Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:07] Speaker B: Welcome to the Buzz, a podcast by Boone Electra Cooperative. The Buzz is a monthly message to our community celebrating what it means to be a member owner of your local electric cooperative, Boone Electric Cooperative your Co op, our community.
[00:00:27] Speaker C: Welcome back to the Buzz. Hey guys, I'm Zach Smith, Communications Specialist at Boone Electric Cooperative and your co op's annual meeting is just around the Corner on Thursday, September 10th and we'll be back early next month to give you some more details and information about that. But today we're going to learn more about the members running for the Boone Electric Cooperative Board of Directors. The Electric Cooperative Annual meeting is one of many things that sets us apart from other utilities and a large part of that difference is the Democratic member control the members exercise when they cast votes for candidates to represent them on the co op's board. Co op members also vote on proposed bylaw amendments and approve the minutes of the previous year's annual meeting.
It's important to remember you can vote for one member in each district, not just your own district, because all of the board members represent all of the co op members. Electing directors to serve on the board is a vital step to making sure that this business, which you the member zone, meets your needs.
Darren Schnarr is the incumbent running in District 1. Thank you for coming in today Darren. Would you mind introducing yourself?
[00:01:32] Speaker D: Hi, my name is Darren Snarr and I'm a candidate for the Boone Electric Cooperative Board of Directors.
I currently serve as the Vice President of the Board of Directors. I'm from the Centralia, Missouri area, grew up in Boone county all my life. My wife is Christy and we've been married for 33 years. We we have three grown children that are back from college that are working on a farm with us and we have a farm in that area.
[00:01:56] Speaker C: What experience and attributes would you bring to the board if re elected?
[00:02:00] Speaker D: I've been on the board for nine years. During that time, besides serving as Vice president currently I have served as treasurer for many years. I think I have a lot of experience to bring to the board. Not only from the years I've been on it and the training that the board has provided us, which is something that I was real surprised when I joined nine years ago is the amount of training that Boone Electric expects their board members to obtain and keep to help manage the co op, to know trends of the electric industry and be up on current positions both locally and nationally. But the attributes I bring to the board is probably my business background. We're running a fairly large diversified Farm. There's a lot of numbers there you got to watch and it's very similar to the numbers that a co op has.
[00:02:45] Speaker C: And why do you want to represent the membership by being a board director?
[00:02:48] Speaker D: It feels like it's something that's close to my heart. I think Electric cooperatives have been a big part of my family history.
I've been told stories of my grandpa helping put poles up and talk the neighbors in to help them join the co op to get electricity to farms for the first time. All through my young adult years, my dad was on the Abuna Electric board and I got to watch from the sidelines and learned how it was operated and, and how things worked and what it did for the community.
And I, when I had the opportunity to serve in this position, I jumped at the chance to become a board member and hope to give back to the community. I feel that my knowledge and background gives me the ability to be a good board member. I've had opportunities to sit on some other boards in the past. When I was younger, I was a the chairman of the Missouri Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee which allowed me to have a year seat on the Missouri Farm Bureau board. That really give me some insight and inner workings on how a board's supposed to run and work. I've also spent time on in advisory positions like on MFA's Local Cooperative Advisory board. I've been a member in officers in local ag clubs and community organizations.
[00:04:04] Speaker C: Finally, what does a cooperative mean to you?
[00:04:07] Speaker D: Cooperative to me is something that you have ownership in, something that you feel that maybe you have a little say in how it's run and how it treats its members. I've worked through a lot of different cooperatives in my business career as a farmer. And cooperatives are set up to be almost like a partnership with you. It's just the fact that it's owned by the members and you feel like you have some control.
[00:04:29] Speaker C: John Bickett is a candidate selected by the nominating committee running in District 1.
John, thanks for your time today. Would you please introduce yourself?
[00:04:37] Speaker E: Hi, my name is John Bickett and I'm a candidate for the Boone Electric Board of directors. My parents moved to Hallsville the summer before I started a kindergarten. Except for a couple of years I spent in Columbia, I never left.
