March 2016 - Pointe Coupee Electric

Employee
of the Month - February 2016
Rhonda Fortie
Each month Pointe Coupee Electric
highlights one of its valued employees. The Cooperative understands the
importance of its member owners getting to know the people who are instrumental in providing them with quality
electric services.
This month Pointe Coupee Electric
would like to introduce Rhonda Fortie
to its member owners. The Coopera-
tive is very fortunate to have
Rhonda as part
of the Accounts
Payable/Payroll
Department.
Rhonda joined
the Pointe Coupee Electric team in 1985.
She presently holds the position of
Accounts Payable/Payroll Specialist.
Rhonda is responsible for accounting
and paying the Pointe Coupee Electric
administrations and operations expenses, as well as handling the Cooperative’s payroll for the employees.
She also analyzes the new computer
software programs for the company.
Rhonda enjoys all aspects of her position.
Pointe Coupee Electric
ART CONTEST
This contest is open to our Pointe Coupee Electric members, employees’ families and to students at our
PCEMC Adopted Schools (Valverda, North Iberville Elementary, Upper Pointe Coupee, Rosenwald, Rougon,
Livonia, Catholic of PC, False River Academy, Port Allen High, Holy Family, Devall Middle, Chamberlin,
Plaquemine High, Crescent, MSA West and St. John. The art will be used to decorate the line crew hospitality areas as well as the office (board room, upstairs meeting room). First, second and third place winners
will be selected in each age division. Winners will receive an award and will be announced in a press release
that will be sent to the LA Country as well as Pointe Coupee Banner, West Side Journal, & Post
South.
Good Luck to all of you!
Contest Rules:
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Art must be one dimensional sketches, drawings, or paintings.
Plain white paper must be used. Paper size can range from 8 1/2 x 11 (letter
size), 8 1/2 x 14 (legal size), or sketch pad paper.
The words THANK YOU must be displayed in the art. Because this art will be
displayed in areas where we host our extra crews during emergencies or storms.
Drawings must be of line crews working or any theme involving electricity.
Artists will be divided into three age divisions: Grades 0-4, Grades 5-8, and
Grades 9-12.
Please do not put contestants name on the art. Please fill out the attached form and paper clip it to
the art. The contest will be judged by co-op employees outside of Pointe Coupee Electric and the
local tri-parish area.
All art must be turned into the Member Services Department by 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, March
31, 2016.
All artwork becomes the property of Pointe Coupee Electric so you may want to make a copy for
yourself before submitting your entry.
Participant Name: __________________________________________________________________________
Address:__________________________________________________________________________________
Daytime Phone Number (_____)__________________
Grade Division
(Check one): ______ Grade 0-4
PCEMC Account # or School:_____________________
______ Grade 5-8
______ Grade 9-12
Mail To:
Pointe Coupee Electric
Attention: Member Services
P. O. Box 160
New Roads, LA 70760
For questions, call the Member Services Dept. at 225-638-3751 or 1-800-738-7232.
Look for your lucky account number on pages 6-7
If you see your account number published this month on
inside pages 6-7 of this issue of LOUISIANA COUNTRY,
call Pointe Coupee Electric by the last business day of the
month to receive a $25 credit on your bill! Contact us at
(225) 638-3751 or (800) 738-7232. Your account number
can be found on your bill statement. Winning account numbers will only be listed on the inside, centerfold pages.
Page 6 • Louisiana Country • March 2016
Pointe Coupee Electric News
Joseph H. Cotten Jr., Manager
Jimmy Ewing, President
Pointe Coupee Electric Membership Corp.
P.O. Box 160, New Roads, LA 70760 (638-3751)
www.pcemc.org
William Jewell represents PCEMC at co-op national meeting
Washington Youth Tour participant William Jewell of
New Roads represented Pointe Coupee Electric and the
state at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s (NRECA) annual meeting held last month at the
New Orleans Riverside Hilton.
Jewell, the son of Stephen and Mary Jewell, was a
delegate on the Washington Youth Tour trip to the nation’s capital last summer along with 25 other cooperative
representatives from across the state.
He was selected to represent both PCEMC and Louisiana’s rural electric network at the national meeting in
New Orleans. (Acct. No. 911200)
During his time in The Big Easy, Jewell presented
the state colors on the main stage as part of a morning
processional of Youth Tour delegates to kick off the meeting attended by nearly 10,000 cooperative leaders from
across the country.
Jewell was also part of NRECA’s initiative to encourage cooperative members to exercise their right to vote
in the upcoming presidential election. Along with other
Youth Tour students, Jewell helped distribute information
to meeting attendees regarding national regulatory and
legislative issues that impact the pocketbooks of electric
cooperative consumers.
Along with being introduced to electric cooperative
leaders from other regions and learning more about how
William Jewell of New Roads is pictured above with Gabe Snow, a governmental affairs representative of
the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) in Washington, D.C. Jewell and Snow were
in New Orleans recently for NRECA’s annual membership meeting.
the national cooperative network functions, Jewell participated in NRECA’s Community Service Project.
For the project, attendees were presented an opportunity to write a personal note of thanks to Louisiana veterans of the U.S. military. The project was a joint endeavor
including the Louisiana Member Services Association,
the NOLA Tree Project and the Red Cross.
Jewell said he was proud to participate in the project.
“I wrote a note that was just a simple thank-you to let
them know that I appreciate all they’ve done to preserve
our freedom,” he said.
PCEMC General Manager J.H. “Jodie” Cotten said
the co-op received outstanding representation at the national meeting: “William did a fantastic job representing
our state. He’s a fine young man and has a bright future
ahead.”
PCEMC needs to know if you
are on a life support system
Pointe Coupee Electric is updating its records for life support equipment
needs and would appreciate your cooperation in providing this vital information.
As our members know, there is nothing that can be done to prevent outages due to extreme weather or other acts of nature. The co-op strives to
minimize any inconvenience for its members by planning outages for maintenance and restoring service during outages as quickly as possible.
It is sometimes necessary to plan brief outages in order to maintain
quality service and perform important maintenance or construction to our
electric distribution system. These brief outages ensure the safety of the
cooperative’s linemen.
We are making a special effort to assist any member who relies on a life
support system or equipment. We need to know who you are and where
you are located. We also need to be advised of any changes that are made
and if the system or equipment is removed. We appreciate your cooperation
in this important matter. (Acct. No. 1920601)
If someone in your home is dependent on life support equipment, please
fill out the form below and mail it to Pointe Coupee Electric, P.O. Box 160,
New Roads, LA 70760.
Life-Support System Information
IF IT’S NOT INSULATED, NEITHER ARE YOU.
Do you have an emergency standby generator to operate this equipment? Yes____ No_____
What you need to know about the
To further promote worker and pubic safety, the Louisiana legislature has
adopted new rules OVERHEAD
to be followed by those
who work near
overhead
power lines.
LOUISIANA
POWER
LINE
SAFETY
ACT
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


