Board of Trustees

The responsibilities and qualifications of the East Central Oklahoma Electric Cooperative Board of Trustees are outlined in Article IV of the Cooperative Bylaws.

Trustees are elected to serve a 3 year term, with one trustee representing each of the Cooperative’s 7 districts.

From Article IV, Section 3, the qualifications to serve as a trustee are as follows:

SECTION 3. QUALIFICATIONS.

A. No person shall become or remain a Trustee of the Cooperative who:

i. has not been a member continuously for the previous five (5) years; or

ii. ceases to be a member of the Cooperative after election as a Trustee; or

iii. does not receive electric service from the Cooperative at the Trustee’s primary, permanent residence in the Trustee District from which the Trustee is elected or appointed; or

iv. is in any way employed or financially interested in any manner in an enterprise or a business competing with the Cooperative or its subsidiaries or which sells or provides services or supplies to the Cooperative or its subsidiaries; or

v. is the incumbent of or becomes a candidate for an elected public office which pays a salary or provides compensation in excess of $1000.00 per year; or

vi. has been convicted of a felony or who has pled guilty, no contest or nolo contendere to a felony, whether such plea results in a conviction or not; or

vii. is or becomes or was an employee of the Cooperative or of a subsidiary of the Cooperative or a labor union which represents or has endeavored to represent an employee of the Cooperative or its subsidiaries within the previous five (5) years; or

viii. is or becomes a “close relative” of another Trustee, or of a current employee of the Cooperative, or of a person who was an employee of the Cooperative within the previous five (5) years. A “close relative” is a person who is related to the Trustee, by consanguinity (blood) or affinity (marriage), to the third degree such as a spouse, child, grandchild, great grandchild, parent, grandparent, great grandparent, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, nephew, or niece by blood or marriage and also any person who resides with the Trustee.

B. No person shall be eligible to remain a Trustee of the Cooperative who:

i. does not meet or continue to meet the qualifications of Section 3 (A); or

ii. does not follow all Cooperative policies acting in good faith to represent the best interests of the Cooperative as a whole.

C. When a Trustee does not comply with the Trustee qualifications of this Section 3, the Board of Trustees shall have the responsibility and authority to remove such non-compliant Trustee by a majority vote of the other Trustees. The Trustee who allegedly does not comply with the Trustee qualifications may participate in the removal meeting but shall not vote on removal.

Members who meet the qualifications and are interested in running for the Board of Trustees can do so by following the nomination guidelines set out in Article IV, Section 4 of the Cooperative Bylaws. Election guidelines are outlined in Section 5.

SECTION 4. NOMINATIONS. Not less than Thirty-five (35) days, nor more than forty five (45) days before any meeting at which Trustees are to be elected, the Board of Trustees whose terms expire shall call a separate meeting of the members of their district at a suitable place in such district, or at the Cooperative Headquarters or other designated facilities, for the purpose of selecting a candidate or candidates for Trustee to represent the members located within such district. The notice of such meeting shall be delivered to each member located in such district by written or printed notice, stating the place, day and hour of the meeting. The notice shall state that nominations for Trustee are to be made at the meeting. The meeting shall, however, be open for discussion of any other matters pertaining to the business of the Cooperative, regardless of whether or not such matters were listed in the notice of the meeting, and recommendations with respect thereto may be submitted to the Board of Trustees or the entire membership. 

The District Meeting shall be called to order by the Trustee representing the district or by another designated representative of the Board of Trustees, or in his absence, by any member residing within the district, who shall be Chairman. The Chairman shall appoint a Secretary to act for the duration of the meeting. Members of other districts at the meeting may be heard, but shall have no vote. Nominations for candidates for Trustee shall be made from the floor at the meeting, and any member residing in the district shall have a right to nominate one candidate. The meeting shall remain open for nominations until no further nominations are forthcoming, at which time the Chairman shall declare the nominations closed. Candidates must be members residing in the district and must possess the qualifications for Trustee specified by these Bylaws. In the event there is not a quorum present, such meeting may be adjourned from time to time, until a quorum has been obtained.

Voting shall be by ballot. Each member may vote for one candidate. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared the official candidate of the district. The Minutes of such district meeting shall set forth among other matters; the name of the person nominated at the meeting and the number of votes received and shall name the official candidate of the district. A certified copy of the Minutes, signed by the Secretary and the Chairman of the district meeting, shall be delivered to the Secretary of the Cooperative within ten (10) days after such district meeting.

Any fifteen (15) or more members residing in such district acting together may make other nominations by petition not less than thirty (30) days prior to the annual meeting or special meeting of members at which Trustees are to be elected.

SECTION 5. Not less than ten (10) days before an annual or special meeting of the members at which Trustees are to be elected, the Secretary of the Cooperative shall be responsible for mailing to each member a list of the candidates selected at all district meetings, and also the nominations made by petition, if any. At the meeting, the Secretary of the Cooperative shall place in nomination the names of the candidates from the districts. Each member of the Cooperative present at the meeting shall be entitled to vote for one candidate from each district. The candidate from each district receiving the highest number of votes at this meeting shall be elected as Trustee at the annual meeting hereafter held. In the event that a quorum is not present and the election, because of such, cannot be held, then and in that event the Trustee holding office from that district shall automatically remain in office for an additional three-year term provided he/she otherwise qualifies.