January: Dwight Brown indicted, for the first time

The year started quietly enough, with little news pushing the reform movement forward. However, just days after the peach dropped, Cobb County District Attorney dropped a bombshell in the lap of Cobb EMC. Dwight Brown, the longtime president and CEO of the company, was indicted on 31 felony counts of theft, racketeering and false statement.

Dwight Brown’s attorney, former Georgia governor Roy Barnes, argued that the indictment was invalid because it was delivered in a closed courtroom: Cobb County’s new courthouse was not yet officially open for business. Judge Robert Flournoy III, a Barnes appointee, heard arguments for and against tossing the indictment and subsequently ruled in favor of Brown.

The ruling infuriated both Cobb EMC members and Cobb District Attorney Pat Head, who claimed that it could affect many more indictments that were delivered on the day Brown was formally charged. Mr. Head appealed the ruling and a decision has yet to be reached.

February/March: Dwight Brown retires, then rehired 

The 2008 lawsuit settlement agreement stipulated that Dwight Brown would resign on or before February 28, 2011. Brown took that action, officially retiring as president and CEO on the last possible day. However, the EMC quickly announced that Brown would remain at Cobb EMC as a “consultant,” but refused to disclose his pay or responsibilities in that position.

It was later revealed that Mr. Brown was making $60,000 per month and collected $1.5 million in salary and consulting fees from December 2008 through July 2011. 

March: Take Back Cobb EMC launches petition drive

In March, Take Back Cobb EMC officially launched a petition drive to force Cobb EMC to hold a special meeting for its members. The launch was met with widespread enthusiasm among Cobb EMC members, many of whom attended the petition launch event. In all, TBCE collected over 1100 petition signatures that turned up the pressure on the board to finally let members have a voice at their co-op. The petition signatories started a movement that led to the elections of reform board members and finally bringing reform to Cobb EMC.

May: EMC members request federal investigation

In May, Dan Davis and Mark Hackett, two outspoken, determined and concerned Cobb EMC members filed a petition with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) requesting an investigation of wrongdoing by Cobb EMC. Since the Public Service Commission does not regulate EMCs, there is very little oversight, especially when members are disenfranchised, but since Cobb EMC is such a large co-op FERC has some jurisdiction. Among other allegations, Davis and Hackett claimed that when Cobb EMC created Cobb Energy, they never disclosed any information regarding the relationship between the two companies to FERC. While the initial request was denied, Davis and Hackett appealed and are still awaiting a decision.

June: Georgia Supreme Court rules against proxies

The long court battle over EMC elections finally reached the Georgia Supreme Court in June with a victory for the plaintiffs and EMC members desperate for reform. In a decisive 6-1 ruling, the Court determined that the EMC could not use proxy ballots for EMC board elections. The decision helped clear a path for fair and open elections, although a new settlement that included provisions for elections needed to be hammered out by both parties and Superior Court Judge Stephen Schuster.

June/July: Attempt to rehire Brown rejected; Brown re-indicted

In late June and early July, Dwight Brown was dealt a series of crushing blows that put his future at Cobb EMC in serious jeopardy. First, the Cobb EMC board voted to rehire Dwight Brown as the EMC’s president and CEO, despite the settlement agreement mandated Brown’s retirement. The action forced both Cobb EMC and the plaintiffs back into court as both sides argued in front of Judge Schuster over whether Brown should or should not be allowed to lead the co-op.

Schuster reaffirmed the settlement agreement, stating that the settlement was crystal clear in its language regarding Brown’s employment at the EMC. He could no longer serve as the president and CEO.

Just two weeks later, Brown was re-indicted on the same 31 charges as the January indictment, plus four new charges of threatening and intimidating witnesses. Once again Brown’s attorney, Roy Barnes, is challenging the indictment. Mr. Barnes claims that since five members of the grand jury that indicted Mr. Brown for a second time are Cobb EMC members, the indictment is invalid.

A hearing was held in early December and Judge Flournoy is expected to rule on the matter in early January.

August: Schuster chastises board and elections are set

In early August, both parties returned to court to craft a new agreement that would include a timeline for board elections. Judge Schuster ordered all ten sitting board members to attend a hearing, at which he chastised the board for its attempts to rehire Dwight Brown and the slow moving process to liquidate several former subsidiaries of Cobb Energy.

Both sides settled on a date of September 17 for a special meeting of the members. Elections would follow in November 2011, February and May of 2012.

