Gonzales Healthcare Systems and Guadalupe Regional Medical Center received the 2021 GVEC Public Service Awards for their extensive services provided to GVEC and its service area during the Covid-19 pandemic. From left: GVEC Board President Lewis Borgfeld, Gonzales Healthcare Systems Chief Executive Officer Patty Stewart, Guadalupe Regional Medical Center Chief Operating Officer Sheri Williams, GVEC Secretary-Treasurer Henry C. Schmidt, Jr., and GVEC General Manager and CEO Darren Schauer.
Gonzales, Texas – June 29, 2021 – After being postponed due to the pandemic in 2020, GVEC’s 2021 Annual Meeting took place on June 25 at the Gonzales High School Special Events Center. In all, 1,745 members participated either in person or by proxy.
Registration began at 5:30 p.m., with GVEC Board President Lewis Borgfeld calling the meeting to order at 7 p.m. Board Vice President Melvin E. Strey delivered the invocation.
Next came the election of District Directors. Three of 2021’s elections were uncontested: Henry Schmidt Jr. will serve as District 3 Director; Gary Birdwell will serve as District 9 Director; and David Warzecha will serve as District 11 Director. District 6 was a contested election in 2021. Leo York received 860 total votes and Joe A. Castilleja 814 total votes, making York the new District 6 Director.
Three additional elections deferred from 2020 were also conducted. All three incumbents from these districts ran unopposed and had remained in their position from 2020-2021. Consequently, each Director will serve two more years before standing for reelection in 2023: Lewis Borgfeld, District 2, Morris Harvey, District 5 and Mark Roberts, District 8.
The 2021 Annual Meeting Video, titled Empowering Life, presented an overview of projects and initiatives taken on in 2020. Much of the presentation covered COVID-19’s impact on Cooperative operations and the disruption it caused across the communities we serve. The pandemic forced GVEC to adapt and adjust in ways never before necessary, creating new opportunities to empower lives across the Guadalupe Valley in innovative ways.
A special presentation of GVEC’s Public Service Awards also took place during the evening. The tradition began in 1986 to recognize people, businesses and organizations who have delivered consistent, unselfish and considerable service to people around them and their communities.
COVID-19 pressed and mobilized our communities in unprecedented ways. As such, GVEC believed it appropriate to recognize two healthcare organizations that were instrumental in helping plan, implement and coordinate the region’s pandemic response: the Guadalupe Regional Medical Center and Gonzales Healthcare Systems.
Both these outstanding local hospitals stepped up to provide services to those needing it most, implementing new policies and procedures to keep patients and medical personnel safe. Long hours became a way of life for many of these professionals in their steadfast dedication to caring for COVID-19 patients. More recently, these same hospitals have been critical in setting up COVID-19 vaccination clinics, helping drive new cases dramatically lower. These hospital employees are the unsung heroes of COVID-19, working tirelessly and selflessly for the public good. That’s why GVEC has chosen to honor them with these awards.
Members can view the Annual Report as well as the video presentation online at www.gvec.org.
GVEC is a progressive cooperative specializing in the delivery of products and services that empower the people and communities in the Guadalupe Valley. Offering dependable electricity, high-speed internet, electrician services, reliable AC/Heating sales and service as well as solar and battery storage solutions, GVEC serves over 100,000 consumers through five customer service locations in Cuero, Gonzales, La Vernia, Schertz and Seguin.
