Speakers stress safety at 2023 AMEC annual meeting
Speakers at the 2023 Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives annual meeting stressed safety as they addressed the 285 electric cooperative managers, directors and key staff in Branson who were on hand to take care of the business of the association.
“The backbone of this vital service organization remains the employees and directors of the 47 co-ops that make up its membership,” said outgoing President Darrell Atchison of Ozark Border Electric. “Your willingness to serve in support of AMEC has been a key reason for its success.”
Added Caleb Jones, CEO of the association: “It’s an exciting time to be a member of the cooperative family. Here in Missouri, that means advocating for you across the state and the nation and taking on projects or programs that are too large for any one cooperative to take on alone. But if we work as a cooperative family, our efforts can have an enormous impact on your member-owners.”
During the meeting the state’s electric cooperatives got an election update from political consultants John Hancock and Michael Kelley, discussed issues facing electric co-ops with statewide managers from surrounding states, heard sobering safety statistics from the head of Federated Rural Electric Insurance Exchange and discussed finances with speakers from cooperative lenders CoBank and the Cooperative Finance Corp. They also received insight on today’s rural youth from Youth Tour delegate Leah Thompson, who represented Black River Electric Cooperative on the Youth Tour.
AMEC was pleased to accept $100,000 in scholarships from Western Governors University that will go to electric co-op members.
The association also elected new offices: President Loren Haines, North Central Missouri Electric; Vice President Kim Ponder, Boone Electric; and Secretary-Treasurer Mike Scheib, Tri-County Electric.
AMEC honored several people during the meeting. United Electric Director John Killgore and retired AMEC employee Rob Land received the Distinguished Service Award. Boone Electric’s Chris Rohlfing and AMEC’s Brent Stewart, both retired, were honored with the Frank Stork Democracy Award for their legislative work.
Two employees of Ozark Electric also were recognized. Ozark’s Manager of Engineering Services Ken Raming was presented with the Jim McNabb Engineering Innovation Award. And lineman Parker Herd received the Lifesaving Award for his role in helping a family escape a house fire. AMEC also thanked Jim Reinhardt of Fletcher-Reinhardt Service Co. and his family by presenting them with the Co-op Neighbor Award for their help training employees.
In addition, three legislators were honored by the association for their support of electric co-op members in the Capitol. Sen. Rusty Black and Rep. Bob Bromley received AMEC’s Legislative Leadership Awards, while Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin was honored with the Co-op Champion Award.
AMEC is the statewide service organization for Missouri’s 47 electric cooperatives.