Pedernales Electric Cooperative CEO RB Sloan addressed the Board of Directors at its January 17 meeting and said he hopes PEC will embark on “a rededication to the cooperative principles” in 2012, which has been declared the International Year of the Cooperative by both the United Nations and the International Cooperative Alliance.

Sloan said this year-long celebration of the importance of cooperatives is also being observed by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and it is drawing attention and support all over the world.

“This is really a timely opportunity for PEC to celebrate this year as our rededication, our recommitment to being a true cooperative in every sense of the word,” Sloan said. “I think it’s timely and appropriate that this year be a focus for us to reinvigorate the cooperative feeling, the cooperative approach at PEC.”

Sloan stated that PEC shares a common purpose with about 900 other electric cooperatives in the United States: to provide safe, reliable, low-cost energy services in a fiscally responsible partnership with its member-owners. He also spoke about the importance of remembering who those members are and why it is so important for PEC to honor its obligation to them.

“They’re our neighbors, our friends, our families. They’re us,” Sloan said. “When we come to work, when we go to church, when we send our kids to school, we’re providing the energy that fulfills our most basic needs.”

Looking back at 2011, Sloan said that while there was room for improvement, PEC’s reliability continued to top the industry average. He encouraged members to watch the year-in-review video posted on www.pec.coop.

Entering 2012, Sloan said, “It’s time to revive that sense of family between our members and this organization, between our employees and leadership. What greater tribute could we give to this international initiative than to say, ‘This is the year of the cooperative at PEC.’ I ask everyone – the Board, our members and our employees – to join us.”

The next regular Board meeting will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday, February 20 at PEC headquarters.