About 3,000 people showed up Saturday at the Claverack Rural Electric Cooperative picnic to enjoy the festivities and elect officers for the coming year.
Claverack Chairman Thomas Elliott served as master of ceremonies at the event. It was announced during the proceedings that Charles R. Bullock was elected director of Zone 7 – which includes sections of Susquehanna and Wyoming counties; Charles McNamara was elected director of Zone 8 – which includes sections of Susquehanna County; and Steven Sliwinski was elected direct of Zone 9 – which includes sections of Bradford County, including Burlington, Canton, Franklin, Grandville, LeRoy, and Smithfield, and Wysox.
One of the picnic’s highlights was guest speaker David Rowe, a Penn State alumnus who played football for Joe Paterno, and who also was a member of the Oakland Raiders when the team won its first Superbowl in 1977.
Rowe entertained co-op members and their families with humorous stories about his time under Paterno, as well as when he was playing for the NFL. In addition, Rowe – who after retiring from the NFL, became a member of an electrical cooperative in North Carolina – spoke about the development of electrical co-ops and their importance to the rural communities they serve.
“It’s people helping people,” Rowe explained about how co-ops work. He told the Claverack members that they perform invaluable services for their neighbors – something that regular electrical companies often fall short in.
Also on hand were Shannon Agredo of Elk Lake High School; Allison Fairchild of Towanda High School; Kaitlyn Faulkner of Wyalusing High School; Glenna Shores of Athens High School; Benjamin Rosenberger of NEB High School and Kent Upham of NEB High School, all members of Claverack’s Youth Tour group, who recently went to Washington, D.C. as part of the co-op’s youth program. Faulker told Claverack members what the group did on its tour of Washington, and how much they all enjoyed the experience.
Also at the event was the awarding of door prizes, which included footballs autographed by Rowe.
“Everyone was very upbeat,” Elliott explained after the meeting. “It was a very satisfying event.”
Other events at the picnic included a chicken barbecue, exhibits by local dealers and contractors, as well as customer service and information areas.
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