Hopkinsville residents were greeted with ice cream, light bulbs and other gifts as Pennyrile Electric hosted a member appreciation event on Wednesday.
Pennyrile Electric hosted a membership appreciation event at their Hopkinsville office at 2000 Harrison Street. This event follows a successful appreciation event in Cadiz on Monday, which saw over 1000 people in attendance. Pennyrile Electric CEO Alan Gates spoke about Wednesday’s events and the events they have planned for the coming week.
Pennyrile Electric members could drive through and receive free ice cream, as well as a bucket containing light bulbs and other goodies. Members could also register for the chance to win prizes including gift cards and were provided with information about Pennyrile Electrics annual meeting set for June 25.
The Pennyrile Electric appreciation events started after the COVID-19 pandemic. Before that, Gates says Pennyrile Electric would host their annual meetings at the Western Kentucky State Fair in an attempt to reach out to their members. Now the company hosts multiple events in different counties to better connect with their members not living in Hopkinsville.
Pennyrile Electric will still host a day for their members at the Western Kentucky State Fair, though their annual meeting will be virtual. Pennyrile Electric members will be given free admittance the fair for one day if they have a coupon. The coupon, as well as information about the annual meeting, is available in the Kentucky Living Magazine.
Gates also spoke about the recent severe storms that left many people without power on May 26. Storms inflicted heavy damage on Pennyrile Electrics power grid, with more than 400 utility poles damaged. More than half of the company’s members were left without power.
Pennyrile Electric restored power to all homes by May 31. Gates is grateful for the patience of their members during the outage, and of all those who helped restore power.
Pennyrile Electric will be hosting three other appreciation events in the coming week. On Friday they will be in Elkton at 421 South Main Street. On June 17 they will be in Russellville at 255 John Paul Road. The final event will be on June 19 in Lewisburg, at 318 North Main Street. Each event lasts from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Story by Reporter, Jordan Spaulding