Success of any electric cooperative has a lot to do with a board of directors with a desire to do what is in the best interest of members and the entire co-op.

Since 1992, Harold Loy has served as a member of the Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative Board of Directors. For 27 years, Harold has provided leadership to the cooperative. He has decided not to seek re-election at the 2019 Annual Meeting of members on June 6, 2019.

Eastern Illini’s President/CEO Bob Hunzinger noted, “We are extremely grateful for Harold’s service on Eastern Illini’s Board of Directors. His contributions have been a great asset for all of the members of the cooperative.”

Harold is from Beaverville in directorate district 1, which includes the townships of Milks Grove, Chebanse, Papineau, Beaverville, Ashkum, Martinton, and Beaver in northern Iroquois County.

Harold graduated from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture. He received the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) Professional Directors Certificate in 1998 and became a NRECA Credentialed Cooperative Director in 1999. He received the NRECA Board of Leadership Certificate in 2009.

Harold and his wife, Nancy, operated a grain and livestock farm and have been very involved in agriculture over the years, especially the Donovan Farmers Cooperative Elevator.

Harold will complete his term as a member of the Eastern Illini board of directors which will expire in June. At that time a new directorate of district 1 will be elected. Interested candidates need to live in directorate district 1 and submit a nominating petition 60 days prior to the 2019 Annual Meeting.

One of the many benefits of receiving electric service from EIEC is that the cooperative is governed by a board of directors who are members.

There are nine members of the board of directors representing nine areas in the 10-county EIEC territory.

Each year, three of the nine directors are elected to the board during the annual meeting. The 2019 EIEC Annual Meeting will be held June 6 at the Paxton Buckley Loda Junior/Senior High School.

The board of directors is responsible for guiding how the cooperative’s money and assets are used to fulfill the co-op’s mission. They do so in such a way that protects the cooperative and the interests of all members. A member of the board of directors has five principal functions: legal, trusteeship, planning, resource management, and compliance.

To be eligible to serve as a director, the person who is applying must be a member of the cooperative and their primary residence needs to be in the board district that is up for election.

Candidates submit a nominating petition that includes collecting at least 25 signatures of other members. Nominating petitions will be available from the cooperative in the Spring. The applicant then returns the nominating petition to the cooperative not less than sixty days prior to the Annual Meeting.

For more information about running for the Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative Board of Directors, feel free to call us at 800.824.5102.