{"id":5107,"date":"2023-04-01T13:35:34","date_gmt":"2023-04-01T17:35:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pioneerec.com\/?p=5107"},"modified":"2023-04-12T12:49:53","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T16:49:53","slug":"pioneer-electric-holds-87th-annual-meeting-of-members","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pioneerec.com\/pioneer-electric-holds-87th-annual-meeting-of-members\/","title":{"rendered":"Pioneer Electric holds 87th Annual Meeting of Members"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Pioneer\u2019s 87th Annual Meeting of Members was held on April 1, 2023, at Upper Valley Career Center in Piqua. The meeting was led by Pioneer\u2019s Board Chair Terrence Householder, who presented an overview of the cooperative\u2019s accomplishments in 2022.<\/p>\n

Householder spoke about Pioneer\u2019s commitment to reliability by regularly inspecting and maintaining equipment. He went on to share that the co-op changed out more than 2,500 electric meters across Pioneer\u2019s system, upgraded more than 14 miles of electric line, and replaced 140 distribution poles throughout the service territory \u2014 46 of which were due to vehicle accidents throughout 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of this work was accomplished while dealing with same supply chain issues that many of us had to deal with throughout 2022,\u201d said Householder.<\/p>\n

Householder commended the work of Pioneer\u2019s employees in their effort to continue to provide safe, reliable service. He acknowledged the co-op\u2019s commitment to community through the employee-driven fundraising initiative, Powering Possibilities, which donated nearly $2,300 to food pantries and for Christmas gifts for families in the communities we serve. Householder noted that Pioneer has continued the Christmas gift tradition for 30 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also provided mutual aid to Rappahannock Electric Cooperative in Culpeper, Virginia; South Central Power in Lancaster, Ohio; Washington Electric in Marietta, Ohio; and AES right here in the Dayton community,\u201d Householder said. \u201cWe were happy to lend a helping hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the president\u2019s report and management update, Pioneer President & CEO Ron Salyer shared that there have been no local distribution rate increases since 2016 and the co-op is evaluating the potential need for a rate increase in 2023.<\/p>\n

He also highlighted Pioneer\u2019s safe, high-quality, responsive service by discussing the co-op’s redundant back-up substations and electric lines, enhanced technology to pinpoint outage locations for quick restoration, remote switching to alternate sources, and the implementation of outage texting for members. Pioneer has not had a lost-time accident since 2016.<\/p>\n

Salyer discussed the growing interest of members in renewable energy opportunities and the availability of subscriptions to OurSolar, Pioneer\u2019s community solar project. He also shared how Pioneer is working with current broadband companies to help extend service to underserved members in the co-op\u2019s territory.<\/p>\n

Board of Trustees and County Board Election Results
\n<\/strong>Nearly 2,000 Pioneer members voted in this year\u2019s board election. The election results for the Pioneer Board of Trustees and each of the county boards were announced during the meeting. As a democratically controlled organization, those running for their respective boards are Pioneer members and are elected by their fellow members. Voting was conducted by mail, online, and through the SmartHub app.<\/p>\n

Elected to three-year terms on the Pioneer Board of Trustees were: John Vulgamore of Champaign County, Wade Wilhelm of Miami County, and Roger Bertke of Shelby County. Three-year positions filled on the county boards of the Champaign, Miami and Shelby districts are as follows. Those elected to the Champaign County board were: Wes Duer, Danielle Bair, Rodney Wilkins, and Jon Berry. Elected to the Miami County board were: Teresa \u2018Teri\u2019 Slover, Dean McClurg, Tyler Mumford, and James Sommer. Those to serve on the Shelby County board were: Vernon Ahrns, Bruce Walker, Neil Zumburger, and Seth Middleton.<\/p>\n

The election was tabulated and certified by a third-party company, EverView.<\/p>\n

During their re-organizational meeting, the Pioneer Board elected the following officers for the year:\u00a0 Terrence Householder, chair; Colleen Renee Riggs Eidemiller, first vice chair; Roger Bertke, second vice chair; John Goettemoeller, secretary; and Mark Bailey, treasurer. Ted Black was elected to represent Pioneer on the Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives board of trustees.<\/p>\n