MAY/JUNE 2013 SLEMCOPOWER SLEMCO’S 76TH ANNUAL MEETING JUNE 1, 2013 Hear Meet GENO TROY DELAFOSE Not your LANDRY typical Saturday morning! Win a NEW CAR Win a SCHOLARSHIP ANNUAL MEETING PAGE 2 SPRAY FOAM INSULATION PAGE 4 SLEMCO ANNUAL REPORT PAGE 5 PSLEMCO OWER TakeNote Volume 62 No. 3 May/June 2013 OFFICIAL MEETING NOTICE The Official Publication of the Southwest The 76th annual meeting of the members of the Southwest Louisiana Electric Louisiana Electric Membership Corporation 3420 NE Evangeline Thruway Membership Corporation (SLEMCO) will be held in Lafayette’s Cajundome on Saturday, P.O. Box 90866 June 1, 2013. The business meeting begins at 10 a.m. Lafayette, Louisiana 70509 The following will be presented at the meeting: Phone 337-896-5384 www.slemco.com 1. Presentation of minutes of the previous meeting. BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2. Reports from officers and the Chief Executive Officer/General Manager. ACADIA PARISH 3. Election of four directors of the corporation to serve three years. Bryan G. Leonards, Sr., 4. Twenty college scholarships will be awarded. Secretary-Treasurer 5. Any and all other business whatever, which may properly come before the meeting, Merlin Young or any adjournment thereof. ST. MARTIN PARISH William Huval, First Vice President This notice in the SLEMCO Power magazine was mailed to the SLEMCO members in Adelle Kennison accordance with SLEMCO’s bylaws. LAFAYETTE PARISH Bryan Leonards Sr., Secretary-Treasurer Jerry Meaux, President Carl Comeaux ST. LANDRY PARISH Leopold Frilot, Sr. Gary G. Soileau JOIN US JUNE 1 FOR OUR 76TH VERMILION PARISH Joseph David Simon, Jr., Second Vice President ANNUAL MEETING Charles Sonnier ATTORNEY LEMCO customers know that our nominated in April by the 2013 nominat- James J. Davidson, III annual meeting will offer plenty of ing committee is: Acadia Parish– Bryan Sreasons to set alarm clocks a little Leonards, 304 West 17th, Crowley, LA EXECUTIVE STAFF earlier than usual on Saturday, June 1. 70526; Lafayette Parish– Carl Comeaux, 1100 J.U. Gajan Chief Executive Officer & General Manager First, there will be the opportunity to Rue Des Etoiles, Carencro, LA 70520; St. Glenn Tamporello win prizes—26 in all—such as HDTVs, Landry Parish– Leopold Frilot, 3823 Prairie Director of Operations Blu-ray DVD players, iPads, Dyson Rhonde Highway, Opelousas, LA 70570, and George Fawcett Director of Marketing & vacuum cleaners or even a brand new 2013 St. Martin Parish– Adelle Kennison, 1008 Governmental Affairs car or truck from Courtesy Automotive Lucette Guidry Road, Breaux Bridge, LA Jim Laque of Lafayette. Giveaways also include 20 70517. Director of Engineering $2,000 college scholarships. Once the business meeting concludes, 20 Katherine Domingue Chief Financial Officer When the Cajundome’s doors open at lucky college students will each win $2,000 to SLEMCO POWER STAFF 6 a.m., you can enjoy free Community help offset their education expenses. Finally, George Fawcett coffee with your friends and neighbors. At to cap the morning’s events, one SLEMCO Managing Editor 6:30 a.m., Geno Delafose & French Rockin’ customer will win his or her choice of a new Mary Laurent, CCC, CKAE, MIP Boogie will turn the Cajundome into a Editor dance hall for SLEMCO members. Face painting will add to the fun. SLEMCO POWER (USPS 498-720, ISSN 0274-7685) is published bimonthly by Southwest United Blood Services has been hold- Louisiana Electric Membership Corporation, ing a blood drive at our meeting for nine 3420 NE Evangeline Thruway, Lafayette, LA years. We are hoping SLEMCO’s gener- 70509-0866. Periodicals postage paid at Lafayette, LA 70507. ous members will once again help out this POSTMASTER: send address changes to SLEMCO, worthwhile cause (Lucky Account Number P.O. Box 90866, Lafayette, LA 70509-0866. 4500647700). At 10 a.m., things get down to business ON THE COVER: with presentation of the minutes of the Geno Delafose photo by Curtis Darrah © 2008 Troy Landry photo courtesy History ® 2012 annual meeting, introduc- tion of directors and guests, plus Geno Delafose & French reports on SLEMCO’s opera- Rockin’ Boogie will tions. kick off the morning You will be asked to elect (Lucky Account four members to the SLEMCO Number 3402232503). board. The slate of officers Photo by Curtis Darrah © 2008 Page 2 ❘ SLEMCO Power car or truck from Courtesy Automotive (Lucky Account Number 2405035001) . Afterwards, you will have the opportunity to meet Troy Landry from the television series SWAMP PEOPLETM. When it comes to SLEMCO’s 76th annual meeting, you’ll have plenty of rea- sons to get up a little early on a Saturday, especially if you’re lucky enough to drive home from the Cajundome in our grand prize! • ENERGY SAVING IDEAS RECYCLE BY REUSE SLEMCO members will enjoy ® y meeting Pierre Part’s entertaining One often overlooked way to Troy Landry, from the television save energy is by recycling useful TM series SWAMP PEOPLE . but unwanted items. courtesy Histor Instead of tossing still useful Photo items from computers to building materials into the