Board Spotlight: LaPlant, Priggel Now Member-Directors
A regular meeting of the Board of Directors of SEMO Electric Cooperative, Inc., (hereinafter referred to as “Cooperative”) was held on Friday, May 13, 2022, at the offices of the Cooperative in Sikeston, Missouri. The meeting was called to order by President Rick Faulkner. The following Directors were present: Faulkner, Carl Eftink, Dennis Fowler, Myron Hawes, James Deneke, Carla Moore, Keith Haynes, Dicky Hanor, Tim Coppage, John Bledsoe, Field LaPlant and Von Priggel. Directors absent: none. Also present were Sean Vanslyke, CEO/General Manager; Megan Ray, Attorney for the Cooperative; and staff members Loyd Rice, Marty Vineyard, Britney Mulcahy, Amanda Burnett, Chris Freed, Brad Milam, and Ron Montgomery.
A prayer of invocation was offered by Coppage. The chair asked for approval of the agenda, and the Board approved its consent agenda consisting of: the minutes of the regular meeting of April 18, 2022; new membership applications; membership cancellations; initial review of Policy 201 – Alcohol and Drug-Free Workplace; and initial review of Policy 202 – Salary Police for Non-Union Employees.
Montgomery presented the monthly safety report. He said he made several crew visits, hosted two safety meetings and conducted a bus safety meeting for Kelly Schools. Montgomery said the monthly safety topic was workplace distractions such as complacency, electronic devices, and personal issues. Following his report, Montgomery left the meeting. Burnett reviewed the financial summary for the month of April 2022 with revenue and expense analysis and budget comparisons. Compared to budget, year-to-date electric revenue is up 3.09%, expenses are up 1.35% and cost of power is up 5.72%.
Eftink reported on business from the M&A Electric Power (transmission) Cooperative meeting. Items of interest included: finances, construction, and reliability. Haynes reported there had been no Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives meeting since the last board meeting.
Under old business the Board: reviewed its schedule of meetings and confirmed registrations for attendance, and Vanslyke reviewed attendance data from the annual meeting for the past six years. Board members shared comments received from members, which were overwhelmingly positive; affirmed Policy 103 – Director Per Diem, Insurance and Other Benefit; affirmed Policy 104 – Board Qualifications and Conduct. Under new business the Board: discussed district updates, and Mulcahy presented information on NRECA’s request to restate the Cooperative’s retirement plans. After discussion, on motion made, seconded and passed, the Board resolved to restate the Cooperative’s retirement plans as recommended.
The Board reviewed written staff reports. Department leaders were present to supplement their reports and to answer questions. The remaining staff members were excused from the meeting. Thereafter, the Board entered into Executive Session to discuss legal and personnel matters. There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned.
Prior to the meeting, Joe Wilkinson, senior vice president and chief member relations officer for Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc. (AECI), presented the results of a recent member satisfaction survey. In Fall 2021, SEMO Electric, along with 50 other co-ops in the state of Missouri, participated in the Triennial Member Satisfaction Survey conducted every three years by AECI, SEMO Electric’s power supplier. In general, the survey focused on measuring member satisfaction and cooperative performance in several service and operations areas, such as contact experiences, handling problems, service reliability, outage restoration, rates and value, and cooperative principles. Wilkinson said SEMO Electric reached an American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) score of 87, which was one of the highest among electric cooperatives. According to results from the 2021 National Survey on the Co-op Difference, the average ACSI score was 83, which puts SEMO above the average of high-performing co-ops from around the country who participated in that survey.
