81st Annual Meeting Recap

The meeting was opened with the pledge of allegiance, followed by the invocation, offered by board treasurer Judy Honer.  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.  Sharon Lembke, president for the Beltrami Electric Cooperative Trust board for Operation Round Up, presented on the success of the program in our local communities. The board also recognized director Judy Honer and thanked her for her    

 Fairgoers were greeted by Touchstone Energy mascots, LED Lucy and Solar Sam, and many took the opportunity for a fun photo opp. 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.

The election results were as follows: In District 3, candidate Michael Monsrud received 1094 votes and incumbent director Charles (Charlie) Parson received 766 votes. Incumbent District 6 director John Lund ran unopposed and received 1729 votes.  In District 9, candidate Sharon Lembke ran unopposed and received 1724 votes. In addition, the 2020 annual meeting minutes were approved by majority vote of the members.  Next year’s meeting is tentatively scheduled for August 10, 2022.