Thompson, who represents High Plains Power in Riverton, Wyo., begins his 25th year leading the Tri-State board, having been elected to the position of chairman in 1984 and each year thereafter. He first began serving on Tri-State’s board in 1981 and has served on his local co-op's board since 1980.
Gordon begins his 12th term as vice chairman, representing Mountain View Electric of Limon, Colo. Gordon has served on that co-op's board since 1992 and was first seated on Tri-State's board in 1994.
Underwood begins his 16th full term as treasurer, having assumed those duties in February 1993. He represents Panhandle Rural Electric of Alliance, Neb., where he is both a past vice president (five years) and president (nine years) – having first joined that co-op’s board in 1984.
Child, who has been on the Tri-State board for 25 years, begins his 22nd year as assistant secretary. He is a past president of High West Energy of Pine Bluffs, Wyo., and has served on that board since 1973. Child is also Tri-State's representative on the board of directors of Basin Electric Power Cooperative in Bismarck, N.D., where he currently serves as president.
Casados, who begins his eighth year as assistant secretary, joined the Tri-State board in July 2000 after Plains Electric (Albuquerque, N.M.) merged with Tri-State. He represents Northern Rio Arriba Electric Cooperative of Chama, N.M. He was elected to the NORA board in 1982 and has served as president there since 1991.
Soehner represents Y-W Electric Association in Akron, Colo., and has served on the Tri-State board since 1991. He is assuming the secretary position from Jerry Lorenz, who has served in that role since October of 2004, but is scheduled to retire as an electric co-op director later this year.
The six officers, along with three at-large positions, make up the board's Executive Committee. Ed Hansen, representing Poudre Valley REA of Fort Collins, Colo., and Gary Merrifield from Sangre De Cristo Electric of Buena Vista, Colo., were re-elected to their at-large seats, along with Bill Bird from Otero County Electric based in Cloudcroft, N.M., who begins his first term on the executive committee.
The other 35 members of the Tri-State board (and the co-ops they represent) include:
Gene Aiello, San Isabel Electric, Pueblo West, Colo.
Robert Bledsoe, K.C. Electric, Hugo, Colo.
Leo Brekel, Highline Electric, Holyoke, Colo.
Don Campbell, Mountain Parks Electric, Granby, Colo.
Wayne Cobb, Northwest Rural Public Power, Hay Springs, Neb.
Wayne Connell, Central New Mexico Electric, Mountainair, N.M.
Lou Costello, Gunnison County Electric, Gunnison, Colo.
Jay Cox, Sierra Electric, Elephant Butte, N.M.
William Dalles, Carbon Power & Light, Saratoga, Wyo.
Jack Finnerty, Wheatland REA, Wheatland, Wyo.
Ralph Garcia, Jemez Mountains Electric, Espanola, N.M.
Robert Gillespie, Springer Electric, Springer, N.M.
Harry Goff, La Plata Electric, Durango, Colo.
Juan Gonzales, Socorro Electric, Socorro, N.M.
Ron Hagan, The Midwest Electric Cooperative, Grant, Neb.
Jack Hammond, Niobrara Electric, Lusk, Wyo.
Ralph Hilyard, Roosevelt Public Power District, Mitchell, Neb.
Nancy Hovde, Delta-Montrose Electric, Montrose, Colo.
Hal Keeler, Columbus Electric, Deming, N.M.
James Lawrence, Empire Electric, Cortez, Colo.
Jerry Lorenz, San Luis Valley Rural Electric, Monte Vista, Colo.
Charles Monk, Big Horn Rural Electric, Basin, Wyo.
*Stuart Morgan, Wheat Belt Public Power, Sidney, Neb.
Doug Pryce, United Power, Brighton, Colo.
Diego Quintana, Mora-San Miguel Electric, Mora, N.M.
*Gary Rinker, Southwestern Electric, Clayton, N.M.
Claudio Romero, Continental Divide Electric, Grants, N.M.
Brian Schlagel, Morgan County REA, Fort Morgan, Colo.
Charles Sloan, White River Electric, Meeker, Colo.
*Jerry Smith, Kit Carson Electric, Taos, N.M.
Kevin Stuart, Chimney Rock Public Power District, Bayard, Neb.
*Jerry Thompson, Garland Light & Power, Powell, Wyo.
Marcus Wilson, San Miguel Power, Nucla, Colo.
F.E. “Wally” Wolski, Wyrulec Co., Lingle, Wyo.
Bill Wright, Southeast Colorado Power, La Junta, Colo.
*Denotes directors beginning their first full term on the Tri-State board.
Based in the Denver suburb of Westminster, Tri-State is the wholesale power supplier to 44 electric cooperatives and public power districts in Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Nebraska. The member distribution systems serve more than 588,000 consumer-meters, which translates to a population of approximately 1.4 million end-use consumers.
Updated: April 3, 2008
