Record breaking attendance at Chariton Valley Electric Cooperative’s Annual Meeting

Chariton Valley Electric Cooperative (CVEC) members broke attendance records at the 2023 Annual Meeting of Members. The meeting, held as a drive-through for the first time ever, took place at CVEC Headquarters on Monday, August 7, 2023.

“This year, we had a total of 671 individual memberships come out to participate in the Annual Meeting,” says Troy Amoss, CEO/General Manager of CVEC . “This is 628 more than last year and over 200 more than our record in 2017. The numbers speak for themselves. Our members have responded well to this new meeting format.”

As a member-owned electric cooperative, CVEC is governed by a board of directors representing and elected by the membership. Each year, the Annual Meeting of Members is held to present business reports to the membership and elect members to the board. Traditionally, a sit-down meal is served, and the business meeting and election are conducted in person. However, in 2020, the traditional meeting format was changed to a virtual format due to COVID-19 precautions. Since then, the cooperative has continued to make adjustments each year and find the best format for our membership.

“As we move into the future, we realize that our members expect us to meet them where they are. Most families do not have time to attend the traditional-style meeting during the workweek,” Amoss says. “For next year’s meeting, the board will continue to weigh our members’ desire for convenience against the value of a traditional meeting setting.”

Director Election Results

At the heart of all Annual Meetings is the board election. One new board member will join the CVEC board of directors this year as District 4 Director Mike Miller retired after serving 11 terms, totaling 33 years. Karla Heffron

was newly elected by the membership to take over as the District 4 director representative. Randy Gottschalk was reelected to serve District 2 and Richard Welsh was reelected to serve District 5. The minutes of the 2022 CVEC Annual Meeting were also approved by the membership.

Prize Winners

As is tradition, all members who returned their ballots by August 7 at 7:30 p.m. were entered into a drawing for a chance to win a $500 energy credit. All members who attended the drive-through portion of the event were entered into a drawing for a chance to win a $1,500 energy credit. Both drawings were held during the business meeting portion of the event and the winners include:

• $500 Energy Credit: George Davis Jr.
• $1,500 Energy Credit: Beverly Scieszinski

“We want to thank everyone who came to the meeting,” Amoss says. “Keep an eye on your Iowa Electric Cooperative Living magazine and our website for updates as we make plans for next year.”