Annual Meeting

TOTAL VOTES

Online: 2,419

Mail-In: 49

DISTRICT A

John Cooper: 1,456

Leon Frazier: 740

DISTRICT C

Jeff Hyatt: 2,116

DISTRICT E

Jim Britt: 1,305

Greg Donley: 365

John Turner: 520

BYLAW AMENDMENT 1- Flexibility of annual meeting date

Yes- 2,251

No- 160

BYLAW AMENDMENT 2- Disclosure of campaign contributions and finances

Yes- 2,260

No- 102

If you won a prize at the 2023 Annual Meeting, you will receive correspondence in the mail in the next few weeks. If your prize cannot be mailed to your address, you will be contacted to arrange pick up. Bill credits will be applied within the next two billing cycles. The 2023 Prize Winners are as followed:

This year’s annual meeting will occur on Friday, September 1, 2023, and be live-streamed from our website at 10 a.m. Members are encouraged to tune-in virtually. We will be providing a call-in option for those who do not use or have access to the Internet. Wi-Fi hot spots are available in each WRVEC office parking lot – but only WRVEC staff participating in the meeting, the Board, and nominees will be in physical attendance.

The voting window will open for two weeks, starting August 14th and running through August 25th. You can cast your ballot for board candidates and the proposed bylaw amendments during this time. Slated candidates will provide a brief biography, experience, education, and answers to cooperative/industry questions that will be featured in the Annual Meeting edition of the Rural Missouri (August). The information will also be highlighted on the Candidate Corner at whiteriver.org. The proposed bylaw amendments will also be available for viewing in the August edition of Rural Missouri as well as online. Sharing transparent candidate and bylaw amendment information helps WRVEC members make an educated decision when it comes time to casting ballots in the election.

Even though we won’t see you in person, your engagement is vital to the success of this Cooperative. Voting options are available to accommodate everyone. Members will be able to cast votes online or request a ballot to be mailed directly to your home or business in a preaddressed, postage-paid return envelope. The Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives, a third-party, will securely handle the election. They will tally all votes and deliver the results during our virtual meeting.

The 2022 annual report will be sent directly to each member as an attachment to your Rural Missouri next month. We encourage you to send us questions through the Member Alliance Program if there are items of interest that our staff did not cover. Those questions, and any received live that day, will be addressed during the meeting.

The answers to your inquiries, the annual report, annual video update, and election results will all be made available on our website after the meeting. In addition, any member who votes in the election will be registered for prizes that are drawn and announced during the virtual meeting. Double your chance to win $500 in free eletricity by voting in the election and watching the meeting live!

Members provided great feedback on our virtual meeting last year and your participation spoke volumes. We had the highest number of participating voters than any annual meeting held before! This is so important because it allows every member, regardless of your situation, a continued opportunity to play an active role in the Cooperative. Your engagement makes the convenient and cost-effective virtual format an excellent choice. We will continue delivering need-to-know information about your Cooperative while passing on the significant savings the virtual meeting provides.

The virtual meeting will be open to join up to 30 minutes early, and we will have a waiting room with closed captioning.

Join us virtually by visiting WhiteRiverMeeting.com

If you do not have internet access, you can dial toll-free to listen live: (833) 491-0328

Cooperative updates and the live election results will be delivered during the meeting. If you miss it that day, a video recording will be on our website the following week.

Voting members will receive a $10 bill credit and will also be entered in a drawing for prizes that will be announced during the meeting.

Tune in LIVE for a chance to win an additional $500 bill credit.

All 2022 documentation is sent out in the 2023 August/Annual Meeting edition of the Rural Missouri magazine. It is also accessible here:

VIEW CEO AND PRESIDENTS REPORT

VIEW TREASURER’S REPORT AND FINANCIALS

VIEW 2022 ANNUAL MEETING MINUTES

WRVEC’s fourth year annual report is attached to the 2023 August edition of the Rural Missouri. The report highlights the Cooperative’s initiatives, projects, programs and other successes throughout the past year. View it here:

VIEW 2022 ANNUAL REPORT

All candidates have been interviewed and vetted by the Cooperative’s Nominating Committee. Candidates provided answers to a series of questions for the Committee to evaluate the knowledge and experience that could be brought to the board room to benefit the Cooperative membership. Although it is not required, candidates were also asked to disclose any third-party campaign contributions for transparency.

