2026 Annual Meeting Recap

Lucas McFadden (Host)

Welcome to York Electric Cooperative’s Annual Meeting of members where we are celebrating 85 years of being rooted in service and powered by community.

I’m Lucas McFadden. I’m the cohost of WRHI Radio’s Palmetto Mornings Show as well as the anchor for CN2 TV News.

We are happy to join you virtually to update you on your cooperative.

 

Invocation – Brian Bevilacqua

At this time, York Electric’s Systems Specialist, Brian Bevilacqua, will offer our invocation.

Thank you, Lucas. Let’s pray.

Father God, we’re so thankful for you today, Lord, thankful for the grace, love, and mercy that you pour into our lives every day, Lord. And especially thankful for another successful annual meeting. Thank you for keeping our members and our employees safe today, Lord. We pray that you would guide us and lead us as we close another meeting today. Lord, we ask all this in your holy, precious name, Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

Lucas McFadden

Thank you very much, Brian.

And now York Electric Lineman James McClain will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

James McClain

Please stand.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

And to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you.

 

Lucas McFadden

Thank you, Sgt. McClain.

James served as a Staff Sergeant in the United States Marines with 8 years active duty and 2 years in the reserves. His service includes tours in Iraq, the Gulf War and Desert Storm.

Once again, thank you.

And now I would like to introduce York Electric Board Chairman, Rick Sadler.

 

Rick Sadler (Board Chairman)

Thank you, Lucas.

I’d like to officially call the 2026 Annual Meeting of York Electric Cooperative to order.

York Electric has certified proof 62,071 individual registration cards were mailed to invite its membership to the 2026 Annual Meeting.

The total number of registered members for the 2026 annual meeting has been recorded as 4,985.

The required quorum to host the meeting is 3,114 which has been met with the number of members present.

We also have an action item to approve the 2025 annual meeting minutes.

Are there any objections to approving the minutes?

Pause.

Hearing none, the 2025 annual meeting minutes are approved as presented.

Now, York Electric’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Craig Spencer, will provide a report on your electric cooperative.

 

Craig Spencer (President and CEO)

Thank you, Chairman Sadler. And thank you to everyone who joined us as we celebrate 85 years of service to our members.

At York Electric, we are more than a utility. We’re your neighbors, your friends and your fellow members. And as a cooperative, we’re owned by the people we serve.

That means everything we do is grounded in a shared responsibility to look out for one another.

We are rooted in service and powered by community. That’s not just something we say.

It’s how we approach every day and every decision.

No matter how long you’ve been with York Electric, that commitment to you stays the same.

In 2025, our team continued to deliver on that commitment. We completed thousands of construction and service jobs, maintained and strengthened our system,

and responded when our members needed us most as your electric provider and your community partner.

You’ll find exact numbers – like the nearly 1 million miles we drove and the over 80,000 phone calls we took –

in this year’s annual report, and I hope you’ll take a few minutes to look through it.

Those numbers help tell the full story. But what they represent is simple. Every day, we show up to serve you.

We also kept our focus on the future. In 2025, we installed more than 15,000 enhanced meters,

giving members better insight into their energy use and more control over their monthly bills.

In 2026, we plan to install an additional 20,000 of these meters.

We also made steady progress on system upgrades to keep your power reliable.

Significant projects included completing our Springmaid and Banks Street substations in the Fort Mill area,

as well as burying more than 4 miles of power lines in hard-to-reach areas of our territory.

We also saved our members money and improved efficiency by handling all underground utility locating services in-house instead of hiring contractors.

We know affordability continues to be top of mind.

The cost of electricity, like everything else, has gone up.

Today, about 72 cents of every dollar you pay goes toward the cost of wholesale power, which is our largest expense.

As a not-for-profit cooperative, we don’t profit when you pay more on your bill.

We are owned by you, and our job is to provide safe, reliable power at the lowest possible cost.

That’s why we work every day to manage the costs we can control.

We operate efficiently, make careful financial decisions, and work with other cooperatives to get the best possible value for power and materials.

We can’t control every cost, but we can control how we respond. And we’re committed to making the most of every dollar and doing everything we can to limit the impact on our members.

While your power bill comes once a month, affordability is something we work on every single day.

Even in a challenging environment, York Electric remains strong. This year, we will return $2.8 million in capital credits to our members.

That’s one of the ways we make sure the value of co-op membership comes back to you.

Of course, none of this would be possible without our employees and our Board of Trustees.

Their dedication to safety, service and good governance is what powers this organization.

They take pride in their work, and it is reflected in the way they serve this community every day.

That same spirit carries beyond the grid. Through Operation Round Up and other community efforts,

we continue to support local families, schools and organizations, strengthening the communities we serve.

As we look ahead, we do so with confidence. Eighty-five years later, the mission is still the same.

