MREA ANNUAL MEETING. March 14-16, InterContinental Hotel, St. Paul, MN

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1 MREA ANNUAL MEETING March 14-16, 2018 InterContinental Hotel, St. Paul, MN

2 A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS AND A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR AUDIO VISUAL SPONSORS page 1

3 VOTING DELEGATE INFORMATION 1. Registration: Initial the voting delegate roster at the registration desk and pick up a voting delegate name badge. 2. District Caucus: If your district has an MREA board director up for election, attend your caucus on Friday at 7:30 a.m. Caucuses often adjourn within 15 minutes, so please arrive on time. 3. MREA Business Meeting: It is important to vote on continuing resolutions or bylaw changes as necessary. The business meeting will be held Friday following district caucuses. Tables for voting delegates are reserved for use at the front of the meeting room. MREA BUSINESS MEETING RULES 1. All members must register. Each cooperative selects a voting delegate who must also sign in at the registration desk to establish a quorum. 2. All members who wish to speak must go to the microphone, identify themselves, address the chair, and be recognized by the chair before speaking. Alternatively, you can submit a question card to be answered during New Business. 3. Only members and association representatives are allowed to speak. 4. Debate on any subject shall be limited to two minutes per speaker, except MREA representatives shall not be restricted to two minutes when responding to a member inquiry. 5. Debate will alternate between pro and con speakers. If no one wishes to speak against a motion/resolution, there will be no debate. 6. Dan Carlisle, MREA External Counsel, will preside as parliamentarian for this meeting. page 2

4 Wednesday, March 14 EDUCATION DAY OPTION 1 NRECA BOARD LEADERSHIP CERTIFICATION (BLC) COURSE COMMUNICATING THE NEW ENERGY LANDSCAPE Time: 9:00-4:00 (Full Day Session) Room: Governors 4 Lunch: 11:30, Governors 1-2 Instructor: Wallace Barron OPTION 2 TWO DEEP DIVE LEARNING SESSIONS Time: 9:00-3:00 Room: States 1-3 Lunch: 11:30, Governors 1-2 (pre-registration/ticket required) 9-11:30 DEEP DIVE #1: DISPUTE RESOLUTION UNDER LOCAL DEMOCRACY Instructors: Dan Carlisle and Paul Johnson, Pemberton Law Firm Jim Horan, MREA Director of Government Affairs and Counsel 1:00-3:30 DEEP DIVE #2: PENSION UNPACKED Panelists: NRECA s Peter Baxter and Stephen Sanker NFP Corporate Benefits, Tony Cardinal Moderator: Elaine Garry, President & CEO, People s Energy Cooperative 3:45-4:45 REPAC Trustees Meeting, Governors 3 (by invitation only) 4:00-6:00 Cooperative Network Meeting Minnesota Ballroom (registration opens at 3:30) page 3

5 7:00-8:30 Continental Breakfast, Lower Level Reception Area Sponsored by Basin Electric Power Cooperative, National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC) and Rural Electric Supply Cooperative (RESCO) MEETING ROOM: MINNESOTA BALLROOM 7:30 REPAC Annual Meeting 8:00 Legislative Review, Jim Horan, MREA Director of Government Affairs and Counsel Break Thursday, March 15 LEGISLATIVE DAY Sponsored by Minnkota Power Cooperative and CFC 9:00 Gubernatorial Candidate Forum Moderator: Mary Lahammer, Program Host and Political Reporter for Twin Cities Public Television (TPT) MREA has invited all major candidates. 10:30 Final Q&A / Adjourn MREA Government Affairs staff will be available for questions. 11:00-5:00 Grassroots Capitol Visits BUS SERVICE RUNS TO/FROM THE CAPITOL BETWEEN 11:00-5:00. Pickup/Drop Off at Kellogg Street Entrance. Buses sponsored by HRExpertise 4:00-4:45 Basin Electric Power Co-op Meeting, State 1-3 (by invitation only) 5:00-6:30 MREA Membership Reception & Vendor Member Trade Show, Great River Ballroom-1st Floor Reception Sponsors: Great River Energy, CoBank and National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC) State Legislators have been invited to join our reception. page 4

