Approximately 400 people attended Presque Isle Electric & Gas Co-op’s 81st Annual Membership Meeting at the Onaway High School today.  According to Board Chairman John Brown, “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 Board of Directors.  After all votes were counted, the successful candidates winning election to three-year terms (2018-2021) are: Sandy Borowicz (incumbent, Cheboygan District), Daryl Peterson (incumbent, Montmorency District), Sally Knopf (incumbent, At-Large District).

The number of votes that each candidate received is as follows:

Cheboygan District:           Sandy Borowicz                  1,408

Luanne Thomas                    372

Montmorency District:     Donald Edwards                     574

Daryl Peterson                      948

Curtis Render                        309

At-Large District:                Michael Grohowski                 465

Sally Knopf                              742

Peter Redmond                      428

David Wagner                         281

Immediately following the meeting, the board of directors held their election of officers and the results are:  Chairman – John Brown; Vice-Chairman – Allan Berg; Secretary – Sandy Borowicz; and Treasurer – Charles Arbour.

The winner of the $100 prize raffle for voting by mail was James R. Stoddard of Hillman.  In other business, members heard reports from the cooperative’s auditor and Chief Executive Officer, Thomas Sobeck.

About Presque Isle Electric & Gas Co-op (PIE&G):

PIE&G provides electric and natural gas service to about 30,800 members in northeast Michigan and its headquarters is in Onaway. When the first poles for electric lines were set in 1937, the founding cooperative served about 82 members.  Today, PIE&G is one of the largest employers in Presque Isle County, with 77 employees servicing approximately 33,500 electric meters and 12,400 natural gas meters. Since 1997, the PIE&G Communities First Fund has provided over $1.4 million in grants to local nonprofits.