{"id":33576,"date":"2019-12-01T15:29:49","date_gmt":"2019-12-01T23:29:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.oreca.org\/?p=33576"},"modified":"2019-12-05T15:49:29","modified_gmt":"2019-12-05T23:49:29","slug":"a-wave-of-oregon-electric-leaders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oreca.org\/a-wave-of-oregon-electric-leaders\/","title":{"rendered":"A Wave of Oregon Electric Leaders"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORECA\u2019s 2019 annual meeting highlighted the importance of passing the RURAL Act, while honoring those who kept Americans free.<\/p>\n

\"New
New Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association President Bob Durham, left, thanks Ben Asquith of Dayton, Oregon, for his service on D-Day. Asquith was an honored guest at ORECA\u2019s annual meeting in November. Photos by Mike Teegarden<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association held its 77th annual meeting by exploring global energy issues, breaking down partisan barriers and honoring those who fought to defeat tyranny on D-Day 75 years ago.<\/p>\n

The meeting also focused attention on the Revitalizing Underdeveloped Rural Areas and Lands Act\u2014landmark legislation in Congress that would protect electric cooperatives from losing their tax-exempt status because of an unintended consequence of recent tax legislation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s imperative we let Sen. Ron Wyden know of the importance of this legislation to rural Oregon,\u201d said ORECA Executive Director Ted Case. \u201cNo one is better positioned to help us protect our tax-exempt status so we can help bring broadband to his constituents.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"State
State Reps. Shelly Boshart Davis, second from left, and Karin Power, far right, impressed co-op leaders with their affability despite sharp policy differences.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The annual meeting also included a legislative panel featuring two of the Oregon Legislature\u2019s brightest stars: Democratic Rep. Karin Power of Milwaukie and Republican Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis of Albany. The two legislators, who were at opposite ends of the bitter cap-and-trade debate in the 2019 legislative assembly, engaged in a constructive and upbeat discussion that impressed the 200 rural leaders in the crowd.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese legislators give me hope we can find common ground on the big issues,\u201d one participant noted.
\nCentral Electric Cooperative director Bev Clarno, who is also Oregon\u2019s secretary of state, concluded the morning session with an overview of the roles and responsibilities of her office.<\/p>\n

During the luncheon, ORECA celebrated the 75th anniversary of D-Day with Alex Kershaw, author of \u201cThe First Wave: The D-Day Warriors Who Led the Way to Victory in World War II.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Oregon
Oregon co-op leaders rallied behind passage of the RURAL Act\u2014 vital legislation to protect electric co-op\u2019s tax-exempt status.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kershaw recounted the harrowing assault on Omaha Beach and acknowledged the efforts of Ben Asquith of Dayton, Oregon. The 94-year-old Asquith attended the luncheon and was greeted with a standing ovation for his pre-dawn role in clearing obstacles at Omaha Beach.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Asquith was the first wave of the first wave,\u201d Kershaw said.<\/p>\n

During the afternoon session, Midstate Electric CEO Dave Schneider was presented with an award for his two-year stint as ORECA president.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been one of the highlights of my career,\u201d Schneider said.<\/p>\n

Three other electric co-op leaders\u2014longtime West Oregon Electric Cooperative Director Robert Van Natta, Umatilla Electric Cooperative Director Bryan Wolfe and Columbia Basin Electric Cooperative Manager Tommy Wolff\u2014were presented with ORECA\u2019s Distinguished Service Award, the association\u2019s highest honor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese three men have made an impact on electric co-ops far beyond Oregon,\u201d Case said.<\/p>\n

Honoring Outstanding Leaders<\/h2>\n

Scenes from the November Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association\u2019s annual meeting at the Salem Conference Center.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Case, left, presented Midstate Electric Cooperative CEO Dave Schneider with the ORECA President\u2019s Award for leading the board for two years. \u201cIt\u2019s been one of the highlights of my career,\u201d Schneider said.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Umatilla Electric Cooperative Director Bryan Wolfe was recognized with ORECA\u2019s Distinguished Service Award for representing Oregon at the national level with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Longtime West Oregon Electric Cooperative Director Robert VanNatta received ORECA\u2019s Distinguished Service Award. \u201cRobert VanNatta is one of a kind,\u201d said ORECA Executive Director Ted Case.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Columbia
Columbia Basin Electric Cooperative Manager Tommy Wolff, second from right, received ORECA\u2019s Distinguished Service Award for his role in promoting rural economic development and broadband in the Columbia Basin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ORECA\u2019s 2019 annual meeting highlighted the importance of passing the RURAL Act, while honoring those who kept Americans free. The Oregon Rural Electric Cooperative Association held its 77th annual meeting by exploring global energy issues, breaking down partisan barriers and honoring those who fought to defeat tyranny on D-Day 75 years ago. The meeting also […]\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":33577,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[232],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oreca.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33576"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oreca.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oreca.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreca.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreca.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreca.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33576\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreca.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oreca.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreca.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreca.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}