I estimate I have attended close to 200 annual meetings at approximately 65 different cooperatives, in three states: Kansas, Illinois and Michigan.

On a recent Saturday in June, I attended the annual meeting of one of Michigan’s nine electric cooperatives. I try to attend most of the annual meetings held by our member cooperatives each year. Since I have been working for electric cooperatives for over 22 years, I estimate I have attended close to 200 annual meetings at approximately 65 different cooperatives, in three states: Kansas, Illinois and Michigan. I guess I have driven close to 100,000 miles over the years to get to those annual meetings. I can assure you driving across Michigan is a much more scenic drive than passing through another corn, soybean or wheat field in Illinois or Kansas, except perhaps when crossing the Flint Hills of Kansas at night in early spring when they are burning off the grass in the fields. It’s pretty amazing to see the hundreds of “small” fires burning across the rolling hills for miles and miles—especially the first time!

There is no one “typical” location to hold a cooperative annual meeting. I have attended them in the local high school gym, auditorium, and cafeteria (in many cooperative service areas the largest place to gather is the local high school), meeting halls, restaurants, banquet halls (the one that played host to Thumb Electric Cooperative’s annual meeting for many years, the Colony House, burned down a few years back and they had to go outside to find a location big enough), the large pavilion at the U.P. State Fairgrounds in Escanaba (Alger Delta Cooperative has met there on the third Wednesday of June for many years), the cooperative’s board room, meeting room or garage (actually, the garage is more like a very large gym without the wood floor or basketball hoops – HomeWorks

Tri-County’s in Portland is as large as a football field), in an open field, and under a “circus” tent.

Many cooperatives serve a meal at their annual meetings. It’s probably been that way since the first cooperative meetings back in the 1930s. Your cooperative may serve the same meal each year, but I can tell you there is no typical meal served, either. Over the years, I’ve had sloppy joes, hot dogs, hamburgers, turkey sandwiches, ham sandwiches, fried chicken, roast beef (standard fare in Kansas), barbecue, chicken salad, tuna salad, pancakes, sausage, bacon, eggs (until this year, Cherryland Electric held their meeting on Saturday morning. The change to a midweek evening worked well, but I miss the pancakes), baked beans, coleslaw, potato salad, potato chips, tossed salad, pickles, brownies, cake, cupcakes, donuts, cookies (most likely homemade), and Jell-O in every standard form.

The meeting formats and lengths are all different, too. They run from very short to “how much longer can this last?” (Fortunately, no electric cooperative in Michigan follows that format.) Many start with the Pledge of Allegiance, “God Bless America,” “The Star Spangled Banner” (hard to hit those high notes), or a prayer. (I like that most all of them start with a prayer.)

There are reports to hear from the manager, the board president, the treasurer, and oftentimes staff. Some use PowerPoint, others use an overhead projector, and some just talk. You may hear an update from the cooperative’s power supplier, the state trade association, or a “guest speaker.” Once, I drove 450 miles one-way to a meeting in Ulysses, KS, and got there a few minutes late because I was held up for 30 minutes at a cattle crossing – cowboys and all. I walked in to find out I was the guest speaker that night. I kept it short.

There are elections for directors, motions and reports to approve, and sometimes votes on bylaw changes. At one annual meeting I stood beside a gentleman who listened to the explanation of a bylaw change and heard arguments for and against. When asked to vote by a show of hands, he voted for and against. I asked him why he voted for both sides and he replied, “both sides had merit.” I couldn’t argue with him.

A cooperative’s annual meeting, however, is really about the member – you. Over all the years and all the meetings, the one constant is the attendance and participation of the cooperative member. You, the member, get a chance to see the directors that you elect to run the cooperative, you get to ask questions about the cooperative’s business, or perhaps more importantly, your service. You get to really see what your cooperative offers.

Recently, the Michigan Senate passed a bill that would allow a not-for-profit entity to hold meetings and elections online if their bylaws permit. I support these modern changes. Many electric cooperatives already allow voting by mail. I think online voting will help get even more participation in the election process. We have already had Web casts of some annual meetings. I expect some cooperatives to offer voting online when the law changes.

I just hope they don’t hold the annual meeting online. Holding a meeting online is not the same as in person. It’s hard to shake hands, say hello, or eat brownies.