Presque Isle Electric & Gas Co-op (PIE&G) held its first-ever virtual annual meeting today in Onaway.  The 83rd Annual Membership Meeting was filmed at the Cooperative’s headquarters.  According to Board Chair Allan Berg, “Even though the COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruption to the way we conduct our business, our members have been incredibly understanding.  Although we were unable to hold the traditional in-person meeting, we were able to adapt to hold the meeting virtually. The annual meeting is a great example of cooperative principles in action.  Cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled by their members. Members have equal voting rights –one member, one vote – and co-ops are organized in a democratic manner.”

Each year elections are held for three (3) positions on the PIE&G Board of Directors.  After all ballots were counted, the successful candidates winning election to three-year terms (2020-2023) are:  John Brown (incumbent, Cheboygan District), Charles Arbour (incumbent, Montmorency District) and Allan Berg, (incumbent, Presque Isle District).  The number of votes that each candidate received is as follows:

Cheboygan District (One Vacancy):     

John Brown (840)
Peter Redmond (511)
Ned Taylor (234)

Montmorency District (One Vacancy):    

Charles Arbour (763)
Donald Edwards (542)
Chris Paffi (302)

Presque Isle District (One Vacancy):

Allan Berg (1,018)
Warren Kowalewsky (651)

Immediately following the meeting, the board of directors held their election of officers and the results are:

Chair, Allan Berg
Vice Chair, John Brown
Secretary, Sandy Borowicz
Treasurer, Charles Arbour.

There were twenty-five members winning a $50 bill credit for voting by mail.  Members will be notified and the credit will appear on the next billing statement. In other business, members heard reports from the cooperative’s auditor and Chief Executive Officer, Thomas Sobeck.

PIE&G extends its sincere appreciation to the professionals at the Michigan Electric Cooperative Association (MECA) – Doug Snitgen, Executive Vice President, and Casey Clark, Director of Communications and Marketing, who filmed and produced the virtual meeting.