Despite the threat of rain, almost 200 members of Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative breezed through the first drive-through Annual Meeting in the cooperative’s history on Tuesday, May 11, 2021. Under large covered tents in the parking lot of The Silos on 77 in Giddings, members stayed in their cars to get information about Bluebonnet. They chatted with the co-op’s Board of Directors, executives and employees and registered to win door prizes.

“We are all happy to return to having our Annual Meeting with members this year,” said Ben Flencher, Bluebonnet’s Board chairman. “It sure was nice to see and visit with our friends and neighbors, even if it was through their vehicles’ windows.”

Though communities and businesses are opening in the wake of COVID-19, out of caution for Bluebonnet’s members and employees, the drive-through format of the meeting, with employees wearing masks when communicating with members, reduced the risk of tranmitting the virus.

During the Annual Meeting two incumbent directors were re-elected. The directors were Shana Whiteley, District 2, Travis County, and Bryan Bracewell, District 3, Bastrop County.

“Congratulations to Directors Whiteley and Bracewell on being re-elected to our Board,” Flencher said. “Bryan and Shana bring their talents and years of experience doing business and living in their communities to our board room. They greatly contribute to Bluebonnet’s success and do an outstanding job representing our members and their co-op.”

Whiteley has served on Bluebonnet’s Board of Directors since 2017.

“Bluebonnet is an organization of exceptional quality and integrity,” Whiteley said. “Every decision is made with the utmost care and consideration for our members. It is my privilege and honor to be re-elected to the Board during this exciting time of growth and prosperity.”

Bracewell has served on Bluebonnet’s Board of Directors since 2018.

“I am honored and humbled to be re-elected to serve Bluebonnet’s members on the Board of Directors,” Bracewell said. “The commitment and care everyone at Bluebonnet has for the members and communities we serve are rooted in the co-op’s 82-year history. I am thankful for the opportunity to contribute to Bluebonnet’s success.”

More than 6,750 Bluebonnet members participated in this year’s Annual Meeting, either in-person or by submitting proxy forms. The proxies established a quorum for the Annual Meeting. There was no new business on the meeting’s agenda, but had there been, it would have been voted on by members being represented by their proxy.

“This was a wonderful Annual Meeting,” said Matt Bentke, Bluebonnet’s general manager. “We weren’t sure what to expect from a drive-through meeting, but, judging from my conversations with members, it was a great success. We are grateful for everyone who came by to ask questions, do a little business or just say hello, and appreciate all the members who were unable to attend the meeting but supported their cooperative by sending in their proxies.”

Bluebonnet members who submitted proxy forms were also entered into the drawings for numerous door prizes, including a 2008 Chevrolet 1500 extended cab being retired from the cooperative’s fleet and two Cub Cadet riding mowers. The names of winners for those prizes will be drawn Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Bluebonnet will contact those winners to arrange for their prize to be picked up or delivered. Prizes were paid for through donations from Bluebonnet vendors.  To see all the information that was provided to members during the Annual Meeting, visit bluebonnet.coop/annualmeeting. You can also watch a video featuring highlights of this year’s Annual Meeting at https://youtu.be/7H5JPgb-f7c.

A $19,848 grant from Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative and the Lower Colorado River Authority will allow Round Top to install energy-efficient outdoor lighting on its historic town hall and the public square that surrounds it.
 
The Community Development Partnership Program grant, along with $7,000 in matching funds, will pay for eight vintage-style fixtures that will house LED bulbs. Four of the fixtures will be placed above entrances to the town hall, and four will be attached to poles to light sections of the square. All eight fixtures will fit with the design of Round Top’s mid-1920s town hall and be dark sky compliant, directing their light downward.
 
“Round Top is a dark sky community, and we have deliberated about how to accomplish this project and meet the dark sky requirements for about five years now,” said David Stall, a special assistant to Round Top’s mayor. “This was not really driven by the city council, but by community organizations. Those groups selected the poles and the fixtures and made their recommendations to the town.
 
“Our population is about 90 people, so funding is always a challenge,” Stall added. “We looked out and saw this grant opportunity – so this was very, very welcome and allows us to get this project completed in a timely matter.”
 
Stall said the new lighting will boost the daytime and nighttime look of the public square while also improving security for civic meetings at the town hall or outdoor events on the square. Located in Fayette County, Round Top draws visitors annually to its series of Antique Weeks, during which many vendors set up on the public square. The square also is central to Round Top’s annual Fourth of July celebration, which began in 1851.
 
The community grant is one of seven grants being awarded by Bluebonnet and the LCRA through LCRA’s Community Development Partnership Program, which helps volunteer fire departments, local governments, emergency responders and nonprofit organizations fund capital improvement projects in LCRA’s wholesale electric, water and transmission service areas. The program is part of LCRA’s effort to give back to the communities it serves. Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative is one of LCRA’s wholesale electric customers and is a partner in the grant program.