The 61st Annual Meeting Of The Members Of Niobrara Valley E.M.C.
Held March 2, 2009
The Sixtieth Annual Meeting of the Niobrara Valley Electric Membership Corporation was held at the Knights of Columbus Hall in O'Neill, Nebraska on March 3, 2008. Present at the meeting were 124 members, 22 members represented by proxy and 41 guests.
A few words were given by Mr. John Hoke in recognition of Director Garry Lewis who passed away suddenly in 2008. A moment of silence was observed in honor of Mr. Lewis and his service to the cooperative.
Directors, retired directors and employees, and special guests were introduced. The board officers gave their reports.
General Manager, John Hoke gave the yearly report on the Cooperative.
Five director terms were up for election. The results of the director election were reported to the meeting as follows:
District #1 - Naper Area Kelly Vogt - 91 Kelly Bendig - 36
District #3 - Butte Area James Mellor - 50 Jerry Van Houten - 78
District #5 - Lynch Area Brad Purviance - 99 Teddy Vesely - 29
District #6 - Chambers Area Jerry Homolka - 84 Donald Koenig - 45
District #9 - Atkinson Area Thomas Krysl - 98 Corey Pacha - 30
Under other new business, Mr. Rayder Swanson addressed the membership regarding a term limitation issue. Board President, Mr. Barry DeKay is currently the Vice President of the statewide association, Nebraska Rural Electric Association (NREA). Mr. DeKay will become President of the NREA in December 2009, but will be unable to complete the full term of this office due to the term limitation of the Niobrara Valley Electric’s by-laws. Mr. Swanson requested a by-law amendment be brought before the membership at next year’s meeting to extend Mr. DeKay’s eligibility to run for another entire term to allow him to fulfill the Presidential seat on the statewide association. Mr. Swanson requested a full 3-year term so the election rotation of the board would not be disrupted. This is a one time extension solely for Mr. DeKay. If the situation would arise again, a new exception would have to be proposed and voted on by the membership at that time. Attorney, Forrest Peetz addressed the request and stated that a by-law amendment would be required with notice given to the entire membership and voted upon at the 2010 annual meeting.
Under old business, Ms. Corral Angel addressed the minutes of the 2008 minutes concerning a poll of the membership regarding the time of day the annual meeting is held. Ms. Angel asked when the poll was going to be conducted. Mr. Hoke responded to the question stating he had researched the cost of performing a scientific poll of the membership. It was the consensus of the management and the board that the high cost of performing a scientific poll outweighed the benefit and was not in the best interest of the cooperative. Mr. Hoke suggested the possibility of going to mail-in ballots to provide the opportunity for more of the membership to be represented and sought suggestions or thoughts from the membership present. A brief discussion followed on the cost and methods of mail-in ballots.
Door Prize Winners:
Elwyn Robertson
Tom Sojtka
Dale Neumiller
Vera Hubel
Oliver Horton
Gene Batenhorst
Dick Hering
Kenny Hoffman
Dennis Miller
Arlene Cravens
Robert Hendricks
Leonard Pribil
Dave Batenhorst
Dale Waterman
Dean Henn
The winner of the $200 Free Electricity Grand Prize: Corey Pacha
The member drawn for the Attendance Prize worth $400 Free Electricity: Brett Sedlacek
Mr. Sedlacek was not present. Therefore, next year's prize will be worth the maximum amount of $500
and will be awarded to a member present at the meeting.
A few words were given by Mr. John Hoke in recognition of Director Garry Lewis who passed away suddenly in 2008. A moment of silence was observed in honor of Mr. Lewis and his service to the cooperative.
Directors, retired directors and employees, and special guests were introduced. The board officers gave their reports.
General Manager, John Hoke gave the yearly report on the Cooperative.
Five director terms were up for election. The results of the director election were reported to the meeting as follows:
District #1 - Naper Area Kelly Vogt - 91 Kelly Bendig - 36
District #3 - Butte Area James Mellor - 50 Jerry Van Houten - 78
District #5 - Lynch Area Brad Purviance - 99 Teddy Vesely - 29
District #6 - Chambers Area Jerry Homolka - 84 Donald Koenig - 45
District #9 - Atkinson Area Thomas Krysl - 98 Corey Pacha - 30
Under other new business, Mr. Rayder Swanson addressed the membership regarding a term limitation issue. Board President, Mr. Barry DeKay is currently the Vice President of the statewide association, Nebraska Rural Electric Association (NREA). Mr. DeKay will become President of the NREA in December 2009, but will be unable to complete the full term of this office due to the term limitation of the Niobrara Valley Electric’s by-laws. Mr. Swanson requested a by-law amendment be brought before the membership at next year’s meeting to extend Mr. DeKay’s eligibility to run for another entire term to allow him to fulfill the Presidential seat on the statewide association. Mr. Swanson requested a full 3-year term so the election rotation of the board would not be disrupted. This is a one time extension solely for Mr. DeKay. If the situation would arise again, a new exception would have to be proposed and voted on by the membership at that time. Attorney, Forrest Peetz addressed the request and stated that a by-law amendment would be required with notice given to the entire membership and voted upon at the 2010 annual meeting.
Under old business, Ms. Corral Angel addressed the minutes of the 2008 minutes concerning a poll of the membership regarding the time of day the annual meeting is held. Ms. Angel asked when the poll was going to be conducted. Mr. Hoke responded to the question stating he had researched the cost of performing a scientific poll of the membership. It was the consensus of the management and the board that the high cost of performing a scientific poll outweighed the benefit and was not in the best interest of the cooperative. Mr. Hoke suggested the possibility of going to mail-in ballots to provide the opportunity for more of the membership to be represented and sought suggestions or thoughts from the membership present. A brief discussion followed on the cost and methods of mail-in ballots.
Door Prize Winners:
Elwyn Robertson
Tom Sojtka
Dale Neumiller
Vera Hubel
Oliver Horton
Gene Batenhorst
Dick Hering
Kenny Hoffman
Dennis Miller
Arlene Cravens
Robert Hendricks
Leonard Pribil
Dave Batenhorst
Dale Waterman
Dean Henn
The winner of the $200 Free Electricity Grand Prize: Corey Pacha
The member drawn for the Attendance Prize worth $400 Free Electricity: Brett Sedlacek
Mr. Sedlacek was not present. Therefore, next year's prize will be worth the maximum amount of $500
and will be awarded to a member present at the meeting.