Recap of District Meetings Held in January // February 2023 CEO Column

Thank you to all the LREC members who attended the three 2023 district meetings held last month in-person or by livestream. Around 130 members, plus many LREC directors and employees, attended the meetings. If you did not attend your district’s meeting, please note the recorded meetings are available at www.lrec.coop/2023districtmeetings. It was great seeing many of our members. I think the venues we used this year worked very well.

The district meetings were held in Districts 2, 5, and 8. In District 2, incumbent Cecil “Bud” Hensel was nominated as a director candidate. In District 5, incumbent Patrick Meyers was nominated as a director candidate. In District 8, ames Gronbeck was nominated as a director candidate to fill the seat left by Sid Wisness, who is retiring this year after serving on the board for 15 years.

These meetings showcase the grassroots efforts of our members, whether it is the nomination of candidates, meeting members and connecting with them near their homes or businesses located in LREC’s service territory, or having important discussions related to LREC—meetings like these never disappoint. As a cooperative, we are different. I can mention that we are different in the sense that LREC is a nonprofit organization that gives profit margins back to its members through capital credits—but it is much more than capital credits that makes LREC different from other organizations and investor-owned utility companies. LREC is different in the sense that your cooperative’s operations and actions are driven by the seven cooperative principles that connect our most valued assets, the members, customers, and employees of LREC, with our local communities in ways that have value above and beyond the power being delivered to your homes or businesses. The seven cooperative principles that continue to drive the operations and actions of LREC are as follows:

1) Voluntary and open membership
2) Democratic member control
3) Member economic participation
4) Autonomy and independence
5) Education, training, and information
6) Cooperation among cooperatives
7) Concern for community

The LREC Annual Meeting will be held on April 13^th, 2023, which is a bit earlier than in recent years. Like last year, there will be three in-person meeting opportunities—one at Life Church in Fergus Falls, another at the Frazee Event Center, and another at the Prairie Event Center in Parkers Prairie. The Annual Meeting will also be livestreamed for those members who are not able to attend in person. I really like having additional options for members to attend our Annual Meeting at locations near their homes or businesses. I hope to see many of you on April 13^th!