Around 900 were in attendance June 7 for Coastal Electric Cooperative’s 78th Annual Meeting of the Members at Midway Middle School.

Coastal Electric hosts an annual meeting to keep members informed about their cooperative and to facilitate the democratic process by which co-op members elect directors and vote on issues relating to the co-op.

But they like to have a little fun, too. Coastal Electric gave away a variety of door prizes, and one lucky member, Jane Ann Carter of Townsend, went home with a $1,000 cash prize.

New for 2018, Coastal Electric hosted a special Member Appreciation Week, during which members could pre-register for the Annual Meeting and vote for their directors. The 543 members who pre-registered were entered into a drawing to win $1,000 of free electricity. Nancy Delavergne of Richmond Hill was this year’s winner.

Retired WTOC meteorologist Pat Prokop served as emcee and gave his predictions for the 2018 hurricane season. He also presented his collection of deep sky astronomy pictures that he takes from a telescope in his prized backyard garden.

Other special guests included candidates running for the 1st Congressional District of Georgia. Democratic candidate Lisa Ring addressed the members in person, while Congressman Buddy Carter spoke via video.

Coastal Electric CEO Whit Hollowell encouraged members to exercise the right to select their leaders and to vote for or against policy issues.

Members unanimously passed a resolution to honor the late Stephen Mullice, who served on Coastal’s board for more than 21 years, including two years as vice president and eight years as president. Hollowell presented a memento to Mullice’s wife, Mary, in his memory.

During the business meeting portion, three directors were re-elected to the board: Jack Waters of Liberty County; Johnny Kearns of McIntosh County; and Ken Luke of Bryan County.

During a board meeting later that day, the following directors were named officers: Jack Waters, president; John Woods, vice-president; and Laura McGee, secretary-treasurer.

Coastal Electric is a not-for-profit customer-owned electric cooperative supplying power to roughly 20,000 meters in Bryan, Liberty, Long and McIntosh counties.