6 6:30-8:00 Breakfast Buffet, Great River Ballroom (1st floor) Sponsored by Federated Rural Electric Insurance Exchange 7:30-7:45 MREA District Caucuses Please arrive by 7:25, caucuses begin promptly at 7:30. District 2: Barb Welty, State 1, Lower Level District 3: Tim Velde, State 2, Lower Level District 5: Ron Schwartau, State 3, Lower Level District 7: Ken Fiereck, Governors 3, Lower Level 8:30-12:00 BUSINESS MEETING, MINNESOTA BALLROOM 8:30 Call to Order, Chair Wes Waller Pledge Lest We Forget Moment of Silence, see pages Declare a Quorum Reading of the Notice, see page Annual Meeting Minutes, see pages 8-10 MREA Board Chair Address, Chair Wes Waller Introduction of 2018 Board of Directors Strong Community Relationships, Scott Froemming, Kandiyohi Power Cooperative MN Youth Leadership, Emma Anderson, MN YLC Representative MREA Leadership Business Reports: Finance & Administration, Melissa Stachovich Education & Communication, Alison Deelstra - CFC & NCSC Youth Education Grants Safety & Loss Control, Lidia Dilley-Jacobson - RESAP Award Presentations Government Affairs & Counsel, Jim Horan 10:00 Break Sponsored by Great River Energy and CFC 10:20 Touchstone Energy Award, Joe Miller, Dakota Electric Association MREA CEO Report, President and CEO Darrick Moe NRECA Update, Ron Schwartau, Director, NRECA Resolutions Committee Report, Roger Winter New Business, Chair Wes Waller Approval of MREA Financials, pages CoBank Donation, Rachel Hanson and Mark Doyle Federated Insurance, Phil Irwin, CEO Sending Prayer, Bruce Brockmann, Federated REA 12:00 Adjourn Friday, March 16 BUSINESS MEETING page 5

7 MREA MEMBER COMMUNITY MOBILE APP NOW AVAILABLE! The benefit of the SocialLink app is that it allows members to access member community activity anytime anywhere. With Alerts and Push Notifications, the app provides instant updates and drives engagement. Simply login with your MREA website credentials to access your community feed, connections, member directory and view posted jobs. To Download the SocialLink App on APPLE DEVICES: 1. Go to the App Store 2. Search for the SocialLink app 3. Download 4. Login using your MREA website username and password. To Download the SocialLink App on ANDROID DEVICES: 1. Go to Google Play 2. Search for the SocialLink app 3. Download 4. Login using your MREA website username and password. page 6

8 January 22, 2018 To: From: Subject: Members of the Minnesota Rural Electric Association Ron Stevens, MREA Board Secretary Notice of the 2018 MREA Annual Meeting & District Caucuses The Annual Meeting of the Minnesota Rural Electric Association will be held on Thursday, March 15, 2018 through Friday, March 16, The business meeting will be held on Friday, March 16 in the Minnesota Ballroom at the InterContinental Hotel, 11 E. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55101, beginning at 8:30 a.m. Pre-meeting education opportunities for directors and cooperative staff, related to safety and rate design, and Board Leadership Certification will occur on Wednesday, March 14. Please see details and options on our website here. Director elections take place at special meetings, called caucuses, convened for each MREA District that has a director whose term is ending. MREA Districts 2, 3, 5 and 7 will caucus for director elections at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, March 16, Voting delegates should be seated by 7:25 a.m. The caucuses will be held in the following meeting rooms: District Seat currently held by Caucus Location 2 Barb Welty, Mille Lacs Energy State 1 3 Tim Velde, Minnesota Valley Co-op Light & Power State 2 5 Ron Schwartau, Noble Cooperative Electric State 3 7 Ken Fiereck, Connexus Energy Governors 3 Please note: MREA has also sent, under separate cover, detailed voting delegate information, including proposed or revised resolutions. cc: MREA Board Y:\WP\ANN\2018\Brochure & Meeting Notice\2018 Mtg Notice.docx page 7

