Hurricane Helene - One Cooperative's Story & Lessons Learned

CPE: 1 Credit Hour

When disaster struck, Blue Ridge Energy faced the storm of a lifetime — and their journey of resilience, recovery, and lessons learned is one you won’t want to miss.  In this session, we will hear the story of Blue Ridge Energy and the catastrophic storm that impacted their service territory in September of 2024. They will share lessons learned from their restoration efforts. To this day, their recovery work continues as they navigate the FEMA process. They will share helpful tips they have learned during this process of recovering the largest damage claim in the cooperative's history.

Presenter and Moderator Bios

Presenter: Katie M. Woodle, CPA, Chief Executive Officer, Blue Ridge Energy

Katie Myers Woodle is Chief Executive Officer of Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation (dba Blue Ridge Energy), which serves some 80,000 members in northwest North Carolina. She also serves in this capacity for the cooperative’s subsidiary companies: Blue Ridge Energies, LLC (Blue Ridge Energy Propane and Fuels) and RidgeLink, a business-to-business broadband provider.

Previously, she served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Blue Ridge Energy and its subsidiaries. Woodle is also an NC Certified Public Accountant. Before joining Blue Ridge Energy, Woodle was CFO of Alleghany Memorial Hospital and was an Ernst & Young Accounting intern. She received her Master’s Degree and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration/Accounting from Appalachian State University. A native of Alleghany County, North Carolina, Woodle resides in Lenoir with her husband, Greg, their daughter, Nora and son, Luke.

Presenter: Amy J. Crowder, CPA,CFPC, SVP and CFO, Blue Ridge Energy

Amy Crowder is the SVP and CFO for Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation (dba Blue Ridge Energy), an electric cooperative serving 80,000 members in northwest North Carolina. She also serves as CFO for the cooperative’s subsidiary companies: Blue Ridge Energies, LLC and RidgeLink, LLC. Crowder is a NC Certified Public Accountant and has completed her Cooperative Financial Professional Certificate through NRECA. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from Queens University in Charlotte, NC and currently resides in Valdese, NC with her husband, Greg, and son, Joshua.