well as a Lil’ Farmers’ Korner playground area. A giant rope spider web is great fun for climbing on! There are games like pumpkin tetherball and even large roll-ing ‘Hamster Wheels’ to tumble around the farm in. Bring your camera to cap-ture the antics of a herd of amusing goats who just love visitors.

Rockin’ K Maze is a great place to choose the perfect pumpkins -- for cooking, carving or fall decor. The Kountry Kitchen is open weekends with festival fare food and drinks.

“We are excited about bringing the maze to Robstown and the surround-ing areas,” says family representative Kourtni Klepac. “Rockin’ K Maze offers something that everyone can enjoy, from toddlers to grandparents. Our goal is to make sure everyone in your group leaves with memories they will cherish forever.”

Fall Season: September 27 through November 30, 2014. (Closed November 16th)

Hours: Fridays 5-9pm; Saturdays 10am-8pm, Sundays 1-5pm

Field trips: Tuesday - Friday 9am-1pmby reservation only

Admission: $10 +tax for ages 4-64$8 +tax for 65 and older,free for ages 3 and under

Location: At the intersection of FM 666 and County Road 52 in Robstown, TX

Website: RockinKMaze.com orhttps://www.facebook.com/rock-inkmaze

NEC Members Bring Fall Fun to South Texas

Ride the Cow Train Play Pumpkin Tetherball Climb in a Rope Spider WebRoll in the Hamster Wheel Try Dummy Steer Roping Munch Kettle Corn

For Smaller Visitors: Little Farmers Playground Hay Bale Mini-mazeWe’ve got Goats … and lots of Pumpkins!

Located just outside of Robstown, Texas at the intersection of FM 666

and CR 52. Just minutes from the Corpus Christi

metro area. Offering outdoor fun that every-

one can enjoy from tod-dlers to grandparents,

Rockin’ K’s goal is to make sure everyone

leaves with memories to cherish for years to

come.

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Show your co-op pride and support our local children’s hospital at

the same time by purchasing the NEC

sponsored card.

NEC sponsored this card!

www.nueceselectric.org26 Texas Co-op Power NEC November 2014

www.nueceselectric.org 1.800.NEC.WATT

Crisp, cool days are here, so now is a good time to check your fireplace for safety and efficiency. If you’re using an energy-inefficient wood fireplace, you can mini-mize the heat loss it causes by taking a few precautions:

Close the fireplace damper until you’re ready to burn a fire. Open it only while the fire is burning, and close it again once you have extinguished the fire. An open damper in an unused fireplace sucks heated air out of your house through the chimney.

Minimize heat loss by installing tem-pered glass doors on the front of the fire-place. Direct heat from the fire into your room by installing a heat/air exchange sys-tem to blow that warm air into the house.

Reinforce the seals around your fireplace flue damper. Tight seals prevent home heating from escaping through the fireplace and chimney.

Insulate your chimney with liners to prevent a buildup of creosote—a byproduct of exhaust from the fire. That buildup can make your fireplace less efficient and create the risk for an unintended chimney fire.

Call a chimney sweep certified by the Chimney Safety Institute of America to clean your fireplace and chimney every year before heating season begins. The chimney sweep can advise you about safety issues and any malfunctioning parts.

If you never use your fireplace, have a chimney expert plug and seal it so that it won’t rob your home of comfortable, heated air.

Time for a Fireplace Check

Notice: Collection Policy Change Members may be charged up to $25 if Nueces Electric Coop-erative (NEC) turns your balance owed over to a Collection Agency in addition to any of the Collection Agency’s fees/charges.

The member will reimburse Nueces Electric Cooperative the fees of any collection agency, which may be based on a per-centage at a maximum of 50% of the debt, and all costs and expenses, including reasonable attorney’s fees, NEC incurs in such collection efforts.

For any questions regarding this notice, please contact the Member Care department at membercare@nueceselectric.org or call 1.800.NEC.WATT (800.632.9288) extension 626.

Contest Winners!Thank you to all of the Nueces Electric Cooperative members who updated your contact information. Having your updated contact information on file is crucial to the co-op for a variety of communication needs including calls for conservation, emer-gency action plans, and general co-op news and updates.

A total of 548 members contacted NEC! Below are the ten lucky winners who will receive NEC gear:

Robert TurkAlberto GarciaDonna MurphySandra NelsonBlair AndersonDaniel Bernson

Tomahawk ResourcesElwood KnetigRobert ScottMarilyn Ellis

Your prizes will be mailed shortly. Thank you again to all mem-bers for participating. If you missed this contest, you can still contact NEC anytime to update your contact information.

www.nueceselectric.org November 2014 NEC Texas Co-op Power 27

www.nueceselectric.org 1.800.NEC.WATT

Call, NEC before the 20th of the month to receive your

electric bill credit!

If Your Account Number is:

Play & Win!

1 5 4 4 6 0 0

YOU WIN $25 off your

electric bill!

It’s hard enough to keep your cool when you’ve got a house full of company to entertain—much less while you’re slaving over a hot stove all day. Here are a few tips to keep your cool, at least in the kitchen:

1. Get up a little earlier. The house and the outdoor temperature usually are cooler in the morning than in the afternoon. The more cooking and baking you can do before noon, the more comfortable you’ll feel physically.

2. Open the windows. That will keep the air circulating, which will keep the kitchen cooler and help odors leave the house.

4. Work ahead. Choose side dishes and desserts that you can start making a little at a time leading up to Thanksgiving, and then freeze them until the big day.

5. Invest in a pressure cooker. It’s one of the fastest ways to cook food.

6. Dust off your crock-pot. Slow cookers don’t produce much heat. If you’re making chili, stew or meat for a pre- or post-Thanksgiving meal, throw in the ingredients and let the crock-pot do all the work for you.

7. Put your electric cooking appliances to work. An electric frying pan or grill cooks up side dishes and main courses quickly, which means they create heat for only short spurts.

8. If you’re replacing your stove anyway, invest in an induction cooktop. Its burners are so powerful and efficient that they cook your food with less heat, in less time.

9. Serve some cold dishes. Fruit cups and side salads don’t require any cooking.

10. Turn everything off when you’re not using it. Don’t leave the oven on after the pies are done just because you might be baking cookies in a couple of hours. Turn off anything that creates heat when it’s not in use—including the lights.

Keep Your Holidays Cool

Use slow cookers to keep the heat out of your kitchen this holiday season.

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Happy

Thanksgiving!NEC will be closed Thursday, November 27, and Friday, November 28, for the Thanksgiving holiday.

We wish you and yours a safe and happy Thanksgiving!