I'm a graduate of Hallsville High School and Columbia College. My wife and I got married in November of 92 and we closed on our house in April of 93 and we've been Boone Electric co op members ever since. We have two grown children. Our son Zach lives in Chicago with his wife Amanda and our daughter lives in St. Louis with her husband Dominic and her granddaughter Eloise.
[00:05:07] Speaker C: What experience and attributes would you bring to the board if elected?
[00:05:12] Speaker E: I served four terms on the Hallsville Board of Education. My fellow board members elected me nine times to be their leader. As board president, I served in Scouting America as a as a troop leader, a district leader and a council leader. When our local healthcare clinic at Hallsville was closed, I was asked to join a group of leaders, a group of local leaders to open that clinic back up. And we did that and we ran it for a couple of years successfully enough. We showed that the community had the need for a healthcare clinic and Boone Health stepped in and they run that clinic. Today I've served on a committee to determine whether Columbia had an appetite for a Catholic high school. And from that committee was born Father Tolton Catholic High School that just finished its 11th school year. I also have been involved with Scouting on the troop level, the district level and the council level. And I proudly serve as a deacon at the Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Centralia.
[00:05:59] Speaker C: Why do you want to represent the membership by being a board director?
[00:06:02] Speaker E: Electricity isn't something I think about. You flip a switch and it's there until it's not.
In our 30 plus years as members of Boone Electric, I can only think of three or four times where we flip that switch and there hasn't been power and there has been a crew on the ground to get us back up and running within an hour. That's tremendous service and I'm willing to give some of my time back to the co op to help continue that legacy of affordability, reliability and access.
[00:06:28] Speaker C: What does the word cooperative mean to you?
[00:06:32] Speaker E: If you think back to the very beginning of the co op, it was friends and neighbors helping one another to deliver a Service.
Fast forward 90 years and Boone Electric is still a co op of friends and neighbors providing each one another a service. And I'd be proud to serve my friends and neighbors as as member of the Boone Electric Board of Directors.
[00:06:52] Speaker C: Tom Trabue is a candidate selected by the nominating committee running in District 2. Tom, thank you for coming in today. Would you please introduce yourself?
[00:07:01] Speaker A: My name is Tom Trabue and I'm a candidate for the Boone Electric Board of Directors. My wife Kim and I have lived in Boone county for 37 years. This has been a great place to raise our family and we can't think of any other place that we would rather live.
In addition to Being a local professional engineer, I provide business coaching and consulting to clients across the area.
[00:07:21] Speaker C: What experience and attributes would you bring to the board if elected?
[00:07:25] Speaker A: I am excited for the opportunity to bring my professional experience and community commitment to the board.
As a consulting engineer for more than 40 years, I have helped cities and counties across the state with development of their public infrastructure.
In addition to this boots on the ground technical experience, I bring my experience running businesses.
One of the highest compliments I have ever received from a client was in regard to my approach to building relationships and building consensus around a project.
I am highly engaged with the community, staying active and abreast of what is going on and how it affects my neighbors. My personal motto is Listen, listen, learn and I practice this on a daily basis.
[00:08:09] Speaker C: And why do you want to represent the membership as a board Director?
[00:08:13] Speaker A: As a board member, first and foremost, I would like to build on the good work that past and current directors have accomplished. I've had the opportunity to work directly with the Boone Electric Administration, engineering and field services in the past. They are true professionals. A high priority I foresee for Boone Electric is maintaining the highest quality staff to serve our members.
I also anticipate as the number of homes in our service area grows, it will put added pressure on the utility infrastructure. This will require significant planning and balance. I am confident that as a director I can represent the membership in the face of these challenges to continue to allow safe, reliable and affordable service.
It is key that when we flip the switch, our lights continue to come on.
[00:09:01] Speaker C: What does a cooperative mean to you?
