For Immediate Release
Choctawhatchee Electric Cooperative
P.O. Box 512
DeFuniak Springs, FL 32435 www.chelco.com
Communications & Community Affairs communications@chelco.com
CHELCO hosts Annual Meeting, updates and scholarships announced
DeFuniak Springs (April 23, 2025) – Choctawhatchee Electric Cooperative, Inc. (CHELCO) hosted its Annual Meeting at Freeport High School on Saturday, April 12, 2025.
Over 500 members and guests attended the meeting, where they spoke to CHELCO representatives and participated in live demonstrations and children’s activities. Board President Gerald Edmondson, Secretary/Treasurer Gayle Hughes, and Chief Executive Officer Steve Rhodes gave annual reports as part of the business meeting.
Board Attorney Jeff McInnis announced the 2025 CHELCO Board Trustee Election results. The three incumbent trustees up for election were re-elected for three-year terms.
District 2, Terry Pilcher
District 4, Brady Bearden
District 6, Gerald Edmondson
During the meeting, CEO Steve Rhodes discussed service territory growth, continued strains on the cooperative due to inflation, and efforts to control distribution costs through load control efforts, careful planning, and improved efficiencies.
“Since 2014, we’ve (CHELCO) been using various load management techniques such as water heater switches and voltage adjustment to limit peak electric usage on the hottest and coldest days of the year,” said Rhodes. “By reducing CHELCO’s peak usage, we avoid having to purchase wholesale power and our members reap the benefits of lower costs. This program saved members $1.5 million in 2024. On average, that’s about $23 per account! For the average residential member who has been with CHELCO for the last 10 years, he/she has saved about $200!”
Immediately following the business meeting, CHELCO drew the random winners of the $1,000 scholarship in a drawing of nearly 70 eligible applicants. McKenzie Beck, Walton High School; Isabella Cadenhead, homeschool; Jackson Davis, Walton High School; Ashton Hunt, Paxton School; Audrey Kyser, Laurel Hill School; James Land, Troy University; Evangelia McCaffery, Freeport High School; Audrey
Pankop, Niceville High School; Abigail Pillow, Walton High School; Emma Posey, Boston University; Carson Tingle, Rocky Bayou Christian School.
To view the recording of the 2025 Annual Meeting and the 2024 Annual Report, visit CHELCO.com/Annual-Meeting.
CHELCO is a not-for-profit electric distribution cooperative serving more than 70,000 accounts in Walton, Okaloosa, Holmes and Santa Rosa counties.
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