Helping members use electricity safely, that’s the power of your co-op membership.
Learn more from the experts themselves at TogetherWeSave.com.
Type of Support System: _______________________________
Pointe Coupee Electric has scheduled some maintenance work
in our Waterloo Substation on Monday evening, March 21, starting
at 10:00 pm and lasting approximately 1 ½ hours. Interruption of
service will include the areas of New Roads, Patin Dyke, Ventress,
Morganza, Batchelor, Innis, and the Erwinville and Bueche areas.
Maintenance work is extremely important and helps to ensure the
cooperative provides safe and reliable electric service to our members. If you have any questions, please feel free to call our office at
225- 638-3751. (Acct. No. 2277201)
We thank our members for your cooperation and understanding.

Address: _______________________________________________
Account number: _____________________________
Planned interruption
of service set for March 21
To
promote
and pubic safety,
the Louisiana
legislature
has from
 further
Louisiana
law worker
(LRS 45:141-146)
prohibits
unauthorized
persons
adopted
new
rules
to
be
followed
by
those
who
work
near
overhead
power
lines.
working, including moving equipment, within ten feet of any high voltage
REPLACE, NEVER REPAIR DAMAGED EXTENSION CORDS.
) _____________________________
Pointe Coupee Electric announced the 2016 winners of the continuing education scholarships at its 77th Annual Membership Meeting earlier this year. A $1000.00
scholarship is awarded each year to a graduating senior from each of the three parishes that
Pointe Coupee Electric serves.
Winning the Pointe Coupee Parish scholarship is Reed Smith of Catholic High of Pointe
Coupee. Reed is the son of Mark and Cherie
Smith of New Roads.
The Iberville Parish scholarship winner is
Jade Doyle of Plaquemine High School. Jade is the daughter of Daniel Doyle of
Plaquemine.
Winning the West Baton Rouge Parish scholarship is Kyle Washington of
Port Allen High School. Kyle is the son of Roderick and Cheryl Washington of
Port Allen. (Acct. No. 2171100)
The board of directors, management and staff of Pointe Coupee Electric
extend congratulations to each of these very deserving students.
What you need to know about the
LOUISIANA OVERHEAD POWER LINE SAFETY ACT
Name: _________________________________________________
Telephone: (
PCEMC announces
2016 scholarship winners
Safety_Cord_Mag_FullPg.indd 1
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must notify theperson
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or operator
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the
person
responsible
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work
tric utility line not less than forty-eight hours prior to commencing work. to
be done must notify the owner or operator of the high voltage overhead electric
utility
less thanonly
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owner
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and thethe
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electric utility line and the person responsible for the work to be done.
To notify Pointe Coupee Electric that you intend to
To notify Pointe Coupee Electric that you intend to
work
work within
within ten
ten feet
feet of
of aa high
high voltage
voltage overhead
overhead
electric
electric utility
utility line
line owned
ownedor
oroperated
operatedby
byit,it,please
pleasecall
call
(225)
638-3751
or
800-738-7232.
(225) 638-3751 or 800-738-7232.
Alternative payment options available
Members pay their bills online or by phone using Visa, Master Card, Discover or electronic check. Go to our website at www.
pcemc.org and click on the “Pay Online” Button on the left hand side
of the screen. You can also call 1-877-831-6383.
overhead electric utility line.
Louisiana law (LRS 45:141-146) prohibits unauthorized persons from
working,
including moving
withinwithin
ten feet
any ofhigh
If any unauthorized
person equipment,
intends to work
tenoffeet
anyvoltage
high
overhead
electric
utility
line.
voltage overhead electric utility line, the person responsible for the work to
1/16/15 3:41 PM
Connecting People...Impacting Lives!
Connecting People...Impacting Lives!
March 2016 • Louisiana Country • Page 7
LOUISIANA
Your Cooperative Connection
Pointe Coupee Electric News
March 2016 • www.pcemc.org
William Jewell
represents PCEMC
at national meeting
C O U N T RY