Attica, OH – Over 400 members attended North Central Electric (NCE) Cooperative‘s 89th annual meeting on June 10, held virtually over Zoom for the fifth year in a row. Along with annual cooperative updates from NCE’s president/CEO and board chair, the results of this year’s contested election for the District 6 seat were announced to meeting attendees.

Calvin Staib, a resident of Seneca Township, was announced as the new District 6 representative on the NCE board of directors following an all-member election held in May. Members could cast their votes online or by mail. Staib will be replacing former board member Michael Scherger, who officially completed his term at the annual meeting. Scherger had announced his intention to retire from the NCE board at the 2024 annual meeting. Additionally, Rodney Snavely, representing District 4, and Andrew Brose, representing District 7, were both re-elected to the Board of Directors following an uncontested race.

This year’s annual meeting had a strong focus on looking to the future, with both Board Chair Snavely and NCE President/CEO Ed VanHoose discussing the vision for the cooperative moving forward. Snavely acknowledged the community impact that member-funded programs like the NCE People Fund and America’s Electric Cooperatives PAC have on the cooperative community.

Additionally, Snavely discussed NCE’s strategic future. “The board recently completed a strategic planning process to guide the co-op toward adopting advanced technologies while maintaining the high level of service you expect,” he said. “New initiatives include a technology plan to enhance service communications and efforts to strengthen our political presence on the national stage. Along with these new priorities, our core values of competitive rates, safety, and reliability remain at the heart of everything we do.”

NCE President/CEO Ed VanHoose highlighted differences in energy policy, reliability, and financing, as well as expounded upon the new metering technology and a new technology plan being introduced to the cooperative as part of NCE’s strategic vision. Additionally, VanHoose also discussed the importance of energy efficiency during the meeting.

“We are one of the only businesses out there that will help you use less of our product. That’s what it means to be member-owned. We are looking out for you” he said. “We have an energy advisor on staff and I would encourage you to give him a call if you have questions about energy efficiency or things that you could do for your home to try and find ways to save money.”

VanHoose also congratulated student scholarships winners on their accomplishments.

If members missed the meeting, a recording of it will be available on the North Central Electric website, www.ncelec.org, in the coming weeks. For more information, members can go online or contact the North Central Electric office at 419-426-3072.