Table of contents - Corn Belt Energy€¦ · 2016 ANNUAL MEETING | ALWAYS COOPERATIVE Pursuant to...

CORN BELT ENERGY | 2016 OFFICIAL NOTICE | ANNUAL REPORT | PAGE 1

Table of contents3 Annual Meeting Agenda

6 Report to Co-op Members

9 Director Elections

13 Corn Belt Energy Board of Directors

14 Annual Meeting Minutes

16 Financials

18 Cooperative Information

20 Proposed Bylaw Amendments

24 Member Programs and Benefits

ALWAYS

COOPERATIVE2016 ANNUAL REPORT

2016 ANNUAL MEETING | ALWAYS COOPERATIVE

Pursuant to the provisions of the bylaws, official notice is hereby given that the annual meeting of the members of Corn Belt Energy Corporation will be held at Central Catholic High School, Bloomington, IL, at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, June 17, 2016, to take action on the following matters:

1. Call of the roll.

2. Reading of the notice of the meeting and proof of the due publication or mailing thereof, or the waiver(s) of notice of the meeting as the case may be.

3. Reading of unapproved minutes of the annual meeting of members held June 19, 2015, and taking of the necessary action thereof.

4. To elect five (5) directors: One from District 1 (Champaign, Ford and McLean counties); one from District 2 (Logan and Tazewell counties); one from District 3 (Livingston and Woodford counties); one from District 5 (DeWitt county); and one from District 9 (townships of Adams, Dayton, Earl, Fall River, Farm Ridge, Freedom, Grand Rapids, Ophir, Meriden, Miller, Mission, Northville, Ottawa, Rutland, Serena, South Ottawa, and Wallace in LaSalle County; and the township of Big Grove in Kendall County).

5. Presentation and consideration of, and acting upon, reports of officers, directors, employees and committees.

6. Unfinished business.

7. New business.

8. Adjournment.

Respectfully Submitted, Albert Hagenbuch, Secretary-Treasurer

Official Notice


Annual Meeting | Friday, June 17, 2016 | Central Catholic High School, Bloomington

11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Member Registration

11:00 a.m. - 2:15 p.m. Activities for Kids (gymnasium)

11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Lunch is Served (cafeteria)

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Live Line Demo (auditorium)

12:15 - 12:45 p.m. Workshops (classrooms) 1:00 - 1:30 p.m. Workshops (classrooms)

1:30 - 2:15 p.m. Live Line Demo (auditorium)

1:45 - 2:15 p.m. Workshops (classrooms)

2:30 - 4:00 p.m. Annual Meeting is Called to Order (auditorium) National Anthem - Grace Volker Pledge of Allegiance Invocation Business Meeting Roll Call - Rae F. Payne, Chairman Reading of Notice of Meeting and Proof of Mailing - Gary Barnhart, Attorney Grand Prize Winner Announced Minutes of 2015 Annual Meeting - Albert Hagenbuch, Secretary-Treasurer Introduction of Visitors - Don Taylor, President & CEO Introduction of Directors - Rae F. Payne, Chairman Election of Directors - Rae F. Payne, Chairman Report of Nominating Committee - Owen Arvin Appointment of Tellers - Gary Barnhart, Attorney Voting - Gary Barnhart, Attorney Financial Report - Albert Hagenbuch, Secretary-Treasurer Youth Leadership Council Representative - Joytsna Bitra Chairman’s Report - Rae F. Payne, Chairman Wabash Valley Power Association - Jay Bartlett, President & CEO President’s Report - Don Taylor, President & CEO Other Business Report of Election Results Adjournment

Map, RSVP postcard, and additional details can be found on the inside back cover. »

Schedule


Live Line DemoCorn Belt Energy is proud to be offering Live Line Demo. This safety presentation is structured to help educate our members on electrical safety.

Don’t miss the heat, sparks, arcs and explosions as you learn to react quickly and safely to emergencies involving electricity.

Live Line Demo shows will be in the auditorium at 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.

Convenient shoppingBack by popular demand, consultants representing many direct sale businesses will be on site with samples, prizes, and merchandise for cash & carry sales.

