DENTON – Choptank Electric Cooperative held its 86th Annual Meeting on April 25 at The Fountains Wedding and Conference Center with over 350 guests in attendance. Members re-elected three board members, the cooperative awarded $12,000 in scholarships to students in attendance, and shared significant highlights from 2023 about Choptank Electric and its subsidiary, Choptank Fiber.

President and CEO of Choptank Electric Mike Malandro addressed the members in attendance and thanked them for being engaged owners of their cooperative. He highlighted the work done in 2023 to balance the supply chain, keep expenses for members as low as possible, and prepare for the future with youth education and training.

“Our cooperative works daily to maintain over 6,300 miles of line while continuing to receive a 99.98% system reliability rating from the ASAI,” shared Malandro. “One of the main impacts to reliability is vegetation management. I’m proud to share that in 2023, we trimmed over 1,000 miles of power lines, mowed over 200 acres of land, and removed over 2,700 impeding trees.”

Doug Scott, chairman of the board, celebrated the cooperative’s dedication to rural members by providing broadband services through Choptank Fiber. “We are proud to have passed over 11,000 homes by building infrastructure and connecting customers faster than any other internet provider on the Shore,” added Scott.

Mr. Malandro recapped the success of the inaugural class of graduates from the Powerline Worker Pre-Apprenticeship program. This partnership between Choptank Electric Cooperative, Wor-Wic Community College and the Virginia, Maryland, Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives is the first of its kind on the Delmarva Peninsula, providing a boost to workforce development and supporting our mission to serve our communities.

The following uncontested board members were re-elected to another three-year term: Bob Arnold of Queen Anne’s County, Kristen Nickerson of Kent County and Doug Scott of Dorchester County.

Choptank Electric’s Luck of the Draw Scholarship awarded ten $1,000 scholarships and one $2,000 scholarship in honor of Olin Davis who recently retired from the Choptank Electric Board of Directors after 34 years of dedicated service. Students were drawn from those who applied and attended the Annual Meeting.

Winners included:
Caitlyn Grager of Wicomico County
Logan Hurney of Worcester County
Hayden Jackson of Caroline County
Isabella Jobeck of Talbot County
Rylie Kirby of Worcester County
Damian Kunie of Wicomico County
Lukas Maloney of Caroline County
Mia Nielson of Caroline County
William O'Donnell of Talbot County ($2,000)
Julianna Torre of Wicomico County
Riley Walstrum of Caroline County

A full recap of the cooperative in 2023 can be found online at choptankelectric.coop/financial-information.

Choptank Electric, a Touchstone Energy Cooperative, is a not-for-profit, member-owned, electric distribution co-op located on Maryland's Eastern Shore serving over 56,000 members. Choptank Electric Cooperative exists to provide reliable and cost-effective electricity that improves the quality of life for our member-owners. For more information about Choptank Electric Cooperative, visit choptankelectric.coop or call the Member Service Center at 1-877-892-0001.