The format of the 2020 Northern Electric Annual Meeting is going to be different this year due to COVID-19. The meeting will be held at the main cooperative office located six miles east of Aberdeen in Bath. It will be a drive-in annual meeting. Much like a drive-in movie, members will remain in their vehicles and register, vote, and listen to the meeting over the radio from the comfort of their cars.

“Drive-in annual meetings have become common across South Dakota, and across the country, as co-op’s try to satisfy their meeting requirements while keeping their members safe and socially distanced,” Northern Electric Cooperative CEO/General Manager Char Hager said.

2020 Annual Meeting Details

• Members can begin registering and voting at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 22.
• Members can enter the co-op parking lot by turning into the east or west driveway at the Bath office located six miles east of Aberdeen on U.S. Highway 12.
• Co-op employees will direct traffic into registration lines.
• Members will be asked to remain in their vehicles for the entire meeting.
• Members from District 7 will be given a ballot to vote for Jeff Vander Wal or Danny Miles. Members will vote in their vehicles. Voting will end at 6:30 p.m.
• President Donna Sharp will call the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. to conduct the co-op’s official business and seat the directors up for election.
• Members will listen to the meeting through the radio in their vehicles.

“Several other electric co-ops have had success with drive-in annual meetings, and we believe this will be the safest way to conduct co-op business this year,” Northern Electric Cooperative President Donna Sharp said. “We’re looking forward to seeing our members and hope they will be understanding about the changes that we made to this year’s annual meeting.”

For the health and safety of our members, no meal will be served and no gifts will be distributed at the annual meeting in 2020.

No prizes will be given away following the business meeting, however, all active members will be eligible for a special prize drawing that will be held at a later date. Members do not need to be present for the drawing and the winners will be directly contacted. The names of the winners will be published in a future issue of Cooperative Connections.

2020 Annual Meeting Agenda

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Northern Electric Office in Bath, SD

5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

• Drive-up registration and voting for District 7 candidate. This will take place at the main headquarters office at:
  • 39456 133rd Street (U.S. Highway 12) Bath, SD 57427

6:30 p.m.

• Call to Order
• Approval of 2019 Annual Meeting Minutes
• Approval of Treasurer's Report
• Announcement of District 7 Election Results
• Seating of Directors
• Adjournment