trash, Lafayette SEE PAGE 16 TO LEARN HOW TO WIN SCHOLARSHIPS Consolidated Governments’s AND PRIZES AT OUR ANNUAL MEETING Pride Guide (http://www. lafayettela.govPDF/PublicWorks/ LafayettePrideGuide.pdf) recom- mends placing such items into the hands of a non-profit organiza- tion in your local community that can make use of them. Plenty of items can be donat- ed, some you may not have even considered. The list of possibilites Our grand prize will be a new includes books, computers and 2013 car or truck from Courtesy Automotive working cell phones (but ensure all personal data on the device is removed and unrecoverable), construction materials (including unopened paint), clothing, bed- ding, toys, furniture, band instru- ments, medical equipment and sporting goods. Where to donate will depend upon your local community. Check first with your local shel- ters and churches, used book LUCKY NUMBER stores, schools, daycare centers, thrift shops, libraries and non- profit organizations such as the United Way. WINNERS Internet sites such as hree SLEMCO members called in to Ibert of Rayne, Charles Ray Jones of Acadiana Freecycle (Freecycle. claim their $10 prizes in the March/ Washington and Roderic Kardorff of org), Craigslist.com or Kijiji. T April issue of SLEMCO Power. Arnaudville. com will allow you to place your They were E. L. Guilbeau of Ten more numbers are hid- unwanted but useful items directly Carencro, Cleveland Eaglin of den in this issue of SLEMCO into the hands of someone who Opelousas and Ralph Faccion Power (Lucky Account Number needs them. of St. Martinville. 3236056002). If you find your You can also search your Seven other SLEMCO mem- SLEMCO account number, local phone book’s yellow bers missed out on their prizes. contact Mrs. Gayle Babin at pages under Social Service They were Jessica Begnaud of SLEMCO at 896-2504. If she Organizations for other pos- Carencro, Dolores Crader of Evan- verifies that you are a winner, she’ll sibilities (Lucky Account Number geline, Charles Hicks of Washington, credit $10 to your account. 4500912803). Kenneth Dubose of Branch, Patricia • • SLEMCO Power ❘ Page 3 ELECTRIC APPLIANCES OFFER SAFETY WITH SPRAY FOAM INSULATION When using this super-efficient insulation, electric appliances avoid the danger of trapped combustible gases, carbon monoxide and condensation. lthough fairly new in the Acadiana area, polyurethane spray directly onto the roof decking and not onto the attic floor, spray foam is fast becoming a favorite of families building new foam keeps the ductwork much cooler, allowing a smaller HVAC Aor retrofitting old homes. The benefits of this insulation, unit and saving money through lower monthly electric bills. especially in our area, is its efficiency in keeping as much heat as But there are ways to get around the problem posed by vented gas possible out of attics. appliances, Haydel explained. However, homes with vented gas appliances such as water First, sealed combustion units for water and home heating which heaters or furnaces require caution when combined with polyure- are vented through the systems themselves can be used. This elimi- thane foam insulation (Lucky Account Number 1414146500). nates any risk of gas buildup in the home. Second, a closet can be “The seal that the spray foam provides is key to the insulation built around a vented furnace or water heater that is then sealed value of the product,” explains Mark Haydel, service manager for from the outside, which also prevents gas buildup (Lucky Account Butcher Air Conditioning. “That same seal is what makes vented Number 4501555002). gas appliances dangerous when used in combination with the The problem is that both solutions are expensive and not many spray foam, because there is no way for the exhaust gas to escape would choose to make the investment. For that reason, most families the home.” that opt to encapsulate their home with polyurethane spray foam When this happens, trapped combustible gases from these prefer electric appliances for water and home heating. appliances can ignite or explode, carbon monoxide can infiltrate Haydel suggests that when homeowners are researching spray living areas of the home and condensation can cause mold and foam insulation, they pay attention to the significant differences mildew problems. between applications for our southern climate versus a home in Haydel explained that gas appliances that don’t require vent- a northern climate. Butcher Air Conditioning installs spray foam ing are safe to use with the foam insulation. All-electric homes branded under the name Icynene and Haydel says the website are also perfect candidates for the benefits of spray foam. Sprayed www.icynenefoam.com is a good source of information. • Page 4 ❘ SLEMCO Power SLEMCO ANNUAL REPORT 2012 THE YEAR’S HIGHLIGHTS We surpassed the 100,000 consumer milestone… revenues for the year were $185.4 million…miles of line increased to 10,203…nearly $28.7 million in capital improvements…raised the last of our Vermilion Parish substations above Hurricane Rita flood levels.