Thank you to everyone who attended and participated in the 2022 ElectriCities Annual Conference, August 8-10. What a productive few days in Cherokee!
ElectriCities CEO Roy Jones kicked off the conference by unveiling the plan for moving public power into 2030 and beyond. He told attendees, “Decades ago, leaders made choices that made our public power communities stronger. We have an opportunity now to build public power’s future.”
He shared five strategic priorities for public power in our region:
In panel discussions and breakout sessions throughout the conference, we dove deeper into the components of the strategic plan and discussed actions we can take to get where we need to go.
A highlight of the conference each year is the Silent Auction benefitting the Fallen Linemen Foundation. This year’s attendees didn’t disappoint, participating to raise $8,045 for the foundation—the most ever collected!
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper surprised attendees, stopping by to tell them how proud he is of the good work public power providers are doing to the benefit of their customers and communities.
We highlighted some of that good work, recognizing three individuals for their outstanding contributions to public power:
- Tyler Berrier received the 2022 Rising Star Award.
- Nick Hendricks received the 2022 Distinguished Service Award.
- Steve Peeler received the 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award.
On the last morning of the conference, ElectriCities board chair Donald Evans addressed attendees, reminding everyone that the public power strategic plan is “based on input from all of us, and it’s to the benefit of all of us. That’s why it’s vitally important we all play an active role in helping to carry out this strategic plan.”
A big thank you to attendees for the excellent feedback and thoughtful engagement throughout the conference.
We look forward to working together to help ensure we achieve the ambitious, yet attainable, vision for public power in our region.