2024 Board of
Trustees Election
MEET THE CANDIDATES
DISTRICT 1
Israel Township in Preble County and Oxford Township in Butler County
David Evans
RESIDENT
OF OXFORD
TOWNSHIP, BUTLER COUNTY
Family
My wife and I have four
children and six grandchildren.
Education
Along
with my high school diploma, I have earned my Credentialed Cooperative
Director, Board Leadership, and Director Gold certification through
NRECA.
Employment
I am the third
generation owner and president of Art Evans & Sons, Inc.
Leadership and community activities
I
am an active member of the Brookville Road Baptist Church and the
current president of the Butler Rural Electric Cooperative board.
What
do you do in your free time?
I enjoy spending time
with my family, four-wheeling, and camping.
Why
are you interested in serving on the board?
I
value the opportunity to continue to give back to my community through
the board. With my entrepreneurship and board experience, I feel
confident in making decisions that not only benefit the cooperative as
a whole, but each of its members individually.
What
are the biggest challenges facing the cooperative?
Some
of the biggest challenges facing our cooperatives today are the
ever-changing and restrictive regulations being put on the electric
industry.
How
would you fulfill our mission?
In
fulfilling the cooperative’s mission, I feel it is our responsibility
to keep safe, reliable, and affordable electric accessible to every one
of our members.
David
Evans is
running unopposed. The cooperative’s code of regulations allows
candidates to run unopposed for the board of trustees.
Videos reflect the views of
the candidates in their own words.
DISTRICT 2
Milford Township in Butler County
Jim Meador
RESIDENT
OF MILFORD
TOWNSHIP, BUTLER COUNTY
Family
Married to my wife,
Karen, for 45 years. We have two sons, a daughter, and five
grandchildren.
Education
Graduated from Talawanda
High School and took business courses at Miami University.
Employment
Retired after a 30-year
career at Miami University in the steam plant as a stationary engineer.
Leadership
and community activities
I
have been a trustee at Butler Rural Cooperative for almost 19 years and
am the secretary-treasurer. I have earned the Credential Cooperative
Director, Board Leadership, and Director Gold certificates. I am a
member of the Miami Federal Credit Union Board and am the assistant
chief for the Milford Township Fire Department.
What
do you do in your free time?
Reading, traveling, and
spending time with our grandchildren.
Why
are you interested in serving on the board?
All
board members take cooperative principles very seriously. We try to
make each member feel they are an owner of the cooperative. I would
like to continue our hard work making Butler Rural Electric a strong
cooperative that is always looking forward so we are not left behind.
What
are the biggest challenges facing the cooperative?
Federal
and EPA regulations and keeping rates affordable and our service
reliable. Safety is a top priority and right-of-way clearing is
important for reliability. Making sure we have the capacity for EVs as
they come on the system and exploring renewables as they continue to
grow.
How
would you fulfill our mission?
Continue
to listen to member’s concerns and take education offered through NRECA
to learn about changing trends in the electric business.
Jim
Meador is running unopposed. The cooperative’s code of regulations
allows candidates to run unopposed for the board of trustees.
Videos reflect the views of
the candidates in their own words.
DISTRICT 5
Madison and Wayne townships in Butler County
Vickie Jo Barger
RESIDENT
OF WAYNE
TOWNSHIP, BUTLER COUNTY
Family
Married to Matt Barger
with five children – Ace, Hope, Randy, Steve, and William – and five
grandchildren.
Education
I
have a master’s degree in business administration from Miami University
and maintain treasurer certification in accordance with Ohio Revised
Code Section 135.
Employment
Finance
Director for the Butler County Sheriff’s Office since 2006. Prior to
joining the Sheriff’s Office, I was the finance director for the City
of Monroe, Ohio and the budget analyst and an adjunct finance
instructor for Miami University.
Leadership
and community activities
I
am the treasurer for AllWealth Federal Credit Union, was the past
president of the Greater Cincinnati Finance Officers Association, board
member of the Ohio Greater Finance Officers Association, and a
committee member of the Association of Public Treasurers. I volunteer
at churches and nonprofit organizations by reconciling and auditing
their financial records. I volunteer for the Edgewood Athletic craft
show and am an Edgewood Ministerial Association supporter.
What do you do in your free time?
I enjoy spending time
with family, watching sports, and going to the theater.
Why are you interested in serving on the board?
I can help even the
smallest voice from the owner-members to be heard.
What
are the biggest challenges facing the cooperative?
Economy, advent of
electric vehicles, and current federal administrations’ views on fossil
fuels.
How
would you fulfill our mission?
My
financial background will assist the board to continue to be good
stewards of the cooperative funds and operate in an efficient manner.
Videos reflect the views of
the candidates in their own words.
**************************************
Mike Wolf
RESIDENT
OF WAYNE
TOWNSHIP, BUTLER COUNTY
Family
My wife, Cathy, and I
have two children and three grandchildren.
Education
Bachelor of Science in
Electrical Engineering Technology and a Master of Arts in Pastoral
Ministry.
Employment
I
am the director of fiber planning for altafiber. I have worked in the
utility industry for 39 years and have focused on strategic planning,
building, maintaining, and problem-solving critical infrastructure and
networks while managing annual capital budgets in excess of $50 million
per year.
Leadership
and community activities
Board
member of St. Stephens Cemetery and chairman of the Cincinnati
Archdiocesan Pastoral Council. Member of St. Ann Church and involved in
parish council, worship committee, and coordinator of liturgical
ministries.
What
do you do in your free time?
Enjoying the beauty of
Wayne Township and spending time with my family.
Why
are you interested in serving on the board?
I
like to be involved in helping my community and want to share my
leadership, technical, and volunteer experiences giving back as a
trustee.
What
are the biggest challenges facing the cooperative?
Cost
effectively keeping up with increasing service demands from the members
and managing reliability of generation, transmission, and distribution
networks.
How
would you fulfill our mission?
Making
certain that we listen closely to our members and that every action the
cooperative takes is for the long-term benefit of the members.
Videos reflect the views of
the candidates in their own words.