September: EMC members turn out en masse to vote down mail-in ballots

September 17, 2011 will be remembered as the day Cobb EMC members finally took back their co-op and spoke loudly at a boisterous meeting and subsequent election. The members, attending their first meeting in three years, vented their frustrations at the actions and inactions of the current board and voted on two key bylaw amendments. First, and most importantly, was an amendment that would allow for board elections by mail-in ballot. The measure was quite controversial, as it did not preclude the EMC from spending unlimited amounts of money in support of the incumbent board members. Concerned that the mail-in ballot provision would stack the deck in favor of the current board, members voted down the measure by a margin of 2,561 to 1,113. It was a resounding victory for the reform movement and set the stage for in-person elections in November.

The second item up for a vote—to eliminate cushy retirement benefits for future board members—passed overwhelmingly as well.

October: Cobb EMC Owners Association Vets and Endorses Candidates

As board elections approached, the Cobb EMC Owners’ Association, a campaign group formed by the plaintiffs who sued Cobb EMC in 2007, invited all reform candidates to a series of vetting meetings. At these crucial events, EMC members heard directly from the board candidates and voted on whom the Owners Association would endorse for each of the four seats up for election. The members in attendance voted to endorse Ed Crowell in Area 1, David Tennant in Area 6, Malcolm Swanson in Area 7 and Cheryl Meadows for Area 10.

As elections approached, two incumbents, Area 1’s Don Barnett and Area 6’s Al Fortney, decided not to seek reelection in the November elections.

Following the endorsements, TBCE, the Owners’ Association and dedicated volunteers took to the streets and the phones to campaign on behalf of the endorsed candidates. As the calendar turned to November, victory was near.

November: A Clean Sweep! Four new board members elected

On November 12, 2011, Cobb EMC members voted in the first board elections since 2007, finally casting their votes for Areas 1, 6, 7 and 10. In a resounding victory, members elected all four of the Owners Associations endorsed candidates. Ed Crowell, David Tennant and Cheryl Meadows all won their seats with overwhelming majorities, while Area 7 candidate Charles Malcolm Swanson was only 12 votes shy of a majority vote.

Cobb EMC bylaws require a majority vote (50 percent +1) to win a board seat. Mr. Swanson won nearly 49.5 percent of the vote, with incumbent R.J. Patel placing a distant second with less than 15 percent. After careful consideration, Mr. Patel conceded the race to Mr. Swanson.

Onward to 2012!

The hard work of the lawsuit plaintiffs, reform groups, the journalists (a special thanks to the Marietta Daily Journal for their incredible coverage) who got the facts out there, and, most importantly, YOU, the members who dedicated dollars and countless hours to reform Cobb EMC, paid off. The new board members have already dedicated themselves to reforming Cobb EMC, enacting new transparency measures and spending as much time as necessary to grasp the complicated issues surrounding Cobb EMC.

As we turn the calendar to a new year, it’s our responsibility to continue our work. The next set of elections will determine whether we have a majority of the board dedicated to reform and transparency at Cobb EMC. We also need to continue to support reform initiatives, weigh in at member meetings, and never let our co-op run away again. We’ve come a long way in the last year, and next year promises more excitement as we Take Back Cobb EMC!

Best Practices: What they are and how we can use them

Dr. Patrick Cox, a University of Texas-Austin professor elected to the PEC board in 2008, is a leading voice for best practices at electric cooperatives. Cox argues that all cooperatives should establish a set of core values based in several areas to ensure long-term success. We hope the newly elected Cobb EMC board members and other members will take notice of the two key principles Dr. Cox stresses:

Democratic Member Control: Dr. Cox points out, “cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting policies and making decisions.”1 Cobb EMC, now under new management and with four new board members, can bring democratic control back to the EMC with a few relatively minor changes. With two elections behind us, we’ve slowly but surely seen democracy return to Cobb EMC and the new board is pushing for more transparency and democracy.

The implementation of Democratic Member Control was of the highest priority for the reform board members at PEC. In 2008 they quickly adopted a series of transparency measures that included open records and open meetings, live streaming of board meetings on the Internet, and engaging membership in meetings, online forums, blogs and through social media sites. Members are now able to vote by mail, in-person, or even online. Like Cobb EMC, PEC hired a third-party firm to handle their elections which “guarantees the efficiency, accuracy, security and integrity” of the elections.

