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Ben Flencher was re-elected to Bluebonnet’s Board of Directors during the co-op’s Annual Meeting. Flencher serves as a director from District 5, Burleson County. He has been on the Board since 1987.
Ken Mutscher was re-elected to Bluebonnet’s Board of Directors during the co-op’s Annual Meeting. Mutscher serves as one of the directors from District 7, Washington County. He has been on the Board since 1998.
Milton Shaw was re-elected to Bluebonnet’s Board of Directors during the co-op’s Annual Meeting. Shaw serves as a director from District 1, Caldwell, Gonzales, Guadalupe and Hays counties. He has been on the Board since 2010.
Debbi Goertz easily defeated three challengers to be re-elected to Bluebonnet’s Board of Directors. Goertz is one of the directors from District 3, Bastrop County. She has been on the Board since 2017.
More than 600 Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative members and guests filled The Silos on 77 event center in Giddings Tuesday, May 14, for the co-op’s Annual Meeting. They enjoyed live music, and took home 40 door prizes, in addition to conducting important business that culminated with the re-election of four directors.
Board Chairman Ben Flencher opened the business portion of the meeting by thanking Bluebonnet’s members for their support during the past 80 years.
“It is an honor for me and my fellow directors to serve on Bluebonnet’s board,” Flencher said. “In my 32 years on Bluebonnet’s board of directors, this is the most exciting one so far. We are celebrating our 80th anniversary and another important milestone we achieved last month, surpassing the 100,000-meter mark for the first time in our history.”
Flencher told the meeting’s attendees that the co-op’s directors are an extension of Bluebonnet’s members because they know them from church, school, work, sports leagues and other civic activities. “Because we have those relationships, every action that we take, every decision that we make, every vote that we cast is done with your best interests first and foremost.”
Three incumbent directors in this year’s Board election were unopposed and elected by general consent in accordance with Bluebonnet’s bylaws: Ben Flencher, District 5, Burleson County; Ken Mutscher, District 7, Washington County; and Milton Shaw, District 1, Caldwell, Gonzales, Guadalupe and Hays counties. Incumbent Director Debbi Goertz, District 3, Bastrop County, easily defeated three challengers in her bid for re-election.
“I am honored to have received so much support from Bluebonnet’s members,” Goertz said. “The last few years serving on Bluebonnet’s Board has been a whirlwind. I am looking forward to continuing the wonderful work this board and all the dedicated employees are doing to serve our members.”
Bluebonnet is a member-owned electric cooperative governed by an 11-member board. Bluebonnet’s members elect their directors, who serve staggered three-year terms. One third of the 11-member board of directors is up for election every year. More than 6,900 members participated in this year’s Annual Meeting by proxy or by casting votes during the meeting.
Flencher also introduced a video tribute to his predecessor as Board chairman, Director Rick Schmidt, who died in February. “Rick was one of Bluebonnet’s strongest supporters. He led Bluebonnet through some of the co-op’s most difficult, challenging times. His presence on our Board will be missed, and can never truly replaced,” Flencher said.
General Manager Matt Bentke closed out the business portion of the meeting with a report on the co-op’s service to its members and communities, and its financial and operational strengths. Highlights of Bluebonnet’s 2018 performance included saving members $3.4 million in wholesale power costs and more than $8.3 million in the past three years. Bentke also said Bluebonnet has worked hard to significantly reduce its in annual operating expenses, and return $5.4 million in 2018 to members in capital credits.
“Capital credits are what makes us a co-op,” Bentke said. “We charge no more than is necessary, we run our business very efficiently, and anything left over goes back to our members in capital credits.”
Lastly, Bentke said the record growth Bluebonnet enjoyed during the past two years has benefitted members by enabling the co-op to reinvest in its electric grid, technology, employees and communities, without raising rates.
“We haven’t had a rate increase in several years, and we presented our Board with a five-year plan with no distribution rate increase in it,” Bentke said. “Our expectations are high, our performance standards are high. We will continue to work hard to control expenses and be more efficient for our members every single day.”