[00:09:04] Speaker A: A cooperative by definition is the act or process of working together for a common benefit.
The cooperative is all about serving the membership. For 90 years, Boone Electric Cooperative has been serving the members in Boone county and parts of five other counties. I am honored to be a candidate for the Boone Electric Board of Directors and look forward to serving the membership if I am elected.
[00:09:27] Speaker C: Dr. Randy Mueller is a candidate selected by the Nominating committee running in District 2. Dr. Mueller, would you please introduce yourself?
[00:09:34] Speaker F: Hello, my name is Randy Mueller and I am a candidate for the Boone Electric Cooperative Committee Board of Directors. I'm a physician and medical director at Shelter Insurance Companies. I practiced emergency medicine at Boone Hospital for 30 years and served as the emergency Department medical director for 21 years. I live on 50 acres in the Roachport area in a home that my wife Marla and I built in 1993. Our sons are Austin and Vaughn.
[00:10:00] Speaker C: What experience and attributes would you bring to the board?
[00:10:03] Speaker F: My career in emergency medicine taught me the importance of being prepared, working collaboratively with others, often under stressful situations, and assembling a broad range of information to support a conclusion and guide a plan of action.
Calm, analytical thinking, working effectively in the team and proactive planning are important characteristics in a board member whose role it is to represent membership, advise management and assist in setting the course for an organization's current and future operations.
I've been in positions of leadership throughout my career and have benefited from the Wise Council of Constructive Boards. I feel I can bring my experience to the Boone Electric Board of Directors and contribute meaningfully.
[00:10:49] Speaker C: And why do you want to represent the membership by being a Board Director?
[00:10:53] Speaker F: I've been a member of Boone Electric Co OP for over 40 years and understand the importance of providing safe, reliable and affordable electricity to co Op members. If elected to the board, I would strive to gain an in depth understanding of the organization, its operations and the issues that it faces. I would work collaboratively with management, staff and other board members to keep Boone Electric Co Op a mission focused, high quality service organization that's prepared to meet future challenge.
[00:11:23] Speaker C: What does a cooperative mean to you?
[00:11:25] Speaker F: A co op is an organization created and owned by members that exist to serve member interests efficiently, transparently and with accountability.
Boone Electric Co Op exists to provide members with safe, reliable and affordable electric service.
[00:11:43] Speaker C: Matt Marash is a candidate selected by the Nominating Committee running in District 3. Matt, could you please tell us a little bit about yourself?
[00:11:50] Speaker G: Hi, my name is Matt Marash and I'm a candidate for the Boone Electric Cooperative Board of Directors. I live outside Ashland in District 3. A little bit About Me I grew up in Kingsville, Missouri which is a small town outside Kansas City, kind of near Warrensburg.
Went to University of Missouri, graduated there in 93 with a civil Engineering degree. Met my wife at the University.
We ended up living in Kansas City for a few years and then her job took us out to Indianapolis for a few more years and then back in 2002 we moved back to this area. Her family's from the area, Salisbury, Missouri in fact and so we moved back to this area to be a little closer to family and been living here since same house out near Ashland. We have three daughters, raised them there and I've worked at the City of Jefferson City Public Works for the last 20 some years and recently retired.
[00:12:48] Speaker C: What experience and attributes would you bring to the board if elected?
[00:12:52] Speaker G: I have a degree in Civil Engineering and worked in Public Works for many years. Many of those years I was Public Works Director in Jefferson City. I actually managed four separate utilities as part of that, that job and have a lot of background in utility management, managing large staffs of people, budgets, capital budgets, et cetera. So just having some background in that, you know, type work I think would be a good attribute to, to help me with this job.
[00:13:19] Speaker C: Why do you want to represent the membership by being a board director?
[00:13:23] Speaker G: I've been retired for about a year and a half now and one of my goals in retirement was looking for ways to participate or and be involved in local community when I can. And so when trying to lean in to say yes when somebody asked me if I could volunteer for something so this would be a good way to do that. I feel like I have some background and if folks want me to help them, I'd be glad to do that. On this board.
