Approximately 450 people attended the Presque Isle Electric & Gas Co-op’s 79ᵗʰ Annual Membership Meeting at the Onaway High School today. According to Board Chairman John Brown, “The annual meeting is a perfect example of our cooperative principles in action. Cooperatives are democratic organizations controlled by its members. Each member has equal voting rights –one member, one vote – and elections are held 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 (2016-2019) were:  Brentt Lucas (incumbent, Alpena District), Kurt Krajniak (incumbent, Alpena District) and Raymond Wozniak (incumbent, Presque Isle District).

The number of votes each candidate received is listed below.

Alpena District (two vacancies):

Bob Grohowski – 433

Duane Jennings – 572

Kurt Krajniak – 919*

Brentt Lucas – 761*

Presque Isle District (one vacancy):

Greg Diller – 428

Leo Romel  – 373

Raymond Wozniak – 866*

Immediately following the meeting, the board of directors held their election of officers and the results were as follows: Chairman – John Brown; Vice-Chairman – Allan Berg; Secretary – Sandy Borowicz; and Treasurer – Daryl Peterson.

Mr. Jeffrey Ostman, a senior at Cheboygan High School, spoke at the meeting about his experiences at the Youth Leadership Summit in Michigan. In 2015, Mr. Ostman was also was selected to attend the annual NRECA Youth Tour conference in Washington, DC. From there, Jeffrey was elected by his peers to represent Michigan’s electric cooperatives at the NRECA Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

In other business, members heard reports from the cooperative’s auditor and from Brian Burns, President and Chief Executive Officer.

The winner of the $100 prize raffle for voting by mail was Lyle C. Ballard of Armada.

Presque Isle Electric & Gas Co-op provides electricity and natural gas service to approximately 42,500 active meters across its nine county territory in northeast Michigan. PIE&G headquarters is located in Onaway.