The elections process is a key component of democratic member control for Cobb EMC. PEC took on this major reform successfully and we can do it here. We need to implement a system that allows for fair and open voting for all. While EMC members roundly rejected mail-in ballots in September 2011, they should be reconsidered with the proper transparency measures in place. We need to make sure that all EMC members have an opportunity to inform themselves about the co-op’s affairs and cast their vote, and that we have in place an honest and transparent process for counting the ballots.

Members’ Economic Participation: According to Cox, in a successful co-op “members contribute equitably to, and democratically control, the capital of their cooperative.” In contrast, under the leadership of Dwight Brown, Cobb EMC regularly made major financial decisions that significantly impacted EMC members. Without the right to attend regular board meetings, EMC members were not consulted, even for large expenditures. Brown and his entrenched board spent millions of dollars on creating Cobb Energy, naming the Cobb Energy Centre, developing coal fired power plants and, of course, spending millions of EMC dollars on legal fees. In the midst of these actions, the EMC rarely issues capital credits to members and instead spent excess EMC profits on the expensive ventures that rarely, if ever, benefitted EMC membership.

In solidifying member economic participation, PEC distributed over $14 million in capital credits, hired a new auditor, and earned clean audits in 2009 and 2010. This commitment to financial stability not only improved the image of PEC but also significantly improved the viability of the company. Through the board’s changes, PEC successfully reduced its operating costs by more than ten percent in 2010.

PEC not only adopted a series of best practices, but also developed a member bill of rights (more on that here) to enshrine these values in the co-op’s operations and implemented new transparency measures that are quickly becoming a benchmark in the industry. PEC is a textbook case, paralleling where Cobb EMC was and where we can go from here. PEC members and new directors laid a path for us to follow – let’s take advantage of PEC’s experience to bring true transparency to Cobb EMC.

How We Make it Happen Here: 

It’s time that we see Cobb EMC establish “best practices” of its own, ensuring that it will never again be a runaway co-op. While the board and management are committed to transparency at Cobb EMC, it’s our job as members to see that those transparency measures are preserved for the long haul, and moreover that Cobb EMC becomes a model for electric cooperatives throughout the country.

We helped elect new leadership to the Cobb EMC board in November, but the ball is still in our court. When board meetings open up to the general membership (hopefully in January), make it a point to attend, listen to your board members and ask them to pursue best practices for Cobb EMC. Volunteer, donate, and VOTE for three new board members in February and three more in the final round of elections in May. It’s going to take all of us staying active and informed and pushing for a reformed, democratic Cobb EMC.

Cooperatives throughout the state and country are watching Cobb EMC, hopeful that members will continue to stand up for transparency, accountability and integrity. The power is in our hands, so let’s make sure the future shines bright at Cobb EMC.

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1 Cox, Patrick Best Practices of Cooperative Boards http://myenergycoop.org/images/articles/Patrick_Cox_-_Best_Practices_of_Co-op_Boards.pdf

Cobb EMC members however, are not alone in their fight to take back their cooperative from board members and management who have been accused fiscally mismanaged their co-op. Electric cooperatives throughout the United States who have dealt with similar issues for years. Like Cobb, several are emerging from dark chapters as stronger, truly member-based organizations (now operating under principles of open democracy and with greater accountability to members); others continue to struggle with a lack of member rights and/or corrupt board members or management.

One in particular, which bears striking resemblances to our efforts with Cobb EMC, has worked tirelessly to ensure that a runaway management and board of directors, some of whom have been charged with corruption allegations, will never again rule their cooperative with an iron fist.

The Pedernales Comparison: We’re Not Alone

Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC), the country’s largest co-op, based near Austin, Texas, bears striking similarity to the struggles Cobb EMC’s members faced in recent yeasr. In June 2007, several members of Pedernales filed a class action lawsuit against the cooperative’s then general manager, Bennie Fuelberg, alleging a breach of fiduciary duty by Fuelberg and several members of the board of directors and management at PEC. Like the Cobb member complaints against Dwight Brown, the PEC plaintiffs alleged that Fuelberg and others enriched themselves with excessive compensation and took steps to marginalize member control. Board members and employees of PEC claimed that Fuelberg had near total control over the cooperative, its finances and operations. The suit led to a criminal investigation, Congressional hearing and the eventual indictment of Fuelberg and PEC attorney Walter Demond.

