Monday | January 6, 2025
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by Board President Steve Rau

The 2025 Board of Directors election will be here before we know it! Interested in running? Here’s what you need to know about the East-Central Iowa REC Board of Directors.

WHAT ARE THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS?

The ECI REC Board of Directors decides how to protect and use your Cooperative’s resources to best benefit you, our membership. We communicate with you to determine what you most want and need from us. Then, we use this information to establish a direction for ECI REC that will result in specific outcomes. We report back to you on how well these outcomes are being achieved.

A director must have time to attend monthly Board meetings, other special meetings, and educational seminars. These sessions keep directors informed of the business of the Cooperative and the electric utility industry. Regular ECI REC Board meetings are held on the last Wednesday of the month. Meetings normally begin at 8:00 a.m. and adjourn by noon, but directors should be prepared to meet into the afternoon.

June’s regular Board meeting coincides with the Annual Meeting of the Members. Directors are expected to attend both meetings. At the reorganizational meeting held directly after the Annual Meeting, the Board elects officers and designates voting delegates and alternates to affiliated organizations.

Our directors are encouraged to attend meetings of affiliated state, national, and regional organizations. The statewide organization sponsors a grassroots advocacy program, and our directors are invited to participate. They’re also encouraged to seek training so they can fulfill their responsibilities to our membership to the best of their ability. New directors are strongly encouraged to obtain their Credentialed Cooperative Director Certificate within their first term of service.

The time commitment for serving on the Board is on average one-and-a-half days per month. There could be 10–20 additional days per year, depending on the director’s level of engagement and training opportunities. Directors serve a three-year term before seeking reelection. Directors are compensated per monthly meeting plus mileage expenses.

WHAT ARE THE DUTIES OF A DIRECTOR?

  • A director has the duty of being loyal to the Cooperative.

  • A director must always avoid any conflicts of interest.
  • A director must treat confidential information accordingly.
  • A director must not do anything that harms the Cooperative, including publicly criticizing the actions of the Board.
  • A director has the duty of obedience, meaning he or she needs to be aware of and obey the obligations and requirements in the law that governs the activities of the Cooperative.
  • A director has a duty of due care and diligence.
  • According to the Model Business Corporation Act, a director shall perform his or her duties as a director, including his or her duties as a member of any committee of the Board upon which he or she may serve, in good faith, in a manner he or she reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the corporation, and with such care as an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would use under similar circumstances.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO BE A DIRECTOR?

Article VII, Section 3 of our Articles of Incorporation lists these requirements for an individual to be nominated, elected, or appointed to the Board of Directors. These same requirements must be met to remain a director.

  • To be a member of the Cooperative.
  • To have one’s primary residence in the sub-district he or she is to represent.
  • To receive electric service from the Cooperative at that primary residence.
  • Must not be in any way employed by or have extensive financial interests in a competing enterprise, be employed by or have extensive financial interests in a business selling electric energy or electrical supplies to the Cooperative, or be employed by or have extensive financial interests in a business engaged in selling electrical or plumbing appliances, fixtures, or supplies to members of the Cooperative.
  • Must not be a spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, corresponding in-law or “step” relation, cohabitant, or any other family member who resides within the household of an employee of the Cooperative.

Directors matter! Let’s make a difference together. To learn more about the nominating process or the qualifications and responsibilities of the Board of Directors, please contact the Nominating Committee member serving the Board district in which you could run. You can also call 877-850- 4343 or email ecirec@ecirec.coop.