[00:13:48] Speaker C: What does the word cooperative mean to you?
[00:13:51] Speaker G: Basically, you know, when you say cooperative utility, you're talking about a local utility that exists to just serve its members here.
And it's made up of the membership that pays the rates. There's no profit center needed, so all our rates go back into the system to keep our rates low.
This particular utility I think is well run and, and is high functioning. So just being part of that, I'd be glad to help continue those efforts.
[00:14:21] Speaker C: Paul Dickinson is a candidate selected by the nominating committee running in District 3. Paul, thank you for your time today. Please introduce yourself.
[00:14:29] Speaker H: Hi, my name's Paul Dickinson. I'm candidate for District 3 for the Boone Electric Board. My wife Chris and I live on 11 acres north of Ashland and, and we've been Boone Electric members for more than 25 years. I'm the director of security, safety and emergency management for the University of Missouri Healthcare System where I lead a great team that covers all the hospitals and around 90 outpatient clinics. Before that, I spent two decades with the Columbia Police Department and retired assistant chief. I also serve on the Columbia Boone County Crime Stoppers Board which is part of a long commitment I've had to public safety here in Boone County. Chris and I raised two kids here, Thomas and Holly, who both went through the Columbia Public Schools.
[00:15:11] Speaker C: What experience and attributes would you bring to the board?
[00:15:14] Speaker H: The experience I bring to the board really comes down to helping keeping essential services running for the members. My whole careers have been built around emergency management services, risk management and leading large teams and large operating budgets At ME healthcare and before that with the police department.
My job has been to make sure cradle operations keep going through emergencies, outages and other disruptions. That's the same challenge a cooperative deals with. I'm practical, ask questions. And I would make decisions based on what's actually best for the members we serve.
[00:15:47] Speaker C: And why do you want to represent the membership? As a board director, I want to
[00:15:51] Speaker H: represent membership because I've been a member here for a long time and I care about how this cooperative is running. I've spent my whole career in public service and serving on the board is a natural extension of that. I'm not coming in with an agenda. I just want to help make sure Boone Electric keeps delivering services that's reliable, affordable and centered on the members. That matters to my family, and I believe it matters to everyone that lives in District 3, where I live.
[00:16:18] Speaker C: What does a cooperative mean to you?
[00:16:21] Speaker H: To me, a cooperative means to people who use the services are the people who own it. There are no shareholders to answer to. The members come first. The decisions get made with their interests in mind. That structure builds in accountability and keeps the focus where it belongs. A reliable, cost effective service for the members. I think that's a model worth protecting and I'd be proud to ensure that continues.
[00:16:44] Speaker C: Thank you to all of the candidates for stopping by the Co Op to introduce themselves to the membership. It takes members being engaged and interested in how their electric utility is run, not just now, but in the future, to make this business model viable for its members.
We at the Co Op appreciate the members showing their commitment to this process, whether it's by running for the board, serving on the Nominating Committee, which does an incredible amount of work behind the scenes to prepare for the annual meeting, or by coming to the Co op on Thursday, September 10th to vote at the annual meeting.
If you have questions about the voting process, including how to cast an absentee ballot or a proxy vote, please visit us online at Boonelectric Co Op. Call us at 573-449-4181 or visit us here in the office at 1413 Rangeline Street. We appreciate your interest in your cooperative and we hope to see you here next month and we hope to see you again next time on the Buzz. Be sure to tune in next month for more information on the annual meeting and until then, we'll see you somewhere down the line.
[00:17:47] Speaker B: Thank you for tuning in to the Buzz, a podcast by Boone Electric Cooperative. To subscribe or for more information, you can find us on Facebook, Instagram X and LinkedIn. And of course you can always visit us 247 at Boonelectric Co op. Boone Electric Cooperative, your co op, our community.
