Main Menu

2011 SAIA, MO

2010 SAIA, TN

2009 SAIA, GA

2008 SAIA, NM

2007 SAIA, TX

2006 SAIA, AL

2005 SAIA, KY

2004 SAIA, SC

NUTSEA 2010

NUTSEA 2010

NUTSEA 2009

NUTSEA 2008

NUTSEA 2007

NUTSEA 2006

NUTSEA 2005

NUTSEA 2004

Ray Pantel Award

SAIA Membership

How to Join SAIA

SAIA Bylaws

About Us

Contact Us

2009 SAIA Meeting


SAIA Summer Meeting
Savannah, Georgia
June 9-11, 2009

Minutes of Business Session

The Southern Area Instructors Association (SAIA) summer meeting was held at the Marriott Savannah Riverfront Hotel, Savannah, Georgia. The meeting was hosted by the Georgia Electric Membership Corporation.

The business session was called to order by SAIA Chairman, Ron Cronan, Tennessee, on June 11, 2009 at 9:00 AM.

Chairman Cronan asked Murray Riley, Kentucky, to lead the Invocation.

Chairman Cronan asked Danny Hayes, Tennessee, to lead the Pledge of Allegiance. 

Chairman Cronan asked for the approval of minutes to the fall meeting held in conjunction with the NUTSEA meeting in Albuquerque New Mexico. A motion was made by Stan Rucker of Mississippi, seconded by Danny Hayes, Tennessee, to approve the minutes as presented. Motion carried.

Chairman Cronan called for the presentation of new members.  The following were presented for membership.           
• Chris Chapman- Habersham Electric Cooperative
• Guy Williams- Snapping Shoals Electric Membership Corporation  
• Blake Pendley- GrayStone Power Corporation
• Connie Sparks-Indiana Electric Cooperative Membership  
• Gayvin Strantz- Indiana Electric Cooperative Membership
• Todd Bailey- Kansas Electric Cooperative
• Kevin Creel- Washington St, Tammany Electric
• Joe Langlois- Point Coupee Electric Membership Cooperative
• Robbie Lawson- Clairborne Electric

A motion was made by Danny Hayes, Tennessee, to approve those presented for membership.  The motion was seconded by Stan Rucker, Mississippi. The motion was approved.

Chairman Cronan started a discussion on the location for the 2010 Summer Meeting. Discussion during the week by interested parties will confirm the location for 2011 meeting and approval to be made during the second half of the business session on Thursday June 11th, 2009.

Chairman Cronan called for a recess at 9:00 AM until 10:00 AM, Thursday, June 11, 2009.


The second half of the business session was called to order by SAIA chairman, Ron Cronan on June 11, 2009 at 10:00 AM.

Chairman Cronan showed the SAIA Membership Directory developed by Michael Kelley of Alabama, and Micheal Weltzheimer of Texas, and which was passed out to all of the attendees.

Chairman Cronan then announced that the State of Tennessee would be most happy to host the 2010 SAIA Conference in their state and that the State Of Alabama would be most gracious in presenting a location for the 2011 SAIA Conference.

Next presented to the group was Jim Wright of Georgia as Chairman of the By-Laws Committee with information on the changes to the by-laws. It was stated that at the NUTSEA Conference in Minneapolis in the fall, would be the opportunity to vote on the proposed changes. This would provide the members with the time over the summer to review the proposed changes and be able to make an informed decision by the autumn meeting.

Chairman Cronan then called on the Ray Pantel Award Committee for the Ray Pantel Award presentation. Chairman Eddie Black, Kentucky was called upon to make the presentation. With over 30 years of experience in the industry, and the many contributions made by the nominee, the committee selected this selfless member of the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives as the recipient of this distinguished award. The Ray Pantel Award winner for 2009 was announced as Mr. Clarence Greene of the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives. A heartfelt round of applause was then given. The award itself will be presented to Mr. Greene at the NUTSEA conference in Minneapolis in the fall.

Old Business:
A special thank you was then given to Michael Kelley of Alabama and Micheal Weltzheimer of Texas for all their work in developing the SAIA Member Directory. Any changes that need to be made to the directory should be sent to Michael Kelly as the data base for the directory will be kept in Alabama. The estimated cost of printing the book is $700 and it will be at the NUTSEA/SAIA meeting that payment will be determined.

Next, the discussion about the Nominating Committee commenced. Clarence Greene of Kentucky made the motion to approve the creation of a Nominating Committee, which was then seconded by Stan Rucker of Mississippi. Chairman Cronan then asked for discussion from the floor. There being no further discussion other than the appointment of officers to the committee, the membership approved the creation of the committee. Discussion then ensued as to the appointees to the committee. After asking for volunteers, and receiving three, the committee members were then selected. They are:
Jason Saunders, Alabama- Chairman
Steve Talbot, Georgia
Wade Hurst, Oklahoma

These members of the Nominating Committee will be looking to submit a name for the Secretary position of the SAIA executive committee. Any parties interested will need to contact this committee to submit names for the position vacancies.

Questions then began as to the new member application process. The process is listed in the bylaws and will be part of the newly approved portion of the bylaws when voted upon at the next SAIA meeting in Minneapolis.

There being no further Old Business to discuss, Chairman Cronan then moved to the New Business portion of the agenda.

New Business:
Vice-Chairman Micheal Weltzheimer voiced his concern over the Ray Pantel award not receiving the recognition deserved at the NUTSEA Conference. Many other members of SAIA are of the same opinion that the award should be presented to the recipient at the awards banquet given by NUTSEA. This would be in keeping with the spirit of recognizing award winners, and that if the Quad States award was not given then, it should be also since both SAIA and Quad States comprise the overwhelming majority of the NUTSEA membership. Continued discussion resulted in the following measures:
First, since Jim Wright, Georgia, a member of the NUTSEA board, has verbally heard the concerns of the SAIA group and of the desire to have the Ray Pantel Award given at the award banquet portion of the NUTSEA conference, would perhaps use his influence to help make this a reality by speaking to other NUTSEA board members.
Secondly, it was agreed that SAIA Chairman Ron Cronan would write a letter to the NUTSEA board, specifically past and present chairmen of NUTSEA: Mike Bird and Vernon Shearer, addressing the desire of SAIA to have the Ray Pantel Award presented at the NUTSEA award banquet. SAIA Chairman Cronan agreed to write said letter.

While no motions were made or carried in support of this action, the members in attendance all agreed that the above cited measures should be pursued, and action would be taken by Chairman Cronan and NUTSEA board member Jim Wright of Georgia.

At this time New Business was concluded except for the thanks given to Jim Wright and the other members from Georgia, and to the Georgia Electric Membership Corporation for all their effort, hard work, and diligence, in providing an excellent venue for having the SAIA Conference. Acknowledgement was also given to Pike Electric Corporation, Altec Industries, and Electrical Test Labs of Georgia Inc. for their efforts in providing a Hospitality Suite for the SAIA members and their guests. Michael Kelley- Alabama made a motion to approve the business session as conducted and Wade Hurst- Texas seconded the motion. With all members in attendance voting in favor of the motion, the meeting was approved and concluded at 10:00 AM June 11th, 2009.

Conference Attendees:

Front: (l to r) Fred Dyer, Greg McCoy, Connie Sparks, Joe Langlois Back Row: (l to r) Chris Chapman, Russell Helms, Gayvin Strantz, Robbie Watson, Kevin Creel, Todd Bailey