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12 2017 Actual vs. Plan Revenue Revenue Type 2017 Actual 2017 Budget Variance Comments Membership Dues $ 2.02M $ 2.02M $ - Education Dues $ 105.4K $ 104.8K $ 600- Includes CFC Contribution Safety & Loss Control $ 682.6K $ 539.3K $ 143.3K - MRET Contract - Safety Package Levels - Safety Workshop Strong Attendance - Federated Contribution - Apprenticeship Program - Golf Tournament Pass through Education Programs $ 280.7K $ 264.4K $ 16.3K - Addt l Leadership Training - Overall Strong Attendance Government $ 43.5K $ 43.5K $ - GRE Grass roots MREA Programs $ 338K $ 315K $ 23K Includes: - Annual Meeting - Youth Tour - District Meetings - Energy Issues Summit Annual Meeting & EIS increased attendance and sponsors Vendor Member $ 76.2K $ 77K ($ 800) REMA $129.3K $118.2K $ 11.1K Increase Attendance Interest Income $ 26.9K $ 15K $ 11.9K Increase in return rate along with length of investments Others $ 49.6K $ 42.1K $ 7.5K Includes: - Advertising - Web Services - Integrity Fund Support - Profiles - Miscellaneous Total $ 3.76M $ 3.54M $ 213.1K page 11

13 2017 Actual vs. Plan Expenses Expense Type 2017 Actual 2017 Budget Variance Comments/Expense Areas Employee Related Expenses Labor $ 1.38M $ 1.34M $ 40K - Benefits $ 565.6K $ 621.8K $ (56.2K) - Insurance - Pension/401K - FICA/FTTA/SUTA Support & Development $ 160.9K $ 175.9K $ (15K) - Travel/Auto - Training Total: $ 2.11 M $ 2.14M $ (31.2K) Program Expenses MREA Programs $ 293.9K $ 278.8K $ 15.1K Include: - Annual Meeting - Energy Issues Summit - District Meetings - Washington Meetings - Donations/Memberships - Youth Tour - Vendor Member Safety & Loss Control Programs $ 269.9K $ 195.2K $ 74.7K - Strong workshop attendance - Unbudgeted Workshops - Golf Tournament pass through Education Workshops $ 188K $ 168.7K $ 19.3K - Addt l Leadership Training - Strong attendance at workshops REMA Workshops $ 70K $ 74.9K $ (4.9K) Total: $ 821.8K $ 717.6K $ 104.2K Professional Services/Fees $ 301.4K $ 237.9K $ 63.5K Include: - Consulting/Legal - Gov. Affairs Support - Business Insurance - Bank Fees - Business Outsourcing - IT Support - BD Approved Reserve Spend $30K Board Expenses $ 162.4K $ 178.8K $ (16.4K) Board Expenses Facilities $ 273.1K $ 259.1K $ 14K Include: - Building Maintenance - Real Estate Taxes - Depreciation - Office Supplies - Phone/IT/WE Total: $ 3.66M $ 3.53M $ 134K page 12

14 2017 ACRE HONOR ROLL 100% BOARD & MANAGEMENT Agralite Electric Co-op, Benson BENCO Electric Cooperative, Mankato, 100% President s Club Board, 100%, President s Club Management, 100% Spouse Participation Brown County Rural Electrical Association, Sleepy Eye 100% Century Club Board, 100% Century Club Management, 100% Spouse Participation Cooperative Light & Power, Two Harbors Dakota Electric Association, Farmington 100% Century Club Board, 100% Century Club Management East Central Energy, Braham, 100% Century Club Management Goodhue County Cooperative Electric Association, Zumbrota Itasca-Mantrap Cooperative Electrical Association, Park Rapids Lake Country Power, Grand Rapids - Attorney Lyon-Lincoln Electric Cooperative, Inc., Tyler McLeod Cooperative Power Association, Glencoe 100% Century Club Board, 100% Century Club Management & Attorney Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association, Litchfield Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative, Aitkin Minnesota Valley Co-op Light & Power Association, Montevideo Nobles Cooperative Electric, Worthington, 100% Century Club Board North Itasca Electric Co-op, Inc., Bigfork North Star Electric Cooperative, Inc., Baudette People s Energy Cooperative, Oronoco Redwood Electric Co-op, Clements Roseau Electric Cooperative, Inc., Roseau Runestone Electric Association, Alexandria Sioux Valley Energy, Colman, SD, 100% Century Club Management & Attorney South Central Electric Association, Saint James Stearns Electric Association, Melrose, 100% Century Club Board, 100% Century Club Management Steele-Waseca Cooperative Electric, Owatonna, 100% Century Club Board, 100% Spouse Participation Todd-Wadena Electric Co-op, Wadena, 100% Century Club Board, 100% Century Club Management Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association, Rockford 100% Century Club Board, 100% Century Club Management 100% BOARD Connexus Energy, Ramsey, 100% Century Club Board Crow Wing Power, Brainerd Federated Rural Electric Association, Jackson 100% Century Club Board, 100% Spouse Participation Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services, Albert Lea Kandiyohi Power Cooperative, Spicer Minnesota Valley Electric Co-op, Jordan, 100% Century Club Board Red River Valley Co-op Power Association, Halstad Renville-Sibley Co-op Power Association, Danube, 100% Century Club Board page 13

