Drive-thru: Saturday, May 16
Online voting available: Monday, April 20, to Friday, May 15, at noon
Official Notice
The annual meeting of the members of North Western Electric Cooperative, Inc., (NWEC) will be held on Saturday, May 16, 2026, at the cooperative building, located at 04125 State Route 576 in Bryan, Ohio. This meeting will be held as a drive-thru-only meeting. The drive-thru will be open from 9 a.m. to noon on that day to allow members to deliver their completed paper ballots to be included in the election.
In connection with the election of three (3) trustees scheduled for this meeting, the Election Committee determined that the following candidates were eligible to be placed on the ballot:
District #4
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Chris Oberlin (incumbent), 14547 County Rd I, Bryan, OH 43506
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Dean Harrington, 15327 County Rd I, Bryan, OH 43506
No nominating petitions were received for the following district; therefore, the following incumbent will be considered elected by affirmation:
District #5
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Ryan Wehri (incumbent), 7894 Beerbower Rd, Edgerton, OH 43517
District #6
No nominating petitions were received for the District 6 open seat. Subject to the provisions of the Code of Regulations, a vacancy shall be filled by the affirmative vote of the remaining board members until a successor shall have qualified and shall have been elected.
2025 Annual Meeting Minutes
The official ballot will also contain the option to accept or reject the 2025 annual meeting minutes as presented. The annual meeting minutes from 2025 can be reviewed by clicking the dropdown below.
Members who do not wish to attend the drive-thru-only meeting on May 16, 2026, may cast their votes using the SmartHub app prior to that date.
Mitchel Headley, Secretary
2/26/26
WATCH YOUR MAILBOX FOR A SPECIAL ENVELOPE MARKED “ANNUAL MEETING DOCUMENTS ENCLOSED.”
Please do not mail your paper ballot to our office! Either vote online using your SmartHub account or drop off your paper ballot on May 16 between 9 a.m. and noon.
On the 2026 official ballot, members are asked to vote to accept or reject the minutes from the 2025 Annual Meeting, as presented below:
NORTH WESTERN ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC.
2025 Annual Meeting Minutes
(Drive-Thru Voting)
The 2025 Annual Meeting of the Members of North Western Electric Cooperative, Inc. (NWEC) was held at the cooperative building in Bryan, Ohio, on the 17th day of May 2025.
In accordance with the cooperative Code of Regulations, the Board of Trustees voted to conduct the meeting as a drive-thru and also to allow the members to vote online from April 21, 2025, through May 16, 2025, at noon.
Annual Meeting Packet
Each NWEC member was mailed an annual meeting packet on April 17, 2025. The parcel contained the following documents:
- Official Notice of Meeting, which included a member-specific bar code for registration.
- Official Ballot Form
- NWEC 2024 Annual Meeting Minutes
During the annual meeting, members could drive through the cooperative warehouse to register and drop off their paper ballots. Members who attended stayed in their vehicles.
Members were able to attend at any time during the hours of 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. A total of 248 people attended, comprising 187 members and 61 guests. Additionally, 454 members voted online prior to the meeting through the SmartHub app.
Call to Order
Kim Shoup called the meeting to order at 8:54 a.m.
Mike Trausch and Bruce Thomas, member representatives, were present to oversee the collection of ballots during the drive-thru meeting and count the votes following the meeting. District 7 candidate Larry Thomas was also in attendance.
Election
Trustee candidates:
- District 3
- No petitions were received. Incumbent Kim Shoup was re-elected by affirmation.
- District 7
- Richard Polter (incumbent)
- Larry Thomas
Election Results
Cooperative attorney Christopher Walker reported the results of the ballots received:
District 7 trustee election:
- Richard Polter (incumbent)
2024 annual meeting minutes:
- Accepted
Adjournment
Chairman Shoup adjourned the meeting at 12:34 p.m.