By Alyssa Meinke
A rainy start did not dampen the spirits of more than 450 Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative members and guests at the co-op’s Annual Meeting on May 9 in Giddings. Bluebonnet’s Board of Directors and staff welcomed everyone to the traditional gathering at The Silos on 77 event center, as attendees reconnected with old friends and made new ones.
Three incumbent directors in this year’s Board election were unopposed and elected by general consent, per Bluebonnet's bylaws, at the Annual Meeting: Roderick Emanuel, from District 3 for Bastrop County; Russell Jurk, from District 4 for Lee, Milam and Williamson counties; and Byron Balke, from District 6 for Austin, Colorado and Fayette counties. Incumbent Director Robert Mikeska won the District 7 seat for Washington County over Richard Lamensky, with a vote of 5,095 to 658.
Bluebonnet’s members elect the directors who govern the electric cooperative. The nine members of the Board of Directors serve staggered three-year terms.
More than 6,300 members participated in this year’s Annual Meeting, whether voting by proxy or casting votes during the meeting.
Board Chairman Ben Flencher told meeting attendees that the cooperative’s directors represent Bluebonnet’s members so well because they know them from church, school, work, sports leagues and other civic activities.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF BLUEBONNET'S ANNUAL MEETINGS »
“Because we have those relationships, every action that we take, every decision that we make, every vote that we cast is done with your best interests first and foremost,” Flencher said.
He also spoke about the impressive amount of growth in Bluebonnet’s service area.
“In 2019, we surpassed the 100,000-meter mark and four months ago, we surpassed the 125,000-meter mark,” Flencher said. “It took us 80 years to get to the 100,000-meter mark and only another four years to add an additional 25,000 meters.”
Bluebonnet General Manager and CEO Matt Bentke then spoke of the cooperative’s service to its members and communities, as well as its financial and operational strengths. He pointed out highlights of Bluebonnet’s performance in 2022 and early 2023, which included a 5.95% annual growth rate in 2022. The cooperative completed more maintenance and added more assets than any time in its history, Bentke said, and returned $8.68 million to members in the form of capital credits last year. Bluebonnet plans to return $9.48 million in capital credits in 2023.
The cooperative’s record growth during the past several years has benefited all stakeholders — members, the electric system and local communities — and allows Bluebonnet to achieve its mission to provide safe, reliable power at cost-competitive rates, Bentke said.
“Several years ago, our Board of Directors knew that growth was coming to our area and put in place a very effective strategy that has enabled us to create prosperity and share it with all our members,” he said. “I am proud of the hard work everyone in this organization does every day in service to our members.”
Members and guests started the day enjoying Western swing music by the Jason Roberts Band. They snacked on kolaches and sipped coffee, browsed information tables and posed for instant photos.
Some folks — such as members and neighbors Carol Kadura, Marilyn Klaus, Blondera Saucedo, Benjamin Saucedo, Wanda Hoffman and Clayton Hoffman of Rockne — have attended Bluebonnet’s Annual Meeting together for years. For others, like Tracy Burns of Smithville, it was the first time at the gathering. “The Annual Meeting gave me a chance to learn more about how the cooperative business model works,” said Burns, who works as a stylist at Vanity Room Salon in Smithville. She had been encouraged to attend by her client Nancy Littlefield, who has been to many meetings.
Dozens of members left with door prizes awarded during the meeting. Helen Gordon, a Bluebonnet member in Giddings, won the first of two Cub Cadet zero-turn riding lawn mowers.
It was Gordon’s first Bluebonnet Annual Meeting. “I am from Giddings, lived in Austin for a while, and moved back home three years ago. My family's property has been in the Bluebonnet area for decades,” she said.
Elvera Drews, who has been attending the Annual Meeting for 21 years, won the second mower.
A day after the Annual Meeting, the name of one lucky member out of the 6,333 participants was drawn to win a truck being retired from Bluebonnet’s fleet. Harry Penkert of Burton won the drawing for a 2013 Dodge Ram 1500 with about 191,000 miles.
“It was shocking,” said Penkert, who said he has never received a giveaway as valuable as a truck before. Penkert and his wife, Patti, have been Bluebonnet members for 45 years and participated in this year’s Annual Meeting by submitting a proxy form. “We are happy to be members of Bluebonnet,” he said.
If you missed the meeting, you can watch a video recap below.
