Annual Meeting

 

full width paragraph

Annually we get together with our fellow cooperative members to celebrate the cooperative we love.
Join us Saturday, March 23, 2024 for the Annual Meeting at the Barron Area Community Center (BACC).
Registration starts at 8 a.m. with the Business Meeting at 10 a.m. Come to enjoy food, interact with us, and vote in the elections. The elections will likely contain some familiar faces as our board is made up of members just like you. 
Attend the annual meeting for discussion of the cooperatives financials, future plans, and board director elections.
After the business meeting is concluded, attendance gifts are distributed and 12 members are eligible to win a $100.

2024 Annual Meeting

 

Meet the Candidates
Quote

Dave Olson remarked, “I like being involved, and I have always been interested in how cooperatives work.” He has worked for the municipality for many years and has been part of the local town board, as well as the budget process.  Dave has over 25 years of experience with various community organizations.  He commented, “Keeping the reliability and affordability of electricity with the proposed future timeline of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule changes and adapting to the best of our ability will be challenging.”

Quote

John Blaskowki commented, “I closely follow the monthly newsletter and enjoy the deep concern the board shows toward its members.  I wish to continue that dedication by becoming a part of such a cohesive group.”  John is a retiree of Chibardun Telephone Cooperative.  He added, “I‘ve worked with Barron Electric and many of their employees.  I believe that my experience helps with understanding the inner workings and relationship of a cooperative, its membership, and management.” John is currently the Chairman for the Town of Rice Lake Planning Commission, Supervisor of the Rice Lake Township, and the Vice President of the Barron County Fair Board.  He remarked, “With technology moving more toward “greenspace” living, the need for electricity continues to grow.  One of the challenges for Barron Electric is to provide the backbone to support such demands while continuing to look for alternative measures to keep pricing affordable, by lobbying toward government relief programs, exploring new technologies, and educating members to help reduce the electrical grid load.”

Quote

Larry Kuhl has served on Barron Electric’s Board of Directors for ten years, and has obtained his certificate for the Director Gold Credential Program, which demonstrates his ongoing commitment to continued education.  As owner of his companies, he is faced with many decisions.  When asked why he wanted to be a Barron Electric board director, he remarked, “I want to help serve our local community.”  He commented, “The biggest challenges facing Barron Electric today include generation and meeting the increasing electricity demand.”  He added, “By education and staying involved with policies, we can meet our mission statement.”

Quote

Randy Cook said, “I consider it an honor and a privilege to serve on the Board of Barron Electric Cooperative. I understand it’s the members’ cooperative; anything short of providing the safest, most reliable, and affordable energy to meet their needs, is unacceptable. The ability of electric cooperatives to meet or exceed members’ expectations is more challenging than ever before. Balancing members’ desire to use more renewable energy while ensuring we have the necessary base load to meet peak demand, is a real challenge for the electrical grid.” 
He added, “The increased demand for energy to run our homes, new technologies, vehicles, and everything battery operated is no easy task. Our cooperative must be proactive in our approach to ensuring we have the staff, equipment and technology to be able to provide uninterrupted energy to every member no matter the time, day or night.”

2023 Annual Meeting

full width paragraph

Annual Meeting is a great way for our members to interact with employees, directors, and other members. It is both a reflection and evaluation of how we as a cooperative are fostering new ideas while maintaining true to the cooperative principles, such as commitment to community.