Wright-Hennepin's 75th anniversary and strong 2011 performance highlighted at Annual Meetin
Posted on April 3, 2012
Rockford, Minn. (April 3, 2012) — More than 2,200 members and guests attended Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association’s (WH) 75th Annual Meeting on March 29 to learn about WH’s strong 2011 performance and celebrate the cooperative’s 75th anniversary.
The cooperative was formed 75 years ago on March 29, 1937 at a meeting in Cokato, Minn. To celebrate this milestone, WH incorporated many facets of the cooperative’s historic past into the event, including historical displays, dinner theatre presentations regarding the rural cooperative movement and showed a new video documentary of the cooperative’s history during the business meeting.
At the meeting, members re-elected incumbent directors Timothy Young, Annandale, Minn., District 1; Burton Horsch, Howard Lake, Minn., District 3; and Erick Heinz, Corcoran, Minn., District 9. Kenneth Hiebel, Plymouth, Minn., was elected to serve as the director of District 7 – a district that recently became vacant.
Board officers Chris Lantto, Thomas Mach and Dale Jans were all re-elected as board chair, vice chair and secretary/treasurer, respectively.
Lantto emphasized the importance of the occasion and the unique business perspective that cooperatives have during his speech.
“Competitive rates, clean and reliable power, strong customer satisfaction – these are things important to electric consumers,” said Lantto, addressing the membership. “Seventy-five years ago, WH was formed with the consumers’ perspective in mind. That emphasis continues today, and it will remain our mission as we now begin the journey toward WH’s 100th anniversary.”
Angie Pribyl, WH’s chief financial officer, informed the audience of WH’s strong financial condition in 2011, based on a review conducted by independent auditors and lenders.
WH President and CEO Mark Vogt discussed the cooperative’s history and the recent result of a stray voltage trial.
In addition to the business meeting and historic displays, the evening also included a free pork chop dinner, bingo, a variety of educational booths and a children’s activity area. Many prizes were also given throughout the evening, including a 2003 Chevrolet Impala – a retired vehicle from WH’s fleet – which was awarded to Ruth Ann Helget of Annandale, Minn.
WH is a member-owned non-profit electric utility that provides electric power to Wright County and the western part of Hennepin County. The cooperative has been a corporate citizen in this area since 1937 and currently serves more than 46,000 electric accounts. The utility started its security division in 1989 that provides local home security solutions as well as monitors alarm systems for more than 50,000 customers in 32 states and three Canadian provinces.