Powering Lives, Empowering Communities: IAEC Annual Meeting celebrates 2024 achievements and introduces new leadership

The Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives (IAEC), the trade association for Iowa's electric cooperatives, conducted its 2024 Annual Meeting at the Sheraton West Des Moines Conference Center on December 5 and 6 with more than 350 registered attendees. Board directors and employees from Iowa's locally owned electric co-ops received informative updates from statewide directors and staff in addition to learning about industry trends and best practices from invited speakers.

"Our theme of Powering Lives, Empowering Communities is all about our electric cooperative mission," remarked outgoing IAEC Board President Kenny VandenBerg. "And even in this year of transition at IAEC, we remain laser-focused on helping our member co-ops carry out this mission."

IAEC Executive Vice President and General Manager Leslie Kaufman covered several topics during her first executive report to the members, including a summary of activities from her initial 130 days at IAEC and a preview by department of deliverables to expect in the year ahead. Kaufman was hired in July, bringing vast leadership and cooperative experience from her time at Kansas Electric Cooperatives and the Kansas Cooperative Council.

During the business meeting portion of the annual meeting, four directors were elected to the IAEC Board:

- District 1: Travis Harris of Southern Iowa Electric Cooperative was elected to a 3-year term

- District 2: Tony Lem of Consumers Energy was reelected to another 3-year term

- District 4: Steve Inskeep of Pella Cooperative Electric Association was elected to fill a vacancy (1-year term)

- District 5: Jim Miller of Calhoun County Electric Cooperative Association was reelected to another 3-year term

The IAEC Board would like to thank outgoing director and Board President Kenny VandenBerg of Chariton Valley Electric Cooperative for his leadership and service to Iowa's electric cooperatives during his 6-year tenure. He was presented with a commemorative clock during the business meeting in recognition of his commitment (photo). Managers' Representative Kevin Wheeler of Access Energy Cooperative was also recognized for his 2-year term as an ex officio director on the IAEC Board; his term will expire on January 1, 2025.

Following the annual meeting, the new slate of directors reorganized and announced the following officers:

- IAEC Board President: Jim Miller, District 5 director from Calhoun County Electric Cooperative Association

- IAEC Board Vice President: Gordon Greimann, District 6 director from Franklin Rural Electric Cooperative

- IAEC Board Secretary/Treasurer: Tony Lem, District 2 director from Consumers Energy

- IAEC Board Assistant Secretary/Treasurer: Jerry Keleher, District 3 director from Allamakee-Clayton Electric Cooperative

The IAEC Annual Meeting is also an opportunity for attendees to learn more about the electric industry and trends that may impact rural Iowa. IAEC presented several educational sessions, including:

- Philosopher and energy expert Alex Epstein shared his view that "human flourishing" should be our guiding principle of energy and environmental progress. Learn more at energytalkingpoints.com.

- Lucas Obert, our 2024 Iowa Youth Leadership Council Representative, talked about the importance of overcoming challenges to achieve personal growth and success. He attended the national Electric Cooperative Youth Tour in June, sponsored by Guthrie County Rural Electric Cooperative.

- Iowa electric cooperative linemen who traveled to Guatemala in June sat on a panel facilitated by IAEC Safety Director Scott Meinecke, who also went to Guatemala. The linemen talked about the importance of bringing electricity to the rural village of Las Peñas and how the experience has affected them.

- Closing out the annual meeting, Richard Fagerlin of Peak Solutions and Dr. Keri Jacobs of the Graduate Institute of Cooperative Leadership shared actionable steps to improve board excellence. Learn more at www.buildbetterboards.com/podcast.

The statewide association also honored several electric co-op employees and directors who celebrated 25 years of service in 2024 in addition to recognizing co-op board directors who earned national education certifications during the year.

IAEC celebrated 17 graduates of its 2024 Cooperative Leadership in Iowa Program (CLIP) for emerging leaders. Participants committed to a yearlong calendar of in-person, virtual and on-demand training sessions where they gained leadership skills and learned about various co-op roles.

11 Iowa electric cooperatives were congratulated for completing the Rural Electric Safety Achievement Program (RESAP) in 2024. RESAP is a national safety program that electric co-ops utilize as a framework to improve safety performance and culture.

As part of the Annual Meeting program, IAEC coordinated an auction of personally donated items which raised over $15,750 for the Iowa Friends of Rural Electrification (Iowa FORE) political action committee. The funds will stay in Iowa to aid state legislators and candidates who support electric cooperatives.

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Erin Campbell
Director of Communications

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