VIEW CANDIDATES 

The Nominating Committee of White River Valley Electric Cooperative met at WRVEC headquarters at 10:30 A.M. on June 15, 2023. Each candidate’s qualifications to serve as Board of Director were vetted by the Nominating Committee in accord with the Cooperative’s bylaws. After due consideration, the Committee made the following 2023 Board of Director nominations, in order of preference, for Cooperative member consideration, subject to each candidate’s continuing qualification to serve as Board of Director Members in accord with the Cooperative’s bylaws:

VIEW NOMINATING COMMITEE MINUTES

White River Valley Electric Cooperative does everything with our members in mind. You are not just customers, but members who own and control the organization. Voting is your right and responsibility as a member, and participation is key to our success.

The Bylaws, Governance, and Engagement Committee continues to help evaluate what we do at the Cooperative to provide best-in-class service for our members. This includes updating necessary bylaws and continuing to review our processes annually. We have been able to implement a great deal of efficiencies while providing additional value to members with the amendments that were passed in the last few elections.

This year, members will cast their ballots for two bylaw amendments, in addition to three board seats. Please consider the following information before casting your ballots.

Amendment One

A “YES” vote will allow us the ability to host Annual Meeting any time during that three-month window. It will make participation convenient and gives us flexibility to ensure we deliver timely information so Annual Meeting is the best it can be!

Amendment TWO

A “YES” vote will require candidates to report funding to the nominating committee during the election process. If a candidate does take contributions, their only pathway to get on the ballot will be through the nominating committee process. They cannot become a candidate by member-petition because they wouldn’t be held to the same standards of disclosure. After all, our goal is to make running for the board fair for all candidates. We also want transparency for you, the voters!

VIEW PROPOSED BYLAWS

The voting window is open for 2 weeks: Aug. 14th-25th.

Voting closed at 5 p.m. Friday, August 25th, 2023.

Ballots will be cast for candidates in a two-week voting window open prior to the annual meeting. Results will be delivered live during the meeting. Qualified applicants will be vetted, and the slate of candidates will be chosen by the nominating committee. Slated candidates will provide a brief biography, experience, education, and answers to cooperative/industry questions that will be featured in the Annual Meeting edition of the Rural Missouri (August). The information will also be highlighted on the Candidate Corner at whiteriver.org. Sharing candidate information with WRVEC members, gives them the information they need to make an educated decision when it comes to casting ballots in the election.

The 2023 Ballot will have:

• 2 Bylaw Amendments (vote)
• 3 Director Seats (vote)
• 2022 Reports & Financials (view)

Voting Details: 

Candidates with the majority vote are elected to a director seat. What constitutes a vote? Each member number serves as one vote.

Members will get ONE ballot per Unique Membership Account Number. Each unique account number is assigned a Special PIN. Smarthub and Paperless users can find the same information on the electronic invoice.

For the security of our election, members must have the following to vote:

(Found on one of the last two billing statements- July/August)

• Unique Membership Acct Number
• Special PIN (location shown on image below)
• Name on Account

Verifying this information ensures the security of our elections.

Feel free to contact us if you have additional questions about your member number or finding it on your statement.

HOW TO VOTE

Online

whiteriver.amecvote.com

Mail-in ballot:

Request online at whiteriver.amecvote.com

Request by phone at: 855-WRV-VOTE OR 855-978-8683

The following image is an example of where to find your PIN on your bill statement.

Members were encouraged to send in questions to be addressed during the meeting through our Member Alliance Program — the Cooperative’s direct pipeline to the Bylaws, Governance, and Engagement Committee. The committee was formed to evaluate best practices to continually improve the organization and help the Cooperative to better reach the membership. The answers to your questions, the annual report, the meeting video, and election results will all be made available on our website.

SUBMIT A QUESTION

LEARN MORE ABOUT MAP