This content was featured in the May 2023 issue of Kansas Country Living.
The Annual Meeting of the Members of Prairie Land Electric Cooperative, Inc. was held April 4, 2023, at the Prairie Land headquarters in Norton.
A roast beef lunch prepared by Main Dish Hometown Catering was served to 220 members and guests by Prairie Land employees and members of the Kansas Association for Youth (KAY) from Norton Community High School.
Prairie Land Board President Ron Griffith chaired the meeting and called it to order at 12:45 p.m. He recognized special guests in attendance, introduced the members of the board of trustees for each district, and then called on John McClymont, attorney for Prairie Land, to give the results of the 2023 trustee election. Mike Rogers was reelected to District 1; Keith Ross was reelected to District 2; Ronald G. Griffith was reelected to District 4; and District 5 had a contested election after Jerry Gallagher’s retirement, resulting in the election of Lowell Thoman as a new trustee.
Griffith introduced our guest speaker, Corey Linville, vice president of power supply for Sunflower Electric Power Corporation. Linville discussed the many changes and challenges in the electric industry and Sunflower’s plans for the rest of the decade.
CEO Kirk Girard gave the annual report. The report included comments on Prairie Land’s financial status and company highlights for 2022.
Concordia Area Supervisor Vonley Frey gave a brief overview of the purpose of the safety demonstration model and presented an excerpt of what they do for each training. He invited any group to call the office and set up their own full demonstration.
Deborah Anderson, communications specialist, and Cally Engel, operations assistant, conducted the drawings for door prizes. Door prize winners were (from left): Linda Armenta of Norcatur, $50 bill credit; Marjorie Kingham of Almena, Stihl hedge trimmer; Dorothy Shimek of Jennings, Wyze Cordless Vacuum (donated by Sunflower Electric Power Corporation); Eldon Odle of Prairie View, $50 bill credit; Bernard McCormack of Norton, $100 bill credit; and Gary Matson of Norton, Stihl leaf blower.
There being no further business, it was moved, seconded and carried to close the meeting.