MEEKER | Ballots for the White River Electric Association’s board of directors have gone out in the mail, and voting will be completed next Wednesday at the electric cooperative’s annual meeting. Four candidates are running for two board positions: incumbent Ron Hilkey and Scott Kracht are running for the open rural seat, and Mark Rogers (who has served as an interim board member for several months) and Dan Conrado are running for the open town position.
There are four town directors and three rural directors who serve staggered three-year terms. The current board is made up of Bill Jordan, president; Hal Pearce, vice-president; Richard (Rich) Parr, secretary; Stan Wyatt, treasurer; Richard (Dick) Welle, Hilkey and Rogers.
Board members—who also serve as the White River Energy Company board—are responsible for setting rates, reviewing the finances, operations, safety and electric load, contracts, capital planning, and approving the annual budget. They also hire the general manager, general counsel and the financial auditor. Board members are also assigned to other associated organizations such as the Western United Electric Supply Cooperative, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and the Colorado Rural Electric Association. These organizations also require monthly meeting attendance.
Besides board meeting attendance, directors are encouraged to attend several state and/or national conferences for education and training, and are encouraged to achieve credentials established by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) through additional training and continuing education. WREA estimates board members are engaged in WREA board-related business three to four full days each month on average.
For their service, board members receive a monthly meeting compensation of $300 per meeting, are eligible for single health insurance coverage, valued at $925 per month, or payment in lieu of insurance benefits (historically, NRECA required cooperative directors to be a part of the cooperative insurance pool), and are reimbursed for reasonable travel expenses related to board responsibilities. They do not receive “free electricity,” contrary to rumor.
WREA holds a directors’ election every year in conjunction with the annual meeting, which is held at the Fairfield Center and provides lunch to about 275 WREA members and their guests.
By Niki Turner | [email protected]
