Board of Directors
As a cooperative, White River Valley Electric is controlled and governed by its membership. Members elect individuals from their district to represent them on the Board of Directors. The Board then, collectively, sets policy and helps to guide strategic planning.
Board of Directors
District A- STONE COUNTY
Jenny Whorton – Reeds Spring
John Cooper- Reeds Spring
District B- TANEY COUNTY
Lyle Rowland (Vice President) – Cedarcreek
James (Jim) Burns- Forsyth
District C- CHRISTIAN COUNTY
Joey Glenn – Nixa
Jeff Hyatt – Sparta
District D- DOUGLAS COUNTY
Neal Crum (President) – Ava
District E- OZARK COUNTY
Jim Britt – Gainesville
Jim Kyle (Secretary/Treasurer) – Gainesville
Interested in becoming a director?
Do you have a passion for serving the community? Are you a strategic thinker with the ability see the big picture? Are you familiar with the elements of the cooperative business model? If you answered “yes” to these questions, you may be the ideal board candidate.
Read each section below to learn more about being a director. Consider applying if you meet the qualifications, understand the time commitment, and feel you would be an asset to WRVEC.
Contact Angie O’Dell aodell@whiteriver.org, Vice President/ Chief Administration Officer, for eligibility and to learn more about serving as a director.
-
Here is a list of the duties that WRVEC Directors are required to fulfill:
-
- Hire, delegate, and appraise the CEO
- Govern through policies and plans
- Comply with director duties and standards of conduct
- Provide direction through a strategic planning process
- Authorize resources consistent with the strategic plan and the long-range financial plan
- Serve as a regulator (setting rates)
- Provide monitoring and oversight of the cooperative
- Demonstrate due diligence through board assessment
- Facilitate member dialogue regarding improving the quality of life in the community
- Recognize the impacts of regulatory and legislative issues on the cooperative
- Actively participate in state and national associations to drive public policy that supports electric cooperatives
- Engage co-op members to support local, state, and federal elected officials who support electric cooperatives
-
-
Serving on the WRVEC Board will require significant time and commitment. The ideal candidates will:
-
- Assure consistent and fair treatment
- Have a good understanding of the cooperative, its role in the community, and its challenges
-
- Meet on the third Thursday of the month (days and times may vary)
- Attend committee and outside association meetings
- Spend an additional 25 hours a month on “homework” such as reviewing information, preparing for meetings, or talking with fellow co-op members
- Complete the Credentialed Cooperative Director program through the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
- Continue their professional development each year
-
-
As specified in Article IV Section 2 of the Cooperative Bylaws, summarized here, candidates:
-
- Must be a member of the cooperative.
- Primary residential abode must be in the county and district you would serve.
- Must have an account in good standing with the cooperative.
- Cannot be a current applicant, employee of WRVEC, or employed by WRVEC in the past 5 years.
- Cannot be a close relative of a WRVEC employee or incumbent director.
- Cannot be employed by or financially interested in a competing enterprise or business selling energy, services, or supplies to WRVEC or its subsidiaries.
- Must undergo background check and must not have criminal history involving a conviction of a felony or crime of moral turpitude (i.e., embezzlement, fraud, stealing, forgery, robbery, or similar crime of dishonesty or immortality).
- Must have the capacity to enter legally binding contracts.
- Must not have been censured in any previous board tenure more than once.
- Or, as it currently stands, be the operating or chief executive of a corporation or church, or their designee, but do not receive service from the Cooperative at their primary residence, be eligible to become a director, from the Directorate District in which the corporation or church is located, if they (1) is in substantial permanent occupancy, direction or use of the premises served by the Cooperative, and (2) is a permanent and year-round resident within or in close proximity to an area served by the Cooperative.
-
-
The WRVEC service territory is split into five districts as divided per county. Each district is represented as follows:
-
-
- District A – Stone Co, 2 seats
- District B – Taney Co, 2 seats
- District C – Christian Co, 2 seats
- District D – Douglas Co, 1 seat
- District E – Ozark Co, 2 seats
-
Eligible and vetted candidates are presented to the membership from the nominating committee. Candidates are then elected for director seats at Annual Meeting. Directors represent their district for three-year terms and are elected on a rotating schedule; (ABE), (ACE), and (BCD). Rotations are scheduled as follows:
- 2025: ABE
- 2026: ACE
- 2027: BCD
-
-
Ballots will be cast for candidates in a two-week voting window open prior to the annual meeting. Results will be delivered live during the meeting. Qualified applicants will be vetted, and the slate of candidates will be chosen by the nominating committee. Slated candidates will provide a brief biography, experience, education, and answers to cooperative/industry questions that will be featured in the Annual Meeting edition of the Rural Missouri (August). The information will also be highlighted on the Candidate Corner at whiteriver.org. Sharing candidate information with WRVEC members, gives them the information they need to make an educated decision when it comes to casting ballots in the election.
Candidates with the majority vote are elected to a director seat. What constitutes a vote? Each member number serves as one vote.
Members will get ONE ballot per Unique Membership Account Number. Each unique account number is assigned a Special PIN. Smarthub and Paperless users can find the same information on the electronic invoice.
For the security of our election, members must have the following to vote:
- Unique Membership Acct Number
- Special PIN (location shown on image below)
- Name on Account
Verifying this information ensures the security of our elections.
Feel free to contact us if you have additional questions about your member number or finding it on your statement.
THE FOLLOWING IMAGE IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHERE TO FIND YOUR PIN ON YOUR BILL STATEMENT.
-
The Nominating Committee of White River Valley Electric Cooperative is composed of nine dedicated members who volunteer their time to review, interview, and assess applicants for the Board of Director positions. These members ensure that candidates meet the qualifications required to serve the Cooperative effectively.
Each year, the Nominating Committee begins accepting applications for candidates no earlier than 120 days and no later than 30 days before the Cooperative’s Annual Meeting of Members. The committee conducts interviews and carefully vets all applicants.
Once the selection of candidates is finalized, the names will be posted at least 60 days prior to the Annual Meeting. The list of candidates will be published in the Current Times section of the Rural Missouri Magazine.
As outlined in our bylaws, the Nominating Committee of the Cooperative must consist of nine members. To be eligible to serve on the committee, individuals must meet the following criteria:
- Not an existing Cooperative employee, agent, officer, director, or known candidate for director.
- Not related to, or members of the same household as, a current director.
Additionally, each of the Cooperative’s Directorate Districts must be represented on the Nominating Committee in proportion to the number of authorized directors from or within that District.
