The 23rd Annual Meeting of the Members of East-Central Iowa REC was held on June 21. This year’s meeting was well attended by an estimated 135 members plus guests.

As usual, Board elections took place during the meeting. Don Shonka (District 21) and Ryan Kress (District 27) were re-elected to serve another three-year term on the Board of Directors. Nick Donlea (District 24) was newly elected to serve a three-year term. We were also pleased to have 2017 Youth Tour alumni Macy Arbuckle and Cade Shramek share about their once-in-a-lifetime experiences in Washington, D.C. They thanked the ECI REC Board of Directors and membership for the opportunity. Guest speaker Jim Wolfe, an IAEC job training/safety instructor, and ECI REC’s Travis Schellhorn and Ben Donnelly spoke about their experience helping with recovery efforts from damages sustained during Hurricane Irma.

Following the meeting, McElroy’s Catering out of Winthrop provided BBQ pork sandwiches, side dishes, and beverages. Joseph and Frank Weber also served ice cream.

A Board reorganization meeting followed lunch. Re-elected to office were Steve Rau, president; Jeff Elliott, vice president; Ryan Kress, secretary/treasurer; and Chris Sackett, assistant secretary/treasurer.

Members who attended the Annual Meeting received food bags courtesy of East-Central Iowa REC, Eastern Iowa Honor Flight, Quaker Oats, and PepsiCo. Roger Uthoff, a Navy vet and treasurer of Eastern Iowa Honor Flight, thanked ECI REC for its support. He then asked the veterans in attendance to stand and be recognized; those remaining in the audience applauded the men and women who had served their country. Leftover food bags were donated to the local food pantry. Door prizes included several gift cards.

23rd Annual Meeting Prize Winners

Grand prize $100 bill winner: Tom Weber

$100 energy credit winners for mail-in ballots:

• District 1, Benton area: David Timmerman
• District 2, Buchanan area: Frank Fenner

The following members were the recipients of $50 gift cards.

$50 Fareway Card:

• Tom Wiese
• Lawrence Sadler
• Larry Nudd
• Samuel Mentzer
• Lavern Sand
• Allen Alber
• Harold Sadler
• Robert Hassler

$50 Walmart Card:

• Sandra Martin
• Carol Arbuckle
• Deb Reichen
• Anna Mae Munson
• Troy Krug
• Robert Junk
• Laura Vandaele
• Larry Thompson