Near Record Number of Members Attend 85th Anniversary Meeting
Wharton County Electric Cooperative members came out in force on Wednesday, May 31, 2023, to elect their board representatives and take care of cooperative business.
The 2023 Annual Meeting of Members marked WCEC’s 85th Anniversary with 838 members voting in the election this year. The drive-through meeting was held at the El Campo Middle School.
“Our members continue to show up at near record numbers with this new drive-through format,” WCEC GM/CEO Gary Raybon reports. “We will continue to weigh our options as we plan for future meetings, but with over 800 members voting, it’s hard to deny. The response continues to be significantly higher than the traditional annual meeting format.”
As a member-owned electric cooperative, WCEC is governed by a Board of Directors representing and elected by the membership. Each year, the Annual Meeting of Members is held to present business reports to the membership and elect members to the board.
All business reports including the minutes of the previous annual meeting were approved.
In the board election, two incumbent directors were reelected. In District 5, Samuel Craig Hardin won over Brett Rachunek. In District 8, Jim W. Harton returns over Robert Krenek Jr. New to the board will be George “Buddy” Dornak Jr. who received more votes than Gary Lamberth in District 9. Dornak will serve out the remainder of the term of Calvin Pfeil Jr. who passed away in 2022.
In District 2, Patrick Kubala will return as director although Kurt Ilse received more votes. Subsequent to the Annual Meeting, it was discovered that Ilse was not eligible to serve as a director on the WCEC Board. The Board met on June 5, 2023, and passed a resolution declaring Kubala the winner of the election. Kubala will serve as the District 2 Director for 2023-2026.
Although an official presentation was not held, WCEC recognized the following Employee Service Milestones in the Annual Report: Brenda Moreno for 45 years of service, Juan Rubio for 25 years, Chris Cavness for 15 years, Nathan Danielson for 10 years, and Carol Diaz for five years of service. The annual report also honored Kenny Trochta who retired in 2023 after 34 years of service to the cooperative.
The 2023 Government-in-Action Youth Tour delegates are Bridget Dorotik, daughter of Brian and Denise Dorotik in District 5, and Zoe Schulz, daughter of Shelly Schulz and the late Jeff Schulz of District 4. Taylor Manrriquez, son of Mario and Kate Manrriquez, was awarded a scholarship from the Shirly Stubbs Feinstein Endowment Fund. This fund was initiated by past WCEC GM/CEO Frank N. Stubbs in memory of his daughter. Scholarships from the fund are only available to the children of WCEC employees.
As is tradition, all voting members were included in a prize drawing which was held on Facebook Live the morning after the meeting. Twenty-seven gift cards and prizes were given away along with four grand prizes of free electricity credits. Dustin Flagg received a $100 credit, Daniel Gutierrez a $150 credit, Gary Meek a $200 credit, and Lindsey Aguilar received a $300 credit. In addition to being entered in the drawing, each voting member received an attendance gift and a $20 credit on their electricity bill.
“The Annual Meeting is the biggest day of the year for WCEC,” Raybon says. “It is a day when the ‘Cooperative Difference’ really gets to shine. We thank you all for coming out and making this 85th Anniversary Meeting successful.”