Annual Meeting & Director Election Notice

Annual Meeting & Director Election Deadlines:

• April 7  Date of Record. Nomination petitions, candidate biographies, and financial disclosure forms are due by 5 p.m.
• June 2  Ballot receipt deadline
• June 6  SDCEA Board of Directors Election
• June 9  Annual Meeting

 

Annual Meeting & Director Election Notice

Sangre de Cristo Electric Association Board of Directors set June 9, 2022, for the cooperative’s 82nd annual meeting at The Barn at Howard Creek Farm, Howard.
Members of the cooperative will act on financial data for the year 2021 and consider any other business that may become before the meeting.

Director Seats
Fremont County incumbent director Geoff Gerk is running against challenger Nick Hellbusch. Sandra Attebery is running against Custer County incumbent director Tom Flower for board seats.
Elections will be held separately from the annual meeting by mail vote. Ballot receipt due date will be June 2, 2022. The election date has been set for June 6, 2022. Date of record is April 7, 2022.
All director candidates are nominated by petition. Fifteen or more current members of the cooperative must sign each nomination petition. Any member interested in running for a director seat in a future election should review the following guidelines. If you are interested in running for a board seat, please contact us at 844-395-2412 or info@myelectric.coop. Members must reside within the director’s district to be considered for nomination.
Nomination petitions, candidate biographies, and financial disclosure forms were due by 5 p.m. Thursday, April 7, 2022.

Candidate Guidelines

Directors of rural electric cooperatives establish policy and provide leadership in a complex, technical and ever-changing industry. They do not deal with day-to-day operations of the cooperative and do not work in the cooperative office on a daily basis. Directors attend a minimum of one board meeting per month and may attend other meetings or training programs held outside SDCEA’s service territory or out of state. In addition, rural electric directors spend a considerable amount of time reading co-op and industry material and maintaining a current knowledge of industry trends. Consider the following qualifications and responsibilities when choosing a member for nomination or when deciding to run for a director position.

Qualifications

To qualify for directorship, a person shall:

• Be a member of the cooperative or an individual authorized by an entity member;
• Be a resident of the designated director district;
• Have the capacity to enter into legally binding contracts; and
• Disclose all monetary and in-kind contributions and expenditures directly or indirectly to or from his/her campaign for election to the board.

No person shall be eligible to become or remain a director who:

• Has failed to report all monetary and in-kind contributions and/or expenditures.
• Has been convicted of, is pleading guilty to, or had pleaded guilty to a felony.
• Is or has been within the five years preceding June 6, 2022:
  • Employed by SDCEA or the spouse of an employee.
  • Employed by or has a significant financial interest in a business that sells or provides commodities, products or services to the cooperative.
  • Employed by or a full or partial owner of an electric or natural gas utility, a propane company, or a renewable/alternative energy company, or has a significant financial interest in an entity that regularly competes with SDCEA, any entity that the cooperative controls or in which it has a substantial interest.

Directors serve without salary but may be allowed fair remuneration for their time actually spent in the service of the cooperative as directors, consistent with rural electric cooperative practice. Candidates should agree to serve the entire term of office for which they are elected. The position of director shall not be used to further any political ambition, and directors must be capable of representing the entire membership on an impartial basis.

Responsibilities

A director must be willing to:

• Promote and safeguard the interests of the cooperative;
• Expend the effort necessary to understand the cooperative’s problems and provide the needed judgment to reach decisions in constantly changing circumstances;
• Support all official decisions and actions made or taken by the board;
• Study information in reports submitted to the board;
• Contribute to the development of statements on board functions and responsibilities, and work toward their constant improvement;
• Objectively evaluate and consider the questions and problems which face the cooperative;
• Stay informed of the cooperative’s ideals and objectives, and study and analyze the policies, plans, and problems which result from efforts to achieve those ideals and objectives.
• Keep informed on and aware of the attitudes of members, employees, and the general public toward the cooperative’s objectives and policies;
• Inform all interested persons about the cooperative’s ideals, objectives, programs, and services; and
• Attend classes to attain NRECA director certification within the first full three-year term of office and work toward NRECA board leadership certification within the second or third term.

Personal Qualifications

A director candidate should display the following personal qualifications:

• Good business record and possession of sound business judgment;
• Demonstrated capacity for leadership and reputation for honesty and good judgment;
• Demonstrated capacity for working with others; and
• Ideals and objectives compatible with cooperative philosophy and principles.