2022 Annual Meeting and Trustee Elections

Posted: January 10, 2022 at 4:06 pm

Page update: April 21, 2022

2022 Annual Meeting Video and Election Results

View our 2022 Annual Meeting video :


 

599 Total Ballots Cast in 2022 Election

2022 Trustee Election Results

  • Trustee District 1 – Moore Haven Results: Donnie Lundy received 544 votes
  • Trustee District 3 – Ortona & Palmdale Results: Mike Pressley received 529 votes
  • Trustee District 4 – Lakeport & Brighton Results: Shannon Hall received 541 votes

2022 Proposed By-Law Revisions

  • 551 votes for proposed by-law revisions; 42 votes against proposed by-law revisions

Approval of 2021 Annual Meeting Minutes

  • 576 votes for approval of 2021 Annual Meeting Minutes; 16 votes against approval of 2021 Annual Meeting Minutes

Congratulations to our Grand Prize Drawing Winners!

  • $2,500 bill credit winner: Austin Moorhouse
  • $1,500 bill credit winner: Wendy Shaver
  • $1,000 bill credit winner: Darrel Pennington
We heard you! In 2022, we’re changing our Annual Meeting and trustee election process based upon member feedback. We’re making voting more accessible to every member, reducing the meeting length and travel time required to visit with candidates in-person, and drastically reducing costs associated with the Annual Meeting.

How are we doing this?

  1. Mail-in voting
  2. Two Meet the Candidate meetings
  3. A virtual Annual Meeting to report election results, the state of the co-op, and grand prize winners.

How can you participate?

  1. Request a mail-in ballot between February 1 and March 31 on SmartHub, by calling 863-946-6200 during normal business hours, or stop by one of our offices to submit a request to receive a ballot by mail. (See details below to request via SmartHub.)
  2. Ballots will be mailed to members beginning March 17. Be sure to return your ballot using the provided envelope and mail it in time to arrive at the Minnesota return address by April 18.
  3. If you are interested in visiting with Trustee candidates in person, attend one of our Meet the Candidate meetings.
    • March 22 at 6:30 p.m. in Lake Placid at the Genesis Center, 218 E. Belleview St.
    • March 24 at 6:30 p.m. in Moore Haven at the Moore Haven Middle-High School Auditorium
  4. Watch our virtual 2022 Annual Meeting via video posted on this webpage on Thursday, April 21 at 6:30 p.m.

What’s in it for you?

  1. Members returning a ballot will receive a $5 bill credit in May.
  2. Members returning a ballot will be entered into our grand prize drawing to win one of three prizes: bill credits in the amount of $1,000, $1,500, and $2,500.
  3. The opportunity to exercise your participation in the democratic member control of your electric cooperative.

What’s on the ballot?

  1. Trustee candidates for District 1 (Moore Haven); District 3 (Ortona/Palmdale); District 4 (Lakeport/Brighton) For current Trustee info, click here. 2022 candidate nominations by petition closed on February 20, 2022.
  2. Proposed bylaw revisions modify the timeframe for publication of the Annual Meeting notice to align with Florida Statutes, modify the timeframe for nominations by petition to accommodate publishing deadlines for the official notice, and bring Article XII, Amendments into alignment with Article III, Section 5 changes approved by GEC membership in 2021. Proposed revisions will also be published on the ballot and in the April issue of Florida Currents.
  3. Approval of 2021 Annual Meeting minutes.

How do you request a ballot on SmartHub?

In the SmartHub app: At the bottom of the app choose More; Contact Us; Report an Outage/Issue; Other Issues/General Inquiry; Request a Ballot

On the SmartHub website: Select Contact Us; Report an Outage/Issue; Other Issues/General Inquiry. On the Inquiry Type dropdown menu, select Request a Ballot.

BALLOT REQUESTS WILL ONLY BE MAILED TO THE MAILING ADDRESS ON FILE WITH THE COOPERATIVE.

