OTEC to announce election results at 2023 Annual Meeting of Membership in May

Mar. 17—LA GRANDE — Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative will host its 2023 Annual Meeting of Membership on Saturday, May 6. This year the meeting will be held in La Grande.

Results of the board of directors election will be announced at the meeting, according to OTEC. Three positions are currently up for election, including position one for Union County.

All OTEC member-owners are invited to attend the annual meeting at no cost. Board President Wayne Overton and Chief Executive Officer Les Penning will present on the current state of the cooperative during the meeting. OTEC Member Foundation Board President Charlene Chase and Executive Director Lea Hoover will provide updates on the charitable foundation.

Union County up for grabs

Jeff Clark and Jeffry Zurbrick are both vying for Position 1 on the OTEC board. Zurbrick was nominated as a candidate by the Union County nominating committee in February. The committee consisted of Donna Beverage, Brock Eckstein and Mary West.

Zurbrick works at the Boise Cascade Plywood Mill in Elgin as a boiler operator, according to his candidate profile. He is a La Grande High School graduate and earned a degree in agri-business from Eastern Oregon University. Zurbrick served on the Pendleton Grain Growers Board of Directors with two terms as the Union County director and a partial term as an at-large director. He has also served as the Union County President of the Oregon Wheat Growers League.

"I am personally familiar with a large portion of the area served, having worked with Millers' Tree Service clearing trees from the power lines in Union, Baker, Grant and Harney counties for 10 years. I farmed for 25 years in Union County, and know the rewards and challenges faced by farmers and ranchers," he wrote.

In addition to Pendleton Grain Growers, he is also associated with Union County Grain Growers, Harvest States and Union County Co-op, according to his candidate profile.

Zurbrick believes that green energy policies and the effects on supply and demand will be an issue that the OTEC Board of Directors will need to address in the future, according to his candidate profile. He also sees cybersecurity as an important area of focus.

"I would like to do what I can to represent the membership and to help keep OTECC a vibrant and successful Cooperative venture. With my upcoming retirement, I will have the time necessary to devote to the position of board member," Zurbrick wrote.

Clark filed via petition, according to OTEC Communications Manager Joseph Hathaway. Clark is as a real estate agent at Blue Summit Realty Group, according to his candidate profile. He graduated from La Grande High School before attending Oregon State University. Clark is affiliated with the Northeast Oregon Board of Realtors and the Central Oregon Association of Realtors. He is also associated with the Liberty Theater Foundation, Eastern Oregon Film Festival and Solarize Union County.

"I have spent nearly 20 years working as a real estate broker in our region. I have developed a diverse network of connections, while gaining a complex understanding of negotiation and getting deals closed. I like to work on complex tasks and I love working with people of all backgrounds," Clark wrote.

Clark believes a major issue that the OTEC Board of Directors will need to deal with is the way new technology will change the way power is used and managed. For example, the pressure electric cars could put on the power grid as they become more commonly used.

"I come to the table ready to listen and learn from the experienced members on the board. They have served us for decades and I am ready to do the same. OTEC spends a lot of time and money educating its new board members. We need to maximize that investment with a new board member who can be in it for the long haul," Clark wrote.

Isabella Crowley is a reporter for The Observer. Contact her at 541-624-6014 or icrowley@lagrandeobserver.com.