On September 18, Jackson EMC will host its Annual Meeting of members, our biggest event of the year. We hope you'll save the date.

If you're one of our regulars who attends each year, you could probably write this column because you're well acquainted with the program we put on.

Each year, every registered member gets a gift and a boxed barbeque chicken dinner for you and each member of your family to enjoy at our Jefferson campus. We stage a huge health fair with free screenings and information from friendly health professionals. Jackson EMC employees man booths to share information with you about our products and services. We entertain children with a Kids Carnival, complete with bounce house, balloon animals, face painting and more. And we entertain adults with inspirational music performed by a popular gospel group, a tradition from our earliest annual meetings.

All of this takes place before the evening business meeting, which features addresses by Jackson EMC management and the board chairman who report on the past year's accomplishments, with a slide show that explains important events from the past 12 months. After the business sessions, the evening winds down with drawings for door prizes, and one lucky member will win the grand prize, a $2,500 energy efficient appliance package.

While the entertainment, meal and prizes are enticing, the real reason we hold Annual Meeting is to conduct the business of your cooperative, you are business owners, and Jackson EMC is your business. As a cooperative, Jackson EMC is governed by the members it serves. We all share in this work, our board and employees who handle important decisions and day-to-day operations, and our members, who have the opportunity at Annual Meeting to hear how their business performed in the past year.

Bottom line, you are more than a customer at Jackson EMC. You are a business owner.

The 2014 Annual Meeting will be here before we know it. Whether your interest is in enjoying a barbeque chicken meal, bringing your kids to the carnival or hearing some of the best gospel music around, we hope you'll attend. It's a great opportunity to see old friends and make new ones, and to learn about your electric cooperative.

We've been preparing for this event for almost a year and look forward to seeing you on September 18. Get involved in your cooperative. IT's easy and fun, but most of all, it's important. We hope to see you at the Annual Meeting.