Allamakee-Clayton REC holds 78th annual meeting
Member-owners attending the 78th annual meeting of Allamakee-Clayton Electric Cooperative returned incumbents (left to right in above photo) Arlyn "Butch" Fossum of Waterville, Roger Arthur of Sumner, and Robert Swenson of Clermont to their seats on the Cooperative's board of directors. Submitted photo.
Allamakee-Clayton Electric Cooperative (ACEC) held its 78th annual meeting Monday evening, September 12. Cooperative members approved reports from fiscal year 2015 and returned incumbents Arlyn R. Fossum of Waukon, Roger Arthur of Sumner and Robert V. Swenson of Clermont to their respective seats on the board of directors.
Brian Rude, Vice President External and Member Relations, Dairyland Power Cooperative, gave a brief history of the generation and transmission cooperative, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary. Dairyland was created by a group of distribution co-ops to ensure affordable and reliable electric power for their members. Rude explained that although coal will continue to be a main fuel source, Dairyland is a leader in seeking new renewable energy sources.
As an introduction to the main presentation, Paul Foxwell, ACEC general manager, explained that the electric industry has become a bit like the weather in Iowa and is constantly changing. Roger Arthur, ACEC president, explained some of the changes affecting the Cooperative: politics, environmental concerns, economic factors and adoption of new technologies. To meet member needs, the Cooperative’s board of directors is looking at options like a community solar project, partnering with other co-ops to better assist members wanting to purchase their own renewable energy systems, and changes to the rate structure to prevent cross subsidization.
Landon Berns of Waterville, Levi Tuecke of Garnavillo and Duncan Trezona of Ossian each gave brief reports of their Washington, D.C. Youth Tour experiences. They described the sites they visited, explained how the trip helped them learn about the cooperative form of business, and encouraged current high school sophomores and juniors to apply for next year’s trip. All three extended their appreciation for ACEC’s continued support of Youth Tour.
President Arthur announced that the winner of the 2016 Robert "Bill" Hauschild Memorial Scholarship was Andrew Burgin of Garnavillo. Class schedule prevented Burgin from attending the meeting.
The board of directors held its re-organizational meeting immediately following the annual meeting. Officers re-elected included the following: Roger Arthur of Sumner, president; Michael D. Gibbs of Waterville, vice president; and Robert V. Swenson of Clermont, secretary-treasurer.