FREE gift for attendeesEach co-op household that registers by 2:00 p.m. will receive a 16 ounce ceramic coffee mug.

LunchJoin us for a complimentary lunch. In order to expand our serving time and spread out the crowd in the meal area, we will begin serving the lunch at 11:00 a.m. this year. The meal will be served until 2:00 p.m., so we encourage members to enjoy some of our other activities such as the Live Line Demo entertainment or the educational workshops that begin early and eat lunch a little later. Rest assured, we will have enough food for all who attend.

Be sure to RSVP for your meal by sending in the postcard in the back of this booklet.

Other activitiesJoin us outside for kettle corn, bucket truck rides and other activities.

Visit the gymnasium for a safety demonstration as well as many kids activities such as face painting, balloon artists, glitter tattoos, photo booth, bounce houses and much more.

Grand prize drawingAttend the business meeting at 2:30 p.m. for your chance to win a YETI Cooler (valued at $300)! YETI Coolers are built to be indestructable and keep ice for days.

You could also win one of several other door prizes, including credits toward your Corn Belt Energy account. Winner must be present to win.


Back by popular demand, Corn Belt Energy is offering sessions on a variety of educational topics. We encourage you to attend these workshops to learn about gardening, geothermal, health and wellness, fire safety, history, and much more.

Sessions include the following topics:

Keep It Off for Life (12:15 p.m.)

Learn how to be happy and healthy, how to develop life long thought patterns, beliefs and behaviors that will lead to lasting results, improved function, more energy and an overall state of wellness.

McLean County in the Civil War (12:15 p.m. and 1:45 p.m.)

Some 7,000 men from McLean County enlisted in the Union Army, and about 700 died during the four-year conflict. In this illustrated talk, learn about the county’s role in the Civil War, including its generals, colonels, and enlisted men; leading regiments, campaigns and battles; as well as what happened on the home front.

Geothermal: How It Can Work for You (12:15 p.m. and 1:45 p.m.)

Learn how the most efficient heating and cooling system can fit your home’s needs and how it has never been more affordable.

Workshops Proper Use of a Fire Extinguisher (12:15 p.m. and 1:45 p.m.)

Learn how to properly use a fire extinguisher, followed by “hands on” time to practice what you just learned.

Monarch Butterflies (12:15 p.m. and 1:45 p.m.)

Helpful information on learning how to save the endangered monarch butterfly. Their lifecycle, what they feed on and how you can help.

Not all bugs need drugs (1:00 p.m.)

Learn how to improve your posture to boost your immune system to keep you and your family healthy for life.

Artists of the Corn Belt (1:00 p.m.)

Lou Burk (1845-1914) and Alfred Montgomery (1857-1922) were two of the more important artists who made Bloomington home during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The careers of both men are inextricably linked with the Central Illinois cornbelt—Montgomery primarily painted ear corn and Burk livestock. The rise of folk art as a serious subject matter for scholars and collectors alike has boosted the reputations of both artists.

New Ways to Cut Your Electricity Bill (1:00 p.m.)

Before you receive your next utility bill, act today to reduce your home energy use. While major home improvements may be beyond your reach immediately, you can take simple steps to lower your energy bill.

Hazard House Simulator (1:00 p.m.)

The Hazard House Simulator is a three-dimensional, interactive, sight-and-sound driven model house designed to show all the potential dangers inside a typical residence, and how to fix them. The Hazard House features state of the art fire and smoke effects to demonstrate how smoke travels in stairways and from floor to floor while you sleep. You won’t want to miss this exciting, interactive, and educational program!

Barn Quilt Heritage Trail - McLean County (1:00 p.m.)

This class celebrates our county’s farming heritage and the talents of local quilters, artists and poets.

Weed Control: Using Mulch, it’s good for the Garden (1:00 p.m.)

Learn how to mulch in the spring and why it is good for your plants and how it saves time in the long run.

4-H Today-It’s Electrifying! (1:45 p.m.)

If you think 4-H is “Cows, Sows, and Plows,” then we need to plug you into what is happening! Today’s 4-H is deeply into technology, workforce development and as always, leadership development. Find out about new and exciting programs, how we’re strengthening proven projects and how your hobby might be a way to impact the lives of youth in the Corn Belt area!


