WH celebrates 85 years of the Cooperative Advantage
Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association’s (WH) 85th Annual Meeting was held on Thursday, April 21.
Posted on April 26, 2022
Due to ongoing health concerns, the Annual Meeting was scaled back, similar to the 2021 meeting, with a business meeting, approximately 60 members in attendance and more than 100 viewers watching via livestream. The event included a financial report, WH and WH Holding reports, and the election results for the board seats for Districts 4, 6 and 8.
Doors opened at 5:30 p.m. for the limited number of attendees who helped WH meet the quorum requirements to conduct the business meeting. WH President and CEO Tim Sullivan welcomed everyone attending both in person and virtually, reiterating the central theme of the meeting, “85 Years of the Cooperative Advantage.”
“We are proud to deliver electricity to more than 56,000 homes and businesses,” Sullivan said. “We are proud to provide you and your families with the energy that powers modern American life. But we are proudest of all of who we are: a cooperative owned by and operated for those it serves.”
With social distancing in place, the Annual Meeting proceeded with CFO Brian Swanson delivering a financial report. WH Board Chair Erick Heinz summarized WH’s strong 2021 performance and WH Holding COO Wendy Youngren shared the many ways that WH Holding businesses continues to deliver life-enhancing services to the members.
This year, the board chairs for Districts 4, 6 and 8 were up for election. WH Board of Directors serve 3-year terms. A total of six director candidates ran for WH board seats. Incumbent John Reynolds was re-elected as the District 4 director, incumbent Mike Tieva was re-elected as the District 6 director, and challenger Mark Skinner edged out incumbent David Silver to be elected as the new director for District 8.
Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric utility that provides power to rural Wright County and western Hennepin County. The cooperative has been a corporate citizen to the area since 1937 and currently serves more than 57,500 electric accounts. It is headquartered in Rockford, Minn.