15 2017 ACRE HONOR ROLL Tri-County Electric Co-op, Rushford, 100% Century Club Board Wild Rice Electric Co-op, Inc., Mahnomen, 100% Spouse Participation & Attorney 100% MANAGEMENT Clearwater-Polk Electric Co-op. Inc., Bagley 2017 REPAC HONOR ROLL 100% BOARD & MANAGEMENT Agralite Electric Cooperative Beltrami Electric Cooperative, Inc. BENCO Electric Cooperative Brown County Rural Electrical Association Connexus Energy Cooperative Light & Power Association Dakota Electric Association Itasca-Mantrap Cooperative Electrical Assn. Lake Country Power Lyon-Lincoln Electric Cooperative, Inc. Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association MiEnergy Cooperative Minnesota Valley Cooperative Light & Power Association Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative Minnkota Power Cooperative, Inc. Nobles Cooperative Electric North Star Electric Cooperative, Inc. People s Energy Cooperative Redwood Electric Cooperative Roseau Electric Cooperative, Inc. Runestone Electric Association Sioux Valley Energy Stearns Electric Association Todd-Wadena Electric Cooperative Wild Rice Electric Cooperative, Inc. Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Assn. 100% BOARD Crow Wing Power Federated Rural Electric Association Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services McLeod Cooperative Power Association Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative PKM Electric Cooperative, Inc. Red River Valley Cooperative Power Association Renville-Sibley Cooperative Power Association South Central Electric Association Steele-Waseca Cooperative Electric 100% MANAGEMENT Clearwater-Polk Electric Cooperative, Inc. page 14

16 MREA VENDOR MEMBERS PLATINUM VENDOR LEVEL Rural Electric Supply Cooperative (RESCO) GOLD LEVEL Border States Electric Supply Carr s Tree Service Inc Dakota Supply Group FS3, Inc. Highline Construction Juniper Networks Karian Peterson Power Line Construction LandisGyr National Information Solutions Cooperative Northern Clearing, Inc. Power System Engineering, Inc. (PSE) Sensus STAR Energy Services, LLC Wesco Distribution Inc TRADE LEVEL ABM Equipment & Supply, LLC Accelerated Innovations AEI Construction, Inc. dba Arvig Amaril Uniform Company American Power & Communications Group Arjay Automation, Inc. Aspen Equipment Company Asplundh Tree Expert Co. Bauman Associates, Ltd. Burndy LLC CarlsonSV Central Applicators Century Fence Company Comlink Midwest Control House, LTD Convergint Technologies Cooperative Response Center, Inc. Creative Culture Media Custom Truck and Equipment Dave Syverson Truck Center DGR Engineering Ditch Witch of Minnesota, Inc Diversified AV Dolan Feldhaus Company Dorsey & Whitney LLP Eaton s Cooper Power Systems Ellingson Companies SILVER LEVEL ALTEC Industries Anderson Underground Bell Lumber & Pole Co. Brady, Martz & Associates, P.C. Eide Bailly LLP ElectroTech Inc Emblom s Midwest Powerline Construction, Inc. Irby Company Irby Construction Company/Okay Construction Legacy Power Line, Inc. Market & Johnson, Inc. Primoris Aevenia, Inc. Skyline Utilities TelCom Construction, Inc. The Okonite Company Ziegler Power Systems Energis High Voltage Resources, Inc. Energy Product Sales Energy Resources EUSCO Evans Lipka & Associates Excellence Opto, Inc. FRESCO, Inc. General Cable Hays Companies HRExpertiseBP LLC Hubbell Power Systems Jordan Transformer LLC K Fence, Inc. & PROstapler Key Contracting, Inc. Kingsway Marketing Lake States Construction, Inc. Lee Noonan Company / Minnkota Sales Locators and Supplies Inc MC Sales, Inc. McFarland Cascade Med Compass MEI - Moorhead Electric Michels Corporation Milwaukee Tool MiTech Services, Inc. MP Nexlevel, LLC MP Systems INC Netsecuris Inc. New Age Tree Service page 15

