82nd Annual Meeting/Night at the Fair

Beltrami Electric Cooperative held its 82nd Annual Meeting on Wednesday, August 10, 2022, at the Beltrami County Fairgrounds. The meeting was opened with the pledge of allegiance, followed by the invocation, offered by Vice chair Sue Kringen.  Board chair John Lund 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.  Kay Mack, president for the Beltrami Electric Cooperative Trust board for Operation Round Up, presented on the success of the program in our local communities. Beltrami Electric’s Youth Tour Delegate for 2022, Ashley Pirkl, spoke about her trip to Washington, D.C.

 As part of BEC’s Night at the Fair, guests were greeted by Touchstone Energy mascots, LED Lucy and Solar Sam. Many attendees enjoyed the opportunity to take a ride up in the bucket of a BEC line truck and got a lineworker’s view of the fairgrounds. The live high voltage safety demonstration drew a crowd as they witnessed voltage arcs and what could happen when contact is made with high voltage power lines and equipment.

Three directors were elected to the board, which included incumbents, Murl Nord (District 1), Bob Wallner, (District 5), and Sue Kringen (District 8). In addition, the 2021 annual meeting minutes were approved by majority vote of the members.  Next year’s meeting/Night at the Fair is tentatively scheduled for August 9, 2023.