Wally Hamman Wins $500 at WVEC Annual Membership Meeting

The 82nd Annual Membership Meeting of the Whetstone Valley Electric Cooperative (WVEC) was held at Wilmot High School on Thursday, March 21. Wallace Hamman of Milbank was the winner of the $500 cash drawing.

Brooklyn Remund was the winner of the $100 drawing held for those 14 to 18 years of age in attendance. A $50 drawing was also held for attendees 13 years of age or younger.

The meeting was called to order by President Bill Tostenson. Tostenson stated a quorum had been met with 184 voting members registered and present. The National Anthem was led by Brooklyn Remund of Wilmot. Pastor DeVern Schwenn of Milbank offered the invocation.

Tostenson introduced the board of directors, officers, former directors, former employees, and special guests. Tostenson also noted Darren Strasser has completed his tenure as director and will step down in accordance with the cooperative governing bylaws that stipulate a limit of five consecutive terms.

Mike Jaspers, business development director for East River Electric Power Cooperative (EREPC), spoke on their behalf. Jaspers provided a brief summary of East River Electric’s role in providing electricity to Whetstone Valley Electric. He also addressed Darren Strasser’s position as Whetstone Valley Electric’’s representative on the board of directors of East River Electric. Jaspers commended Strasser for his exceptional abilities, highlighting his strong aptitude for comprehending financial reports and quickly calculating numbers. Moreover, he praised Strasser’s objective approach in tackling challenging issues that arose during his tenure as director.

Strasser, as the secretary, gave notice of the meeting and presented the minutes from the 2023 annual meeting. He also affirmed that the notice of the 2024 annual meeting along with the unapproved minutes of the 2023 annual meeting had been mailed to the membership. Strasser thanked the members for the opportunity to serve as director for 15 years and the other directors and East River Electric for their support during his time as director.

Tostenson called for a motion to waive the reading of the notice of annual membership meeting and to approve the minutes of the 81st Annual Meeting as presented. A motion from the floor was seconded and carried. Tostenson pointed out that the financial statement and treasurer’s report were included in the material delivered to those attending. A motion from the floor to approve the treasurer’s report was seconded and carried.

Tostenson noted capital credits in the amount of $8,228,948 have been returned to members and $495,805 has been approved for the 2024 general retirement to be credited to members in May. He reminded those in attendance that the returned cash or credit is a share of the member’s equity in the coop.

Tostenson announced districts 3, 4, and 6 had open seats and only one candidate from each of the districts was submitted – Wayne Jarman, Tom Berens, and Scott Niedert respectively. With no other members nominated for these districts, the candidates were declared duly elected by general consent of the membership.

Whetstone Valley Electric General Manager Dave Page welcomed the members and thanked the employees for their efforts in preparation of the event. He provided a brief history of the establishment of the three-tier cooperative structure of Whetstone Valley Electric, East River Electric, and Basin Electric cooperatives. He also underscored the collective strength acquired by working together to achieve objectives that would be unattainable individually.

Jon Christensen, Whetstone Valley Electric’s operations manager, provided the 2023 operations report and discussed future work plan projects. In the 2023 operations review, Christensen discussed the cooperative’s meter replacement initiative and reported on underground cable installations, replacement of aging infrastructure, and other statistics. Included were: the installation of 28 miles of underground cable, the installation of 41 new services, upgrades to 34 existing services, replacement of 10 reject poles, and the completion of 1276 responses to underground cable locates.

Christensen outlined the 2024 work plan aimed at enhancing system reliability. The initiatives call for the replacement of aging infrastructure and increased capacity to accommodate load growth and facilitate system load balancing. He concluded his report by discussing vehicle accidents impacting the electric distribution system and the importance of safety for community members and employees.

Page continued his report by discussing electric rates. He noted a surge in costs associated with construction materials, equipment, and labor over the past three years, along with an increase in wholesale power expenses. Page emphasized that wholesale power costs, accounting for 55 percent of total operating expenses, constitute the single largest portion. He reported that a rate adjustment of 10 percent was implemented February 1, 2024. Page noted the increase equates to an average increment of 1.4 percent per year since the last rate adjustment in January 2017.

Page then introduced the employees and presented milestone service awards to Marie Loutsch for 10 years of service and Chad Pollock for 15 years of service. Page also announced this year’s Whetstone Valley Electric – Basin Electric $1,000 scholarship was awarded to Aubrey Fraasch.

Tostenson expressed appreciation for the service of outgoing director Strasser and former director Dale Jensen and acknowledged each of their 15 years of dedication to the cooperative. The duo received commemorative certificates in recognition of their contributions.

Tostenson called for unfinished or new business from the floor. With no further business raised, and a motion and second from the floor, Tostenson adjourned the meeting.

Submitted Photos: Top- (left-right) Bill Tostenson, Wally Hamman and Dave Page.
*$100 Winner-Bill Tostenson, Brooklyn Remund and Dave Page.
*WVEC Board of Directors -(left to right) Paul Nelson, Krista Atyeo-Gortmaker, Matt Cameron, Tom Berens, Wayne Jarman, Joel Adler, Bill Tostenson, Scott Niedert and Dave Behrns.
*WVEC General Manager addresses the members.
*Bottom President Bill Tostenson speaking to the members.

.