2025 District Meetings Recap
2025 LREC annual district meetings were once again held in January, with this year’s locations including Parkers Prairie (District 9) and Butler (District 3) on January 9th, and the District 6 meeting held on January 10th at the LREC Pelican Rapids office. As with last year, members had the option of attending a meeting in person or virtually via a livestream link on LREC’s website. Despite some inclement weather that took place Thursday afternoon, attendance was comparable to last year, with 169 members/member employees registered over both days.
Meetings opened with a brief welcome, followed by the nomination of board director candidates. Incumbent Board Directors Gary Olson and Charlie Blixt were nominated as candidates in Districts 9 and 6, respectively, and will run unopposed; Perry Swanz was nominated as board director, along with incumbent Mike Brasel, for District 3. Ballots will be mailed in March, with voting leading up to the Annual Meeting on April 24th where results will be announced. In addition to those involved in the nomination process, other current board directors were also in attendance at the meetings.
LREC CEO Tim Thompson’s presentation was a comprehensive look at both the health of the cooperative and accomplishments from the past year. He also looked at the future of the industry. From the perspective specific to your co-op, highlights included growth in members served, completion of construction work projects within each district, continuation of some of the lowest rates in our peer group, low administrative and general costs, a high level of member satisfaction, and the dedication and efficiency of LREC employees.
From an industry perspective, Thompson provided detailed information regarding the current transition to more renewable energy, outlining recently approved plans that will allow LREC’s wholesale power provider, Great River Energy, to move forward on new wind/solar projects and the expansion of high-voltage transmission throughout the state. View a recording of the full presentation at the end of this article.
As always, we appreciate our members’ efforts to stay engaged as we strive to keep you informed. We’re encouraged by the active participation we see during these kinds of grassroots events and, with your voices heard, look forward to learning how we can improve.
Be sure to join us for our Annual Meeting April 24th!