Flathead Electric annual meeting April 22

Members of Flathead Electric Cooperative democratically control their co-op and conduct its business via their annual members meeting. This year, the meeting takes place on April 22 at Canvas Church.

Everyone who pays an electric bill to Flathead Electric Co-op is a member.

At the annual meeting, members will learn about the rapidly evolving electric utility space. General Manager Mark Johnson will present the yearly report, and Chris Christensen, Director at NorVal Electric Cooperative in Glasgow, will address the membership. Christensen is the first Montanan elected as an officer of the National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association Board of Directors and recently ended his term as president of the NRECA board of directors.

In addition, those running for Flathead Electric trustee positions will speak.

Registration and breakfast begin at 8:30 a.m., followed by entertainment with local 1950s rock’n’roll band the Fabulous Bel Aires. The business meeting commences at 9:45 a.m. and will adjourn around 11:30 a.m. Childcare is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

There will be prize drawings for those in attendance, including the grand prize, a $500 energy bill credit.

Four $500 scholarships will be awarded to area high school seniors planning to enroll at an accredited Montana university or college. To be eligible, the student’s parent or guardian must be a Flathead Electric Co-op member, and the student must be present at the meeting. There is no application process; names will be drawn from those high school seniors in attendance.

Meeting registration cards will go out via email to members April 10. Postcards were sent March 29. Members will be asked to show their email or postcard as they enter the meeting to expedite the registration process and enter the prize drawings, but replacements can be issued at the meeting if cards are lost or forgotten.

At the meeting, members will hear from candidates seeking to fill the Trustee seats up for election:

• District 6 (West Valley, Marion)

• District 8 (Bigfork)

• District 9 (Libby)

There are no bylaw amendments on this year’s ballot.

For members who vote electronically, the online election opens April 24 at 8 a.m. Those members can vote via an emailed link sent directly from Survey and Ballot Systems (the Co-op's independent election vendor); their online account; or their My Co-op app. Members who have not opted-in to receiving an e-ballot will receive a paper ballot in the mail the week of April 24.

Although members have multiple options to cast their ballot, each member can vote only once. Survey and Ballot Systems has controls in place such that if a member submits multiple votes, no vote will be counted. The Flathead Electric Cooperative election closes on Friday, May 19. Paper ballots must be received by the election vendor by this date and electronic voting closes at 11 a.m. on that day.

EVENT DETAILS

Flathead Electric Cooperative’s 86th Annual Meeting is Saturday, April 22, at Canvas Church, 255 Summit Ridge Drive, Kalispell, 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. All members are invited and encouraged to attend. For more information, visit flatheadelectric.com