Absolutely! CREC bylaws require that an annual meeting is to be held and it will be. The format of the meeting is different from prior years. In the past, before online voting was available, and before absentee voting counted toward a quorum, the meeting's original format was necessary to provide a way for members to vote in person and to reach a quorum. That format is no longer necessary. 

The meeting is no longer be held at the Family Arena but rather conducted on a smaller scale at our Lake Saint Louis branch office at 8757 Hwy N., Lake Saint Louis, MO 63367.

There is not a meal served nor is there any entertainment prior to the meeting as there has been in years past. The meeting will be streamed live online.

The 2021 meeting will be held in mid to late August in the afternoon prior to the Board’s August 2021 regular meeting.

Voting will be available prior to the meeting, online and by paper ballot, as it has been for the last several years. Members still have the option to attend the annual meeting to vote at that time if they choose.

Free electricity will still be awarded but will be tied to voting, not attendance. The drawing will be from the pool of members who vote either online or by paper ballot prior to the meeting, and those who do choose to attend and vote at the meeting. Anyone who votes will still be eligible to win prizes, however, being present at the annual meeting will no longer be required to win if your name is drawn.

The decision to evaluate the annual meeting’s format and eventually modify it emerged as part of the cooperative’s 2019 overall budget process. In making their decision, the Board considered several points:  

• A continued decline in the number of members attending the annual meeting over the years, with 2018 being the lowest.
• The quorum necessary for the election of board members has been continually reached through online and paper absentee voting for the last two elections in 2017 and 2018.
  (A bylaw change approved by members at the 2015 annual meeting established that absentee votes were to be counted toward quorum. Additionally, the online option for voting absentee was first offered in 2016)
• Absentee (online and paper option) voting, for those who could not or chose not to attend the annual meeting, has increased since first being offered.    

The change in format is not a new idea – in fact, other co-ops our size have done the same thing and for many of the same reasons. The modification is really a “normal” evolution for similar co-ops in highly suburban areas.

Yes. Further information is offered in CREC's newsletter, Current Times (Rural Missouri), through our e-newsletter, CREC Connections, on our website (www.cuivre.com), through social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube) and through local media/newspapers. You are also welcome to contact CREC directly by phone if you have a specific question. We’ll do our best to ensure that you are kept informed.