ANNUAL & DISTRICT MEETINGS
Each year, Beltrami Electric Cooperative hosts district meetings and an annual meeting for the cooperative membership. It is an opportunity for members to take part in the business meeting and connect with cooperative employees, directors and fellow members.
2020 District Meetings
District meetings are held each year in districts whose directors up for re-election. Nominations from each district to Beltrami Electric's board of directors will be accepted at the district meetings. NOTE: Members seeking to run for the Board of Directors shall, not less than five (5) business days prior to the district meeting in which there is a director election, submit to the corporate office a completed candidate packet, as provided by the Cooperative, by which the Cooperative will verify said member's qualifications to be an eligible candidate for the director position, per the Cooperative's Bylaws. The top two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes shall appear on the ballot for the entire membership to vote upon. Each District Meeting begins at 7:00 pm.
Due to facility closures in response to COVID-19, District Meetings were held June 23, 24, and 25 in the Community Room at Beltrami Electric Cooperative.
Annual Reports
80th Annual Meeting Recap
Beltrami Electric Cooperative’s 80th Annual Meeting looked quite a bit different than meetings of years’ past. To ensure the safety of our members and employees due to COVID-19 and safety concerns regarding social distancing, this year’s annual meeting was held at 5:00 PM on August 12, in the community room at the cooperative’s headquarters for the limited purpose of conducting essential official cooperative business. To protect all attendees, chairs were spaced six feet apart and masks were required.
The meeting was opened with the pledge of allegiance, followed by the invocation, offered by board treasurer Judy Honer. Board chair Rick Coe welcomed attendees to the meeting and introduced the cooperative’s board of directors. The meeting agenda included a financial update from Director of Finance and Corporate Services, Arlene Hogquist, as well as a cooperative update from President and CEO, Jared Echternach. There was no meal, door prizes, giveaways or guest speaker this year.
Incumbents Donald (Charlie) Perkins, Sr. (District 2) and Rick Coe (District 6) were reelected in uncontested elections. The District 4 race saw incumbent director Craig Gaasvig, who received 1,406 votes defeat candidate Valerie Wallingford who received 767 votes. In addition, the 2019 annual meeting minutes were approved by majority vote of the members.
Next year's meeting is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, August 11, 2021. We look forward to a more engaged format in 2021!
Watch Beltrami Electric Cooperative's 80th Annual Meeting