OPALCO Co-op members elect new Directors; record attendance for the 71st annual meeting on the ferry

Corrected Story: The 71st Annual Meeting of the members of Orcas Power & Light Cooperative (OPALCO) took place Saturday, May 17th on the ferry. A record-breaking 435 people attended the meeting, which included a local lunch by The Galley of Lopez Island. Six members who sent in their absentee ballots were drawn for $50 credits on their next OPALCO bills. The six lucky winners were: Stanley & Gretchen Liebenberg, Sonja Zarek, Edith Blomberg, George Spees, Mark Lewis, Mark Fleming.

May 20, 2008 3:12 pm
OPALCO Co-op members attend the annual meeting aboard the ferry Elwha.
OPALCO Co-op members attend the annual meeting aboard the ferry Elwha.

OPALCO Elects Hylton and Mulligan to Board

EASTSOUND—The 71st Annual Meeting of the members of Orcas Power & Light Cooperative (OPALCO) took place Saturday, May 17th on the ferry. A record-breaking 435 people attended the meeting. Two directors were elected for District I (San Juan, Brown, Henry, Pearl and Spieden Islands): Dave Hylton and George Mulligan, both of Friday Harbor.

Dave Hylton was first elected to the OPALCO Board in 2005. Hylton was raised on San Juan Island and graduated from Friday Harbor High School in 1957. After graduating from Washington State University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1961, he began a 35-year career with Chevron Corporation where he managed operations, maintenance and construction of oil refineries and cross-country pipeline systems. Hylton is now retired and lives at the north end of San Juan Island. In addition to serving as a Director of OPALCO, he is a Director of the San Juan Historical Museum and is President of Limestone Point Water Company, Inc.

George Mulligan has lived in Friday Harbor for the past twelve years with his wife, Pauline. He is a charter pilot for Island Air and flies with the San Juan Eagles, taking cancer patients for radiation therapy on the mainland. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School, his first career was as founding partner and CEO of Mulligan Griffin & Assoc., a Washington, DC based real estate development firm that specialized in the development, construction, ownership, and leasing of specialized office, data, and laboratory facilities for larger business and government organizations.

During the annual meeting, the board named its officers for the year. Chris Thomerson will serve as board president, Dave Hylton will serve as vice president and Roger Crosby will serve another term as secretary.

OPALCO is a member-owned cooperative electrical utility serving more than 10,000 islanders on 20 islands in San Juan County. OPALCO provides electricity that is 97% greenhouse-gas free and is predominately generated by hydro-electric plants. OPALCO was founded in 1937 to bring electricity to rural islanders.

OPALCO is a member-owned cooperative electrical utility serving more than 10,000 islanders on 20 islands in San Juan County. OPALCO provides mostly renewable electricity that is 97% greenhouse-gas free and is predominately generated by hydro-electric plants. OPALCO was founded in 1937 to bring electricity to rural islanders.