Thumb Electric Cooperative Board of Directors

People just like you serve on the Thumb Electric Cooperative Board of Directors. Your electric cooperative is a democratically-controlled business. It doesn’t have stockholders, so the Board isn’t made up of the people who own the most shares and are looking for big returns on their investment. Your cooperative is governed by local people with your best interest and the cooperative’s best interest at heart. And they are elected by you, the Member.

One of the basic qualifications for serving on the board is you have to receive electric service within the district up for election – so that means all directors are members. These people are also active, community leaders representing the needs of their local constituents. 

Thumb Electric Cooperative is governed by a board of nine directors elected from the membership at the annual meeting. TEC's bylaws require that 3 directors be elected to represent each county. At each annual meeting at least one director from each county is up for re-election. All nominations for Director shall be made by the filing of a nominating petition in the form prescribed by the Board.  The cooperative’s bylaws contain exact details about director qualifications and the nomination/election process.

Frequently Asked Questions

Board Meeting Dates - Thumb Electric Cooperative Board of Directors has regular monthly Board meetings at 6:30 p.m. on the third Tuesday for the months of April through October and at 6:00 p.m. in the other months.

How to run for the Cooperative Board - Any member who is in good standing and resides in a director district that is up for election shall have the right to request a Nominating Petition packet to run for the Board.  (Per Article III, Section 2 of TEC’s Bylaws, Nominating petitions shall be signed by not less than fifteen (15) members of the Cooperative in good standing from the County which the candidate seeks to represent.)  An executed nominating petition must be returned to Thumb Electric Cooperative’s Ubly Office no sooner than January 2 of each year, and no later than 4:00 p.m. the last business day each year in March.   The petition must also be accompanied by the signed and dated Board Candidate Certificate of Understanding.

 Failure to submit a petition which complies with the TEC Bylaws by the applicable deadline will result in the rejection of the petition and the omission of the candidate‘s name from the ballot.  All petitions will be reviewed for sufficiency after the deadline for submission has passed.  TEC will notify all candidates whether their petitions have been accepted or rejected not less than two (2) weeks after the submission deadline.

BYLAW Excerpt - Article III, Directors, Section 3. Nominations. Except as otherwise provided for herein, all nominations for directors shall be made by the filing of a nominating petition in the form prescribed by the Board. Petition forms shall be printed and available at the Cooperative’s main office, and copies shall be furnished to any member in good standing upon request. To be eligible for nomination, a candidate must meet the qualifications for the office of director as set forth in these Bylaws. Members requesting a petition form shall be provided with information describing those qualifications and other requirements of a director position.

Nominating petitions shall be signed by not less than fifteen (15) members of the Cooperative in good standing from the county which the candidate seeks to represent. No signature shall be obtained before January 1 of the calendar year in which the election is to take place. Signatures provided by joint members shall be deemed to be one signature. Nominating petitions shall be submitted at the Cooperative’s main office not later than 4:00 p.m. on the last business day of March immediately preceding the Annual Meeting at which such election is to take place.

The Secretary shall mail with the notice of the meeting a statement of the number of directors to be elected and the names and addresses of the candidates properly nominated. In the event that no qualified candidate has been nominated as provided herein, the incumbent Board at its first meeting or within sixty (60) days thereafter shall elect, by a majority vote, sufficient directors to fill any vacancies. Directors thus elected shall serve until the next Annual Meeting or until their successors have been elected. Notwithstanding anything in this section, failure to comply with any of the provisions of this section shall not affect in any manner whatsoever the validity of any election of directors.

How to vote in Cooperative Elections – Members served by the Cooperative, whether or not the member plans to attend TEC’s Annual Meeting, may cast a ballot.  Only one ballot may be cast per membership.  Members have the option to vote by mail-in ballot, by electronic ballot or in person at the June Annual Meeting.  During the Annual Meeting, the Election and Credentials Committee performs the final vote tally and the winners are announced.

BYLAW Excerpt - Article II, Meeting of Members, Section 5. Voting. Each member shall be entitled to one (1) vote, and no more, upon each matter submitted to a vote at a meeting of the members.  At all meetings of the members at which a quorum is present, all questions shall be decided by a vote of a majority of the members voting thereon in person, by mail-in ballot, by electronic ballot, or by other means as allowed by these BYLAWS and established by the Cooperative as approved ways to vote.  However, where more than two persons are being voted upon for a directorship, the election shall be decided by a plurality of those votes cast in that particular contest. A vote for a directorship shall also be decided by a vote of a majority of the members voting thereon in person, by mail-in ballot, by electronic ballot, or by other means as allowed by these BYlAWS and established by the Cooperative as approved ways to vote. As provided within these BYLAWS, if a husband and wife hold a joint membership, they shall be entitled to one vote, and no more, upon each matter submitted to a vote at a meeting of the members.