Each year, at the Annual Meeting of Members, three districts are up for election. The Nominating and Elections Committee works hard to bring the members of the cooperative six (at least two in each district) outstanding nominees to choose from. Below are the six candidates up for election this year. The winners will represent three of Dunn Energy Cooperative's nine districts for a three-year term. For more information on the area that these districts cover, please visit our Board of Directors page

District 1

Dave Bartlett

 

 

 

 

 

David Bartlett (Challenger- Town of Sheridan)

Town of Sheridan, Dunn County resident and member of DEC for 44 years. I’ve been married to Barbara for 35 years and have 4 children and 6 grandchildren. I have been a member of Hay River Lutheran Church, having served on the church council many times over the past 44 years. I also belonged to the Ridgeland Ridge Runners Snowmobile Club; having served as president for many years and taught snowmobile safety for 20 years.

I am currently retired but was employed as a Service and Fixed Operations Manager for 39 years at an automotive dealership.

Other qualifications include:

  • Serving on the Town of Sheridan Board as chairman for the last 24 years.

  • Served on the Dunn County Board of Supervisors for 22 years, serving 4 years as chairman.

  • Served on the Chibardun Telephone Board, serving as president.

My Goals as Director:

Maintain a strong financial cooperative providing dependable, cost-effective, and high-quality service, all while keeping the rates as low as possible for the members

I will work to help prepare DEC for the challenges of relying on more renewable energy, increased use of electric vehicles, and staying on the cutting edge of technology.

I will use my experience meeting with area legislators to help convince them to support favorable governance for DEC.

Increase communication and transparency between the members, the board, and employees.

Continue to bury lines and maintain the right of ways to help prevent outages.

I believe it is the director's responsibility to attend all meetings and to prepare as much as possible for the meetings, be willing to attend seminars to learn and get further education on new trends in the electrical industry, and meet with area legislators on issues concerning DEC.

Karl Varnes

 

 

 

 

 

Karl Varnes (Challenger- Town of Wilson)

I attended Colfax high school and graduated from UW River Falls. I married my wife Sue and spent 5 years as a cooperative agronomist in North Dakota. We moved back home south of Ridgeland and ran the small dairy farm for 5 years which has since become a “hobby farm”. I have spent the last 25 years managing cooperatives, having the opportunity to lead with great board members who helped shape our future. Having served the cooperative membership and getting to know our customers has been a fulfilling experience. We have 3 grown children and 6 grandchildren which are a joy. It would be an honor to serve on the Dunn Energy Board.

Qualifications:

  • 25 years as CEO/General Manager of Synergy Cooperative, Lakeland Cooperative, and Ridgeland Chetek Cooperative – retired from this role in January 2021
  • Previous board president of Co-op Transport and ESP (Energy Solution Partners), has served on numerous community committees, and am currently a council member of Hay River Lutheran Church
  • Have had the opportunity to serve many of our communities and members in a co-op capacity, learning their needs and adapting to changing demographics

My Goals as Director:

  • To listen and learn with an open mind to opportunities and issues in order to make decisions that benefit the membership. The co-op business model has served us well and must be able to do so for future generations.
  • To gain insight into the future strategy of balancing the ever-changing regulatory and political environment and how it will impact providing fiscally and environmentally viable energy solutions.
  • To serve the needs of the membership to help make our area attractive in retaining and attracting the talent needed for our cooperative as well as the communities it serves

District 4

Gerald Porter

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gerald Porter (Challenger - Town of Tainter)

I am pleased to be a candidate for the Board of Directors for the Dunn Energy Cooperative.   My qualifications include the skills, knowledge, and abilities developed over my thirty-two-year career at 3M Company as an Electrical Engineer working in various positions in controls, project, process and product engineering, as well as information technology, manufacturing and engineering management, data analytics and business transformation.  As well as my experience, knowledge and appreciation for all the residents of Dunn County garnered serving and leading on the boards of three local non-profit organizations as well as the Dunn County Board of Adjustments and the Tainter Lake Rehabilitation District.  My wife and I have been members of the Dunn Energy Cooperative for over twenty-five years living on Tainter Lake in District 4. 

As a board member, I will work to positively represent the Tainter District 4 members and be a part of the excellent organization that provides a critical service for our community.

Thanks,

Jerry

Qualifications:

  • My skills, knowledge, and abilities developed over my thirty-two-year career at 3M Company as an Electrical Engineer working in various positions in controls, project, process and product engineering, as well as information technology, manufacturing and engineering management, data analytics and business transformation.
  • My experience, knowledge and appreciation for all the residents of Dunn County garnered serving and leading on the boards of three local non-profit organizations as well as the Dunn County Board of Adjustments and the Tainter Lake Rehabilitation District.
  • My wife and I have been members of the Dunn Energy Cooperative for over twenty-five years living on Tainter Lake in District 4.

My Goals as Director:

  • Positively represent the Tainter District 4 members on the board of directors.
  • Be a part of the excellent organization that provides a critical service for our community.
  • Be an effective board member helping to meet the cooperative's mission.

 

Deak Stokke

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dean Stokke (Incumbent - Town of Tainter)

I want to thank our members for giving me the opportunity to serve you on the board of directors for Dunn Energy these last six years. It takes two or three years to become acquainted with the terminology and how a company operates on any board; it’s no different for Dunn Energy board members. We are going to lose six out of nine board members in the next three elections from term expirations, leaving only three of us with any experience.