17 MREA VENDOR MEMBERS NFP Novinium NRECA Market Research Services NRTC Osmose Utilities Services, Inc. Otto Transfer, Inc. Pioneer Sales Group Prairie Restorations, Inc. Preferred Sales Agency, LTD Primus Marketing Group Inc. Professional Computer Systems, Co. Pro-Tech Power Sales PUSH Inc Rauenhorst Recruiting Company RDO Vermeer Sales & Service Shine Bros. Corp. Solomon Corp Springsted Incorporated T&R Electric Terex Utilities Trenchers Plus Inc Truck Utilities, Inc. Upper Midwest Utility Sales Utility Sales Associates Utility Tool Repair / Blacks Linemen Supply Vannguard Utility Partners, Inc. Vaughn Thermal Corporation WaterFurnace International Wilson Company Marketing and Promotion, Inc. page 16

18 LEST WE FORGET Hilbert Baumgarten, father of former Beltrami Electric Cooperative CEO Lynette Nieuwsma, passed away May 14, He was 96 years old. Chris Christensen, former Brown County REA Director, passed away May 27, 2017 at age 90. Chris served on Brown County REA s board of directors from 1979 to Chris s son Joel currently serves on Brown County REA s board. Colin Connolly, who was the son-in-law of BENCO and MREA Director John Wells, passed away on May 31, 2017 at the age of 41. Cletus Huhn, age 90, passed away on July 18, 2017 at Dassel Lakeside Nursing Home. He was the father of Meeker Cooperative Director Larry Huhn. Ken Miller, age 85, of Little Falls passed away on August 30, Ken was a Crow Wing Power board director for 32 years and had also served on the Great River Energy board. Derald Ewing, 83, former director with Connexus Energy, passed away October 2, Derald served on the Anoka Electric Cooperative/ Connexus Energy board of directors from March 1977 to April Selmer Sam Erickson, passed away on October 8, 2017 at the age of 73. Sam worked for Federated REA from 1967 to He was then a line superintendent from 1986 until he retired in November Lauren Lund, passed away December 16, 2017 at the age of 23. Lauren was the daughter of Beltrami Electric Cooperative Director John Lund. Carol Heffele, wife of Gary Heffele and mother of Rochelle Borresen, passed away on December 18, 2017 at the age of 66. Gary was Lyon- Lincoln s Finance Manager for 42 years before he retired in July 2016, and Rochelle currently serves as Lyon-Lincoln s Accountant. page 17

19 LEST WE FORGET Phyllis Wattnem, age 87, passed away on January 3, She was the mother of Steve Wattnem, CEO of Cooperative Light & Power Association. Leo Lentz, age 87, passed away on January 20, 2018, after being diagnosed with Leukemia in Leo was employed at People s Energy Cooperative for 35 years, and later served 19 years as a member of the cooperative s Board of Directors. Richard Badger, age 92, passed away on January 12, Richard served on the People s Energy Cooperative Board of Directors for 33 years. Esther Busse, wife of former Agralite Electric Board Director Ray Busse, passed away February 10, Esther was 87. page 18

20 LOWER LEVEL MAP MINNESOTA BALLROOM GENERAL SESSION HELD HERE TO GET FROM THE LOW- ER LEVEL TO 1ST FLOOR, GO UP THE ESCALATORS TWICE. THE MAIN HOTEL LOBBY IS IN-BETWEEN. page 19

21 LOBBY LEVEL MAP FIRST FLOOR MAP GREAT RIVER BALLROOM MREA MEMBER RECEPTION AND TRADE SHOW AND FRIDAY BREAKFAST HELD HERE Hotel Lobby page 20

22 NOTES

23 NOTES

24 rd Ave. N. Maple Grove, MN