What else do you need to know?

  1. Ballot requests can be submitted at the Meet the Candidate meetings, but all voting will occur by mail-in ballot only.
  2. Attendance at the Meet the Candidate meetings is not required to request a ballot.
  3. Members calling or visiting a GEC office to request a ballot will be required to verify their identity. Only the member on file can request a ballot.
  4. Ballots will only be mailed to the mailing address on file with the cooperative.
  5. Continue to check this webpage for updates and look for our official Annual Meeting notice in the April issue of Florida Currents.
  6. Questions? Email communications@gladeselectric.com or call 863-946-6200.

2022 Ballot Issue Information

2022 Candidate Bios (all nominated by committee):

District 1 – Moore Haven
Donnie Lundy – Incumbent Trustee
Mr. Donnie Lundy, an incumbent Trustee, has served on the GEC Board for twenty years. As a dedicated Trustee, Mr. Lundy attends training sessions to maximize his value to the cooperative and to stay abreast of the ever-changing electric utility industry. He obtained his Credentialed Cooperative Director’s Certification in 2002, soon after being elected to the Board. He is also an Alternate Director on Seminole Electric’s Board where he has served on the Compensation, Administrative, and Power Supply Committees.

Mr. Lundy is a lifelong resident of Glades County. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Food and Resources Economics from the University of Florida in 1972 and is active in the production of sugarcane, winter vegetables and commercial cattle. He is a past President and Director of Glades County Youth Livestock, an organization established to support the development of young men and women in Glades County. Mr. Lundy is also a past President and Director of the Glades County Cattlemen’s Association.

Donnie and his wife Sandra attend the First United Methodist Church of Moore Haven, a church his grandparents were instrumental in establishing in the early days of Glades County. He has two sons, Scott and Brad, and three grandchildren. Scott, the eldest, and his family reside in Dayton, Ohio while Brad and his family reside in Okeechobee.

District 3 – Ortona & Palmdale
Mike Pressley – Incumbent Trustee
Mr. Mike Pressley, an incumbent Trustee, has served on the GEC Board for almost two years. In that time, Mr. Pressley has participated in multiple training and educational sessions and has completed the Credentialed Cooperative Director Certificate program.

He is a lifelong resident of Glades County and a longtime member of Glades Electric Cooperative. Mr. Pressley is a graduate of Moore Haven High School, and he earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

Mr. Pressley is a sugarcane grower, and he served as a Glades County School Board member for nine terms. He is also an Army National Guard veteran.

He enjoys participating in community events, farming and spending time with friends and family.
Mr. Pressley and his wife, Debbie, have been married for 49 years. They have two daughters and five grandchildren.

District 4 – Lakeport & Brighton
Shannon Hall – Incumbent Trustee
Mrs. Shannon Hall has served on the GEC Board of Trustees for twenty-seven years, thirteen of those years as Vice President and the past 9 as Secretary. The respect for Shannon in the utility industry statewide has been clearly demonstrated by the fact that she was the first ever female President of the Florida Electric Cooperative Association. She was later appointed by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) to serve on the National Directors Advisory Committee for a two-year period.

Mrs. Hall has attended numerous Trustee training sessions relating to the electric utility industry and has obtained the NRECA Board Leadership Certification as well as her Credentialed Cooperative Director’s Certification. Mrs. Hall is a member of the Lakeport Community Association, the Glades Planning & Zoning Board, and the Glades Economic Development Council. She also served on the South Florida Health Planning Council for 18 years.

Mrs. Hall has resided in Glades County since 1987. Shannon and her husband, Ken, have been married 52 years. They have five children, 11 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren.

Want to know more about nominations? Visit https://www.gladeselectric.com/about-us/board-of-trustees/.

Important Links

Proposed Bylaw Revisions on the 2022 ballot.

2021 Annual Meeting Minutes on the 2022 ballot.

2021 Annual Report