I am well aware of what is expected of board members from my forty-plus years of managing farm supply co-ops, and also from being on this board. Dunn Energy does a good job of educating new board members by requiring attendance at three credentialed cooperative director schools. I study and keep informed on all issues before every board meeting. I am not afraid to speak up at board meetings, and I support all board decisions even if I don’t agree with them. I maintain the confidentiality of all board decisions. I would appreciate your vote on May 18th, 2023 at the annual meeting of Dunn Energy.

Thank you,

Dean Stokke

Qualifications:

  • My wife, Eileen, and I live in the Town of Tainter, have been members of Dunn Energy since 1981, and have two children and six grandchildren.
  • Born and raised in Dunn County, a graduate of Menomonie High School,  I hold an Ag Business degree from UW River Falls and am a retired farm supply Co-op Manager (Barron and Colfax).
  • Board member of Dunn Energy since 2016, serving as vice chair for the last two years.

My goals as Director:

  • Maintain a financially sound Cooperative while continuing to offer safe, reliable, and competitively priced electricity to our members.
  • To continue to bury electrical lines and clear right of ways to minimize outages.
  • Maintain a positive working relationship between the board of directors, management, employees, and members.

District 9

Rachel Kummer

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rachel Kummer (Incumbent - Town of Rock Creek)

I am a lifelong resident of Dunn County and currently live in the Township of Rock Creek, where I serve as Town Board Supervisor. Over the past 15 years or so, I’ve been focused on operating my family dairy farm in the Rock Falls area.

I hold a B.S. in Education from UWEC and a Farm Business Management Certificate from CVTC. I have been married to my husband Rusty for 23 years and am the proud mom of two grown daughters and one son-in-law. I am also happy to report that I am now a Credentialed Cooperative Director; having completed all five training courses offered to new cooperative directors. I would like to thank the members of Dunn Energy for putting their trust in me three years ago by electing me to the board. I have learned so much these last few years and am asking you for the opportunity to represent you again.

My primary goals as your cooperative director remain the same: to maintain and improve our infrastructure in order to continue to deliver reliable and affordable energy to our member-owners; to incorporate new technologies and renewable energy sources in a fiscally responsible manner; and to increase our cooperative’s communication and transparency. I strive to preserve our local control; to foster positive relationships within the co-op’s board, with the management team, as well as with our member-owners and the communities in which we live.

Greg Weiss

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greg Weiss (Challenger - Town of Peru)

I was born and raised in the Lima area near Durand. Attended Holy Rosary (Lima) school for my first 9 years and finished the last 3 years and graduated from Durand high school in 1970. I pursued a career in the HVAC and L.P. gas industries.

Married my high school sweetheart Debbie in 1972 and together we adopted two sons David and Kyle.

David is married to Chersie Dock and together they have a son Dalton and a daughter Chloe and live near Eau Claire, WI. Dave is a master plumber and works for a local plumbing contractor in Altoona.

Kyle also lives and works in Eau Claire. He works for a local cooperative in Eau Claire as a regulator specialist.

I started a career in the HVAC industry in 1970; at that time it was Durand Cooperatives. While working full-time during the day I took night school classes to learn the HVAC trade. By 1977 I took over as the manager of the HVAC dept. and the L.P. gas department. In 1981 I also assumed the responsibility of the Dairy Equipment department. I bought into the home farm (Weiss Family Farms) with my two brothers in 1987 and worked full time during the day and farmed at night and on weekends until 1989. In 1989, due to health reasons, I retired from farming. I then returned to the HVAC field in 1989 in the fall for Mondovi Coop Equity where I managed the HVAC department for them until 1993. At that time, I took a job at Certified Inc as the manager of the HVAC Service and Plumbing departments. With the growth of both departments and the increasing workload, I passed the plumbing department to someone else. I worked as manager of the HVAC for Certified Inc until 2018 when I retired.

I have been a member of Knights of Columbus since 1983, became Grand Knight, and now serve as the financial secretary and have for over 10 years.

I think my record as a businessperson showed that I was efficient, and reliable and put the effort into the businesses that made the company and myself successful.  I worked and treated every job that I had as if I owned that business and that contributed to my success!

I feel confident that if I am elected as a director of Dunn Electric Cooperative, I can show that same work ethic.

Being around a cooperative and working for them for over 20 years, I understand how any Co-op works. I had to develop 5-year plans and do budget assessments as part of my job description and job title. I know and understand how any cooperative business works!

Since retirement, I have continued to have that same work ethic from donating my time to our local food pantry and now within the last year becoming the vice-president of the food pantry. I was instrumental in updating the old freezers with a new walk-in freezer and walk-in cooler under my direction.

Also since retirement, I have been instrumental in updating our church and school's heating systems. Replacement of the old asphalt roofing with a new steel roof for both buildings, a kitchen remodeling, and will be working on our next project in making a handicap-accessible bathroom in our church basement.

As you can see, I have and have never been the one who will shy away from what it takes to get anything done. I love a challenge and I am not afraid to get knee-deep in anything from being hands-on to working on a balance sheet for any business plan out there.

That is why I hope you will consider me as your next board of directors for DEC.