Members Elect Daisey, Approve Bylaw Change

Delaware Electric Cooperative members elected Blaine Daisey to a two-year term on the Co-op’s board of directors on Tuesday. Mr. Daisey, a former Delaware State Trooper, won with 428 votes at DEC’s Annual Meeting. Challenger Cotton Collins received 203 votes. Daisey was appointed to the board as an interim at-large director earlier this year after the death of longtime board member Howard Clendaniel. Daisey retired in June as a Master Corporal with the Delaware State Police and served Delawareans as a Trooper since 1988. Daisey has worked on the Delaware State Police conflict management team, in the intelligence unit and in the special investigations unit.  He is a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, sits on the board of the Delaware State Police Federal Credit Union and has volunteered as a swim and basketball coach. Daisey graduated from Frostburg State College with a Bachelors in Business Management and Finance.

William Wells, Laura Phillips, Dean Belt and Michael Brown, who were running unopposed, were elected to three-year board terms.  

Co-op members on Tuesday also approved changes to DEC’s bylaws that will prevent conflicts of interest among the board of directors. The amendment passed with 79 percent of the vote. The bylaw change will prevent former employees, contractors, vendors and those who have directly represented DEC’s organized workforce from running for the board for a period of ten years. Electric co-ops across the nation have implemented similar policies to allow for fair and impartial governance. The full text of the bylaw change is below.

Amend Article III ("Directors"), Section 1 ("Number, Power and Qualifications") by inserting the following: 

"(5) is, becomes, or shall have been, at any time during the (10) years preceding the election or appointment as a Director, an employee of the Cooperative, a director or employee of a firm, vendor or contractor competing for services provided by the Cooperative, having performed or sold services to or on behalf of the Cooperative or an employee of a labor union that represents or has endeavored to represent any Employee of the Cooperative." 

More than 6,000 people attended the Co-op’s Annual Meeting, held at the Delaware State Fairgrounds in Harrington. Members were treated to a free chicken dinner, community fair and a demonstration by linemen. The meeting is the largest private gathering in southern Delaware and offers members a chance to hear an update on the state of the Cooperative. CEO Bill Andrew answered questions from members during the business portion of the meeting. We’d like to thank everyone who attended the meeting. We hope you had as much fun as we did!