Great Lakes Energy (GLE) members elected three board members to the cooperative’s board of directors on August 26th, 2020.
Incumbent directors Ric Evans of Ellsworth, Larry Monshor of Gaylord, and Dale Farrier of Kalkaska were re-elected from districts three, four, and five, respectively, to represent the members of Great Lakes Energy. District 4 had one challenger, Shelly Pinkelman of Frederic.
Evans received 213 votes, Larry Monshor received 455 votes, and Farrier received 202 votes. Challenger Shelly Pinkelman in district 4 received 214 votes.
GLE members in voting districts 3 (Antrim County), 4 (Crawford, Montmorency, Oscoda, and Otsego counties), and 5 (Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Manistee, Missaukee, and Wexford) received their mail-in ballot in the July/August issue of Michigan Country Lines. Voters returned their ballots to a private CPA firm by August 20th, and results were announced August 26th at the GLE annual meeting.
Unlike investor-owned utilities, GLE is a not-for-profit business owned by its consumer-members. Board members are chosen by members, not staff, with each member’s vote carrying equal weight. The cooperative conducts an annual meeting to update members on the progress made during the past year and to announce the results of director elections.