The charges against Fuelberg and Demond alleged that they stole hundreds of thousands of PEC dollars and distributed them to Fuelberg’s brother and the son of a former PEC director. In December 2010, Fuelberg was found guilty on all charges and in February 2011, he was sentenced to 300 days in jail and ordered to pay over $100,000 in restitution. Fuelberg is appealing his sentence. Demond was found guilty in May 2011 and was sentenced to 500 days in jail, 10 years probation and must pay a $10,000 fine.

Pedernales members were fed up with the gross mismanagement and just like we’ve seen with Cobb EMC, took action. PEC4U, a grassroots organization, similar to Take Back Cobb EMC, formed to help inform PEC members of the issues affecting them and to support and elect new and accountable leadership to the PEC board of directors. In June 2008, after a year of investigations, lawsuits and active members, five new board members were elected to the board, pledging to return PEC to its members and bring accountability and transparency to the board.

PEC4U and several board candidates pushed for a series of changes at PEC that now makes a once trouble co-op a model for EMCs throughout the country. Stay turned for Part 2 next week as we focus on the changes PEC made and how we can adopt similar measures at Cobb EMC.

Photo courtesy of Marietta Daily Journal

Dwight Brown was back in a Cobb County courtroom on Wednesday as his attorney, former Georgia governor Roy Barnes, argued that the 35-count indictment against him should be tossed out. Judge Robert Flournoy III is a Barnes appointee and has been criticized by Cobb EMC members for failing to recuse himself in this case and for dropping a previous indictment against Brown on a controversial technical matter.

Barnes argued that including Cobb EMC members – “victims” of Brown’s alleged crimes – on the grand jury that indicted Brown was intrinsically unfair. Prosecutors countered that there was no Georgia law that prohibited the EMC members from serving on the grand jury. The jury’s indictment was unanimous and only four of its twenty members were Cobb EMC members. Judge Flournoy said he would rule sometime after December 16 but before Christmas.

If the current charges are dropped, Brown may never face trial for theft, racketeering, lying, and intimidating witnesses – a dismal failure of justice, in our opinion. An appeal of the initial January 6 indictment could still more forward, but the law prohibits a third indictment against Brown.

Let’s be ready to take action when a decision is handed down. If the charges are dropped, we must let Dwight Brown, Roy Barnes and Judge Flournoy know that we’re still going to clean up Cobb EMC. If they move forward, let’s commend DA Pat Head and his associates for a job well done. Be ready to comment on any newspaper articles online or send letters to the editor expressing  your views. We won’t stand idly by while Brown and Barnes try to work the legal system, especially while EMC members are footing his bills.

And the bottom line is, we need to replace the board of directors that kept Brown in power – so don’t forget to mark your calendar for the February 18 elections!

Stay tuned to Take Back Cobb EMC for the latest coverage on the Dwight Brown case.

In Area 1, Ed Crowell soundly defeated Johnny Woodward, while in area 6 David Tennant won an overwhelming majority in a field of three non-incumbent candidates. In Area 10, also known as the Pataula District, Cheryl Meadows of Cuthbert, GA defeated incumbent Henry Balkcom III. Charles Malcolm Swanson won 49.47 percent of the vote in Area 7, but fell 12 votes shy of the 50% +1 majority required to win the election outright. Incumbent RJ Patel received roughly 15 percent, good enough for second place. EMC bylaws require a run off between the top two candidates if one does not secure a majority. However, on November 14, 2011, Mr. Patel conceded the race to Mr. Swanson.

Thank you to everyone that voted, volunteered and helped ensure that Cobb EMC’s future is secure for its members. This was a community-wide effort to ensure that transparency, integrity and honesty return to Cobb EMC. We’ve won the first two rounds and now it’s time to gear up for round 3. The next set of elections, for Areas 2, 3 and 9, are scheduled for February 18, 2012 – and the final three seats will be up for election on May 12, 2012. Let’s get six more reform candidates elected to the Cobb EMC board!

For the latest on Cobb EMC elections, please visit our website, Facebook and Twitter to stay informed and ready to vote again in February!

Registration and voting for the elections begins at 8am, with a members’ meeting starting at 10am. Polls will remain open until 3pm and as long as you are in the parking lot by 3pm, you will be allowed to vote. Alternate parking will be available at Daniell Middle School, with shuttles provided to the polls. You do not need to attend the 10am meeting to vote, but it’s strongly recommended that you do! 

