Our annual meeting was held at Efficiency Vermont on October 22nd. Co-op members attending heard presentations from Jared Duval of Energy Action Network, an update on rebates from Kelly Lucci and a heat pump hot water heater Q&A with Joe Cobb. We are pleased to announce that four new board members were elected for three year terms (See bios below) Also Cheryl Fatnassi, President and CEO of the Opportunities Credit Union, was re-elected for a three year term.
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WELCOME NEW BOARD MEMBERS
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Sarah Wolfe
is the Communications Specialist at VEIC and formerly served as Energy Action Network as the Network Director. She managed the Annual Progress Report and Network events to expand our collective impact on clean energy action and emissions reduction in Vermont.
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Deanna Paluba
is currently the Director of Human Resources for the City of Burlington and has has held HR leadership roles at IBM and Gilead Sciences. Deanna has expertise in employee relations, policy development and developing employee engagement initiatives.
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Catherine Dimitruk
is the Executive Director of the Northwest Regional Planning Commission where she coordinates regional approaches to land use, emergency preparedness, environmental conservation, transportation networks, economic development and energy.
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Michelle Hobbs
has spent over 20 years working in corporate and product branding, marketing and graphic design. She recently lead an in-house creative group at VEIC, and is currently working
within the ICF Spark Labs facilitation team.
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The good news is that, even though crude oil prices have been quite volatile since May, the
EIA
expects retail heating oil prices to be slightly lower this winter compared with last winter. However, if temperatures become severely cold, prices have the potential to rise above forecast levels. In short, oil price uncertainty is the only thing that’s certain! As you know, the Energy Co-op attempts to get ahead of this, and any of our members who signed up for price protection plans will be protected from unexpected price increases.
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THINK GLOBAL AND ACT HOPEFUL
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As a thought leader and communicator, Project Drawdown is an organization that seeks to shift the global conversation about climate change from “doom and gloom” defeatism to one of possibility, opportunity, action and empowerment.
Click the link below to read this inspiration article about Project Drawdown’s 10 Most Viable Global Climate Solutions.
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Kelly Lucci, Co-op board member and VEIC Director of External and Government Affairs, gave our annual meeting audience an update on the generous weatherization rebates available. If you qualify for the rebate, you can offset as much as $4,000 for the cost of air sealing and insulation projects up to $10,000 dollars.
Click here
to see if your household income falls within the guidelines for this program, then call the Co-op to schedule your efficiency consultation.
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SAY HELLO TO AMANDA TETREAULT
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Chances are, most if not all our members have had many interactions with Amanda over the years, as she’s been on our Member Services Team since 2004. Amanda’s official title is “Office Manager”, but that doesn’t begin to describe her responsibilities which include billing, member mailings, answering phone inquiries, meetings, planning, etc. In short, the “buck” usually stops at Amanda’s desk. What’s on her mind these days? “I really appreciate it when members
sign up for our on-line billing
,” she said. “It helps us use less paper, save money on postage and is a great time-saver for our whole team.”
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WHAT IS "ENERGY COACHING"?
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Each person on the Energy Co-op’s member services team is focused on helping homeowners use less fossil fuel and save money. We call this “Energy Coaching”.
Whether it’s explaining our budget and price protection plans, helping you decide if it’s time for a new heating system, figuring out if your home is suitable for a heat pump or scheduling an energy audit, our staff is trained to coach you on the best ways to improve your home’s efficiency and comfort.
It all gets down to the fact that we are not-for-profit business that puts “people before profits”. Our goal is to coach you on ways to “win” the energy savings game with smart, targeted and cost-effective improvements.
There’s never a fee for consultations or cost estimates. We’re here to help!
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We've been following the conversation about biodiesel for a long time. Here is a great article by Lisa Provost from the Energy News Network
about the latest biodiesel developments in the Northeast.
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on Facebook and get real-time updates on Co-op programs and energy saving news.
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