Members of Polk-Burnett Electric Cooperative re-elected three incumbent board directors this spring. L-R: Ed Gullickson of Amery representing District 3, Cindy Thorman of Osceola representing District 1 and Mike Morris of Luck representing District 2.

Polk-Burnett Electric Cooperative announced the results of its 2023 board election in districts 1, 2 and 3 at the co-op’s 85th Annual Meeting June 9. All three incumbent directors ran unopposed and were re-elected.

In District 1, director Cindy Thorman, Osceola, ran unopposed and was re-elected with 292 votes. District 1 includes parts of Osceola, Alden and Garfield townships, and Farmington and Somerset townships.

In District 2, Mike Morris, Luck, ran unopposed and was re-elected with 304. District 2 includes part of Osceola township, and St. Croix Falls, Eureka, Sterling, Laketown and Milltown townships.  

In District 3, Ed Gullickson, Amery, ran unopposed and was re-elected with 260 votes. District 3 includes part of Garfield and Alden townships, and Lincoln, Blackbrook, Clear Lake, Vance Creek, Star Prairie, Forest and New Haven townships.

The election was conducted by mail and online by an independent election contractor. Ballots mailed to members April 28 and the deadline to vote was May 30. Voter participation was 12.6%, with 723 paper ballots and 173 online ballots received from 7,101 eligible voters.

Thorman, Morris and Gullickson will serve three-year terms on the co-op board, beginning with the June 26 regular board meeting. Directors meet monthly to make policy and budget decisions. They are elected by members, and each represents a district in the co-op’s service territory. Overall, nine co-op directors serve on the Polk-Burnett Electric Cooperative board.

Other Polk-Burnett board directors are: Joe Metro, Balsam Lake, District 4; John Ukura, Luck, District 5; Wilfred Owens, Frederic, District 6; Jerry Okonek, Spooner, District 7; Chuck Brookshaw, Webster, District 8; and Tom Swenson, Webster, District 9.

"Polk-Burnett Electric Cooperative is owned and governed by the members we serve, and local board governance is one of the greatest advantages of our co-op business model,” said General Manager Steve Stroshane. “We thank all members who participated in our 2023 board election and annual meeting.”

Polk-Burnett is a not-for-profit, member-owned electric cooperative that provides reliable electricity with efficiency and extraordinary service to 21,000+ homes, farms and businesses. Members, employees and directors are celebrating 85 years of service this year, 1938-2023.

For more information about the co-op board, visit our board webpage or call 800-421-0283.