Please remind your friends, neighbors and colleagues who are Cobb EMC members about Saturday’s elections. We finally have our opportunity to vote new and accountable leadership onto the board and we cannot squander this chance. We need every Cobb EMC member we can find to come out and cast their vote! If they would like more information, please direct them to our website or have them email us.

The Cobb EMC Owners Association has endorsed the following candidates for those four seats and TBCE encourages you to vote for them as well! For additional information on these candidates, please visit our candidates webpage.

Area 1: Ed Crowell

Area 6: David Tennant

Area 7: Charles Malcolm Swanson

Area 10: Cheryl Meadows

Election Details:

Where: Piedmont Church, 570 Piedmont Rd. Marietta, GA 30066

Time: 8am: Registration and Voting begins*

10am: Meeting begins

3pm: Polls close**

*Registration will continue through the day at the check-in table

**As long as you are in line by 3 p.m., you will be allowed to vote.

What to bring: A photo I.D.

 Ballot application

 Proxy (if necessary)

Proxies:

If you are voting by proxy, please click the above links for the proxy form and ballot application, and fill them out completely. Remember, a proxy can only be the spouse of a member or an adult child (18 or older) that lives in the home of the member. Proxies will need to bring the filled out forms and their photo I.D. to be allowed to vote.

Remember, one vote per household!

Take Back Cobb EMC is calling on Cobb EMC to implement and lock in new transparency measures with a Members’ Bill of Rights, to ensure long-term accountability of EMC leadership to EMC members.

Electric utility cooperatives across the country have introduced Members’ Bills of Rights to secure open meetings, open records and fair elections for all co-op members. A fine example is Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC) outside of Austin, Texas, where a 2008 legal scandal resulted in the imprisonment of the co-op’s CEO and election of a new, transparency-focused board. The new board integrated the following members’ bill of rights into PEC’s Articles of Incorporation, making it difficult to dislodge so that no board could run amok with the company.

We urge the incoming Board of Cobb EMC to use this example as a launching point for similar action, tailored to Cobb EMC’s specific needs.

From Pedernales Electric Cooperative’s Articles of Incorporation

Article IX. Member Bill of Rights.

Section 1. Nature of the Bill of Rights. This Article embodies the core elements of Cooperative governance that, because of their fundamental importance, cannot be amended without the consent of the membership. Sections within this Article may not be amended or repealed except by an affirmative vote of two thirds (2/3) of the Board of Directors and the approval of two thirds (2/3) of those Members of the Cooperative voting at a Member Meeting on their own behalf in person, by mail, electronically or by any other method authorized by the Board.

Section 2. Voting and Election Safeguards. A Member has the right to fair and open Director elections, with nomination to the Director ballot by petition. Proxy ballots are prohibited for use in any Director election.

Section 3. Open Meetings. A Member has the right to attend every regular, special or called meeting of the Board of Directors and its committees, except for executive sessions as allowed by policy or law. All meetings shall be called with proper notice, and any final action, decision or vote on a matter shall be made in an open meeting.

Section 4. Open Records. A Member has the right, on written request, to examine and copy at the Member’s expense the records of PEC, except those records exempted from disclosure for reasons of privacy, attorney-client privilege, real estate subject matter, personnel subject matter, security or matters that are clearly competitive, when the Board determines in good faith that disclosure presents a compelling risk of likely harm to the Cooperative or its members.

We hope this example will spark discussion about what a Bill of Rights would look like for Cobb EMC. We must protect our EMC’s membership and keep our company transparent and honest.

Marietta, Ga. – Cobb EMC members won a tremendous victory in their effort to take back Cobb EMC for the members. With unofficial results in (pending certification), members voted by a count of 2561 against mail-in ballots and 1113 for them. Take Back Cobb EMC would like to formally thank every Cobb EMC member who made the trek to Piedmont Church and voted against mail-in ballots and put citizens in a prime position to elect new and accountable leadership to the board of directors in November.

“It cannot be understated how crucial this victory is for the members,” said Joel Mendelson, campaign coordinator for Take Back Cobb EMC. “We thank each and every Cobb EMC member who took the time to show up, exercise their democratic right and cast their vote against mail-in ballots. We are one step closer to ensuring that we elect new and accountable leadership to the board and in November, we have an opportunity to do just that.”

As we celebrate this victory, it’s time for us to get reorganized, reenergized and ready for the November board elections. Make sure that your friends, neighbors and colleagues know that their job isn’t finished, but is just getting started. On November 12, we will cast our ballots again and this time we have the opportunity to elect four new board members. Our new board members ought to stand for transparency, principles of open democracy, and fiscal accountability.

