PEC early voting for District 1 ends June 15
By Lew K. Cohn
Managing Editor
The Highlander
Pedernales Electric Cooperative members have until June 15 to vote early for a candidate to serve in the District 1 seat on the board of directors.
Members may vote online, by mail or online via SmartHub. Members can also vote online through an iPad device at PEC’s Canyon Lake, Junction, Kyle, Liberty Hill and Marble Falls offices, plus PEC’s headquarters in Johnson City. Those who vote early are registered for the opportunity to win a $150 bill credit.
Members may also choose to vote in person at PEC’s annual meeting, to be held June 23 at Smithson Valley High School in Spring Branch. Election results will be announced before the conclusion of that meeting.
Incumbent District 1 Director Christi Clement did not seek re-election this year. Candidates to succeed her for the next three-year term include Donna Holland Wilcox of Marble Falls, Milton Rister of Georgetown and Frank Haskell of Liberty Hill.
Members may only vote for directors who represent their geographic district. Burnet County is located in District 1, so Burnet County members may only vote in the District 1 race.
Elections are also being held in District 6 and District 7. In District 6, incumbent Paul Graf will face a challenge from Andrew W. Cable, while in District 7, incumbent Amy Lea SJ Akers faces a challenge from Travis Cox.
District 1 candidates
A sixth-generation Burnet County resident, Wilcox is president of Holland-Wilcox Enterprises and has more than 25 years experience in both the public and private sectors, with a primary focus on industry entrepreneurship.
A Georgetown resident who was raised on a farm in Williamson County, Rister is a former executive director of the Texas Railroad Commission from 2012 to 2015 under former Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
A resident of Liberty Hill for the past 19 years, Haskell has more than 25 years of working in public utilities, especially in the water, wastewater and oil and gas industries.
PEC annual meeting
Every year in June, PEC invites the community to enjoy a day of family fun while also conducting cooperative business at the annual meeting.
Members have the opportunity to meet PEC staff and hear from PEC experts on cooperative initiatives and programs, engage in family-friendly activities, make statements to the board and attendees and win door prizes.
This year's meeting is being held at Smithson Valley High School, 14001 Texas 46, Spring Branch. Attendees can access the main entrance of Smithson Valley High School by turning onto Smithson Valley Road.
The meeting begins at 9 a.m. with a birthday party to celebrate 80 years of PEC. Celebrate with cookies, music and more. Voting also begins at 9 a.m. and continues through 10:30 a.m. for members in districts 1, 6 and 7, and all members can register for door prizes.
At 9:30 a.m., enjoy the Explore Mad Science presentation, while the business meeting begins at 10:30 a.m., where members can hear election results from districts 1, 6 and 7, and have the chance to win fantastic door prizes, such as a Cub Cadet zero-turn riding lawn mower, home theater package, iPad Pros and $150 bill credits. Members must be present to win door prizes.
Then, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., members can enjoy family-friendly activities, including a scavenger hunt, face painting, balloon animals, hotdogs, popcorn and Kona ice.