We are rooted in service and powered by community- this community, the one we all share and the one we proudly serve.

Thank you for your trust in York Electric Cooperative.

And now, Lucas McFadden will continue with the business portion of our meeting, announce the election results, and finish by announcing the winners of our prize drawings.

 

Lucas McFadden

Thank you, Craig.

First, is there any old business to come before the meeting this afternoon?

Any new business to come before the meeting this afternoon?

Hearing none, we’ll move on to reporting on the election results.

 

Lucas McFadden – Election Results

For the 2026 election, there were 3 uncontested trustee seats.

Tom Settlemyre ran unopposed for District 1.
Scott Good ran unopposed for District 2.
And Jack Cornwell ran unopposed for District 3.

These gentlemen have all been reelected to serve 3-year terms.

Congratulations to you all.

Additionally, members casted votes on whether or not to adopt a Bylaw Amendment for section 4.02.

This amendment helps to tighten the qualifications required by persons serving as York Electric Cooperative Trustees.

These changes add clearer standards around education, background checks, conflicts of interest, attendance and prior employment with the Cooperative.

This amendment also helps clarify the actions that may be taken if a trustee fails to make required disclosures in a timely manner.

Overall, this amendment aims to improve transparency and accountability, ensuring Trustees are independent and qualified to serve.

There were 4,143 votes in favor of adopting this bylaw amendment.

Therefore, this language will be added and updated to our existing bylaws which can be found on our website.

 

Adjournment – Lucas McFadden

That concludes the business meeting for the 2026 Annual Meeting of Members for York Electric Cooperative.

Without any further objection, is there a motion on the floor to adjourn this meeting and continue with the prize drawings?

Hearing a motion and a second, we will adjourn.

 

Prize Drawings – Lucas McFadden

At this time, we will begin our prize drawings.

In honor of our 85th year, your cooperative will be drawing names for 20 winners that will receive an $85 power bill credit, in addition to the grand prize offerings.

If your name is called as a winner, we will record your information and you will be contacted by your co-op on Monday to coordinate claiming your prize.

Let’s get started.

Here are a few things to remember.

York Electric staking engineers Michael Dickson and John Good will spin the tickets in the hopper from our Tega Cay Catawba Park registration for our first special drawing of a $500 power bill credit.

While those gentleman get the tickets mixed up, I’d like to introduce Miss Annabelle Chambers, daughter of York Electric members Katie and Cory Chambers and granddaughter of York Electric employee Carol Newman.

Annabelle, come on up, friend.

So, Annabelle, tell us how old you are and what grade you’re in in school.

Annabelle Chambers

I’m 10 and I'm in 4th grade.

Lucas McFadden

What’s your favorite subject in school?

Annabelle Chambers

Reading.

Lucas McFadden

And why are you excited to be helping here today?

Annabelle Chambers

So I can be here for my grandma.

Lucas McFadden

Ah, your grandma, I understand. And what do you call her?

Annabelle Chambers

My meemaw.

Lucas McFadden

Aw, yep, we all love our meemaws, don’t we? Alright good deal. Well you've got an important job and one people will love you for if you call their name!

So Annabelle will draw a ticket for each winner.

Afterwards, Michael and John will mix them up again for the next prize drawing.

Members who registered and voted at our Tega Cay location have all been entered in a special drawing for (1) $500 power bill credit.

 

Prize Winners

Special Drawing – Tega Cay:

• $500 power bill credit: Lewis Tull

$85 Power Bill Credits (20 winners):

• Winners:

  1. C.G. Adkins

  2. Henrietta Brown

  3. Leon Taylor

  4. Robert and Nancy Cirasa

  5. Anil Sonawane

  6. Jeffrey Gall

  7. Deborah Martin

  8. Price Cleatus

  9. Frances Corda

  10. Diane and Joseph Kletch

  11. Darlene and Ronald Boll

  12. Ashley Renee and Jonathan Stanfield

  13. Greg Lawrence

  14. Gwen Gollmer

  15. Huldah Latchansingh

  16. Barbara Carpenter

  17. Russell and Lorrai Watkins

  18. Philip and Toni Pistun

  19. Michael Cox

  20. Toirnetta Akila McCoy

 

Grand Prizes

• $250 power bill credit: Diane Pulcher

• $250 power bill credit: Valerie and Robert Whitney

• $500 power bill credit: Nery Illu 

• Kubota zero-turn lawn mower: Brenda Chandler 

 

Final Remarks – Lucas McFadden

As a reminder, if you won a prize today, someone will contact you by phone on Monday to remind you of what you won and coordinate you claiming your prize.

If you won a bill credit, your credit will appear on your June billing statement.

Thank you for joining us and for allowing York Electric Cooperative the opportunity to look out for you.

I’m Lucas McFadden. Thank you so much. Have a good day.