Take Back Cobb EMC will continue our get out the vote efforts to ensure that Cobb EMC members are informed and educated on reform candidates, where and when to vote and all of the information that is necessary for us to take back Cobb EMC once and for all.

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Take Back Cobb EMC was founded in early 2010 to provide the mobilization, communication and resources necessary for Cobb EMC members to successfully participate in the upcoming board elections. Take Back Cobb EMC is a citizen-based organization representing the concerns that community members have with the current leadership of Cobb EMC.

PREVENT SHENANIGANS: Please read the section below on Meeting Details so you know how to make sure your vote is counted.

On August 22, Cobb County Superior Court Judge Stephen Schuster gave his final order on the derivative lawsuit against Cobb EMC. In that order, Cobb EMC must hold a special members meeting to vote on amendments to the EMC bylaws.

We need EVERY member to turn out to vote at this meeting. Members will be voting on two very important issues. First and foremost is the format of elections. TBCE strongly urges a NO vote for mail-in ballots. By voting NO, we will have in-person board elections.

Why vote NO?

Judge Schuster has ruled that Cobb EMC can use unlimited amounts of (our) money to support incumbent board candidates, and a mail-in ballot will be too easy to buy. As Bo Pounds, one of the original plaintiffs who sued Cobb EMC, told the Marietta Daily Journal:

“If you go for mail-in ballots, that’s the kiss of death. They can control the election with mail-in ballots. They don’t care what it costs. They’ve already shown that. They’re using my money against us. They’ll be there for life, and you’ll never get the incumbents out of office.”

Mr. Pounds also pointed out that mail-in ballots down the road could be a good choice, but right now, without restrictions on Cobb EMC funding its own candidates with our money, mail-ins threaten to put a stop to reform at Cobb EMC.

The future of OUR co-op depends on the outcome of the vote! If you want to control your rates, and other EMC decisions, make sure to come out and vote NO, and tell your friends, neighbors and colleagues who are Cobb EMC members just how important this meeting is to the future of our cooperative. Voting NO on mail-in ballots gives us the opportunity to elect accountable leadership when elections start in November.

To RSVP or get more information click on our Facebook event for the meeting., send us an email or call us at 678-389-8983.

Meeting Details:

When and Where:

Piedmont Church

570 Piedmont Road

Marietta, GA 30066

Registration for the meeting will begin at 8 a.m. and continue throughout the day.

The meeting will start at 10:15 a.m. and feature a 20-minute presentation from the lawsuit plaintiffs, a 20 minute follow-up by Cobb EMC’s lawyers and a 5 minute rebuttal by the plaintiffs, followed by up to 90 minutes of public comment period.

The polls will open at approximately 12:30 p.m. and will remain open until 5 p.m. You do not need to attend the 10:15 a.m. meeting to vote, but it is highly recommended!

On the ballot:

You will be voting on two resolutions for changes to the bylaws. Resolution 1 would allow mail-in ballots; remember, TBCE strongly urges a NO vote on Resolution 1.

The second resolution regards retirement compensation for the Board. Cobb EMC recently disclosed on its website that board members currently receive $211,000 in retirement benefits in addition to per diem compensation. We recommend a yes vote on Resolution 2 to keep future compensation to a reasonable level.

Who can vote:

To attend you MUST be one of the following:

1. A member (your name is on the Cobb EMC bill).

2. The spouse or adult child (living in the home) of a member who is designated by proxy to attend. Cobb EMC should mail you a proxy to be filled out by the member before the meeting.

3. An employee of Cobb EMC

A credentialed member of the press can attend the meeting, but can only vote if you’re a member.

There is only one vote per household, even if you have a joint account. 

Things to bring with you:

1. Your picture ID

2. A copy of your bill

3. A filled out proxy if applicable.

Conduct at the meeting

1. The judge’s order prohibits wearing any buttons, t-shirts, signs, etc. that express an opinion related to Cobb EMC, the Board of Directors, the elections or even Dwight Brown. Think of it like a regular election where you can’t wear a campaign button into the polls.

2. Please maintain a respectful atmosphere at the meeting. Please do express your opinions during the public comment period provided, but refrain from disruptive behavior.

Remember, the future of Cobb EMC is in our hands. On September 17, let’s do our part to ensure that or cooperative rightfully returns power to the members.