WVEC Director Election Set for March

Whetstone Valley Electric Cooperative (WVEC) is making plans for its 81st annual membership meeting. The 2023 annual meeting will be held on Thursday, March 23, at the Milbank High School. This year, three members must be selected to serve on the board of directors. They each will be elected to a three-year term. 

Districts with open seats include:

District 1: Dry Wood Lake, Goodwill, Easter, Agency and Lawrence Townships

District 2: Becker, Lee, and Lake Townships

District 5: Osceola, Kilborn, Mazeppa, Twin Brooks, and Leola Townships

If no candidate is presented for District 2, it will become vacant as of the date of the next annual meeting due to term limitations of no more than five consecutive terms or a total of fifteen consecutive years as set forth in Article IV, Section 2 of the cooperative bylaws.

Director nominations are by petition only. Petition forms are available at the WVEC headquarters at 1101 East Fourth Avenue in Milbank. A candidate must be a bona fide resident of the district and return a petition with at least six (6) signatures from current members of the same district to the WVEC office not less than 40 days prior to the annual meeting or Monday, February 13, 2023, at 12 noon. Petitions should be submitted on or prior to February 1, 2023, in order to meet publication deadlines to have a candidate profile published in the March issue of Cooperative Connections.

The process for becoming a director for WVEC is contained in the cooperative bylaws Article IV. Each candidate for a director position should carefully read the bylaws and understand the procedures. The bylaws can be found on the website, whetstone.coop or by contacting the WVEC office.

The WVEC board serves on behalf of the membership to provide oversight and strategic governance. Day-to-day operations are led by the cooperative general manager. The board is responsible for sending representatives to the associations of which the cooperative is a member. Directors are expected to attend education seminars and may be asked to serve on other associated cooperative boards. Directors may be asked to lobby and remain informed on pertinent legislative issues. Reading and studying is necessary to keep informed of current issues and how they may affect the co-op. It is the responsibility of the board to evaluate and develop long-term strategic plans to assure the financial and operational stability of the cooperative. Directors should expect to commit about 30 days per year for cooperative-related activities.

In addition to the rewards of being a director, there are some important responsibilities. A director must:

· Be prepared to abide by and uphold the bylaws of the cooperative

· Be open to new ideas and have a desire to learn

· Be able to understand and engage members as their expectations change

· Be adept at analyzing complex options to make sound decisions

If you are interested in learning more about what it means to be a director, please feel free to contact a board member or WVEC’s general manager.