Board of Directors & Employees

L-R: Lyle Korver, CEO/General Manager; Shirley Schroeder; Steve Brown, Secretary; Doug Becker, Vice President; Jeff Rehder, President; Scott Feuerhelm; Steve Abma; Dale Ullrich, Assistant Secretary-Treasurer; Daniel Van Beek; Dave Bosma; Dan Hoffman; Tom Wagner, Treasurer.

Board of Directors & Officers

Jeff Rehder

President

District 1 - Sioux

Steve Brown

Secretary

District 3 - Plymouth

Daniel Van Beek

District 2 - O'Brien

Dan Hoffman

District 4 - Ida

Doug Becker

Vice President

District 3 - Plymouth

Dale Ullrich

Assistant Secretary-Treasurer

District 4 - Ida

Dave Bosma

District 1 - Sioux

Shirley Schroeder

District 3 - Plymouth

Tom Wagner

Treasurer

District 2 - O'Brien

Steve Abma

District 1 - Sioux

Scott Feuerhelm

District 3 - Plymouth

Lyle Korver

Chief Executive Officer &

General Manager

NWREC has four Director Districts and eleven total directors. The Director districts are shown in the graphic below. The number of directors for each district was determined at the time of the Consolidation based on the number of members that resided in each District. The Districts represent the service area of the four cooperatives that consolidated to form North West REC. Members nominate director candidates by District and vote by District.

One of the most important benefits of being a co-op owner is that you have a voice in how the co-op operates. Member-owners democratically elect the co-op’s local board of directors, who must also be member-owners. These directors serve members local interests in governing the cooperative. Make sure to attend our annual meeting each year in March to exercise your right to vote as an owner. During the meeting, co-op member-owners vote in director elections, review the cooperative financials and vote on any other cooperative business such as proposed bylaw amendments. You also have an opportunity to talk directly to co-op staff and your board of directors.

Map of the 4 counties NWREC serves with icons of the number of directors in each county

Directors serve 4 year terms. When their term is up, if they want to continue to serve they must run for re-election. Each year at our Cooperative's Annual Meeting we officially vote and elect or re-elect members to serve a four year term on our Board of Directors.

Prior to the Annual Meeting (which is typically held in March or April) in November or December our Board of Directors selects members to serve on the Committee on Nominations. This committee meetings in January to select nominees for election to the Board of Directors of North West REC. They are then voted on and elected at the Annual Meeting of the Cooperative.

We publish the names and contact information for the members of the Committee on Nominations in our December Newsletter, (the newsletter is mailed out to all the members monthly), you can contact one of the nominating committee members in your district if you have any interest in running for the Board of Directors or you know of any member that would be interested.

Prior to the Annual Meeting we mail out a packet of information to all our member that includes an Annual Report, information pertaining the the meeting, director candidate information, and a director ballot with a prepaid return envelope. Members must vote and return their ballot to the cooperative before the annual meeting in order to be counted in the election. Mail in voting provides a greater opportunity for all members to have the chance to vote if they are unable to get to the meeting. Ballots are then counted by the Committee on Nominations and results announced at the Annual Meeting of the Cooperative.

The Cooperatives' bylaws establish that a director must be a member, individually, and a bona-fide resident of the district from which they are elected to represent

Director Qualifications

Attend all regular monthly board meetings. The Board holds daytime meetings usually scheduled for the last Thursday of each month. Meetings last approximately six hours.
Attend the annual meeting of the Cooperative.
Attend meetings of related organizations such as Northwest Iowa Power Cooperative, Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation, Federated Insurance, and others, when necessary.
Read and be familiar with information, data and reports received from cooperative management, national, state and other local associations.
Establish and maintain contact with members of the Cooperative in his or her locale.
Work in harmony with the other members of the Board and employees for the good of all members of the Cooperative.
Attend special meetings of the Board, or of committees to which assigned by the president.

Employees

We have many experienced employees that make up the office staff, the member services department, and the operations department. Feel free to call the office (1.800.766.2099) to contact our staff if you have any questions or comments.