To enhance the quality

of life of our members

and support the

communities we serve, by

cooperatively providing

reasonably priced energy

with exceptional service.

Our Mission

The Board of Directors and employees of Corn Belt Energy invite you to the cooperative’s 78th annual meeting on June 17 at Central Catholic High School. The school is located on the east side of Bloomington at 1201 Airport Road. We have hosted our annual meeting at this location for several years. We continue to be amazed by the hospitality of the school staff year after year.

Registration will begin at 11 a.m. and we will serve a catered lunch from 11 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. We encourage you to attend the many educational workshops, enjoy the children focused activities in the gym, visit the vendors inside and outside of the school and attend the Live Line Demo in the auditorium. The business meeting will begin promptly at 2:30 p.m. in the auditorium. There will also be a live feed in the dining area to provide additional seating and to aid families with small children or those who find this area more accommodating. Throughout the business meeting we will be drawing for prizes, and you could win the grand prize of a YETI cooler valued at $300. You can be present in the auditorium or the dining area in order to win. We will provide a variety of reports during the meeting to update you on your cooperative. Please RSVP for lunch and pre-register by mailing the pre-paid postcard attached to the back of this booklet.

ALWAYS COOPERATIVEThe theme to this year’s annual meeting is “Always Cooperative”. The heart of the cooperative is you, the members.

We’re proud that in 2015 we returned over $8 million in capital credits to members, the largest in our cooperative’s history. As a member owned cooperative,

Rae F. Payne Chairman of the Board

Don TaylorPresident & CEO


Report to Co-op Members

being financially responsible is something we owe to our members. While for-profit electric utilities strive for financial gains for their investors, our purpose is only to serve our members and to operate their cooperative responsibly and with financial prudence.

Corn Belt Energy is focused on serving our members while promoting overall energy efficiency and environmental stewardship. The GeoCents program is an example of this focus. Corn Belt Energy’s GeoCents program makes geothermal more affordable for our members while promoting energy efficiency and enhancing comfort at the member’s home.

Keeping electric costs affordable is important, but we know that affordability is only part of the total equation. We must also deliver reliable, dependable electricity. With this in mind, Corn Belt Energy continues our commitment to strengthen our distribution system and your board of directors have adopted a comprehensive work plan to uphold this commitment. The future holds in store some exciting things for Corn Belt Energy members. Included in our work plan are several projects that will increase capacity and reliability to our members. Some of those projects include line improvements along Airport Road in Bloomington, connection to a new transmission system in our northern service area, and construction of the Mackinaw substation. We continually evaluate areas throughout our service territory to improve reliability. Some of the ways we plan to achieve this includes duplicating feeds in problem areas to ensure redundancy and minimize outages as much as possible. Reliable power was recently challenged during winter storms. While weather related circumstances are outside of our control, our employees do whatever it takes to restore power as quickly and safely as possible to our cooperative members. We are thankful for a great group of employees that always keep strive to do the best for our members. We are also grateful for the assistance received from other cooperatives during extended outages.

In an effort to continue to equip our employees with the best tools, we have successfully implemented mobile workforce technology to our operations crews, enabling us to respond more effectively in outage situations.

Large call volume and bandwidth issues have led to phone system challenges and changed the way members

communicate with our cooperative. To address these issues, Corn Belt Energy has successfully implemented a new phone system extending availability after hours, providing call overflow and extending capacity while having a live person answer the phone. Likewise, these issues have led to an increase in social media activity and a substantial growth in Facebook and Twitter followers.

We are confident that our development in increasing capacity and reliability and technology upgrades has made a positive impact on our cooperative as a whole.

In 2015, Corn Belt Energy formed a Member Advisory Committee (MAC) that meets three times a year. The goal of the MAC is to discuss and introduce topics to better inform the membership. We enjoy working with this group and appreciate their willingness to serve.

This year will mark the end of one of our directors’ tenure. Robert Whitwood has served the cooperative for over 12 years. Robert will not be seeking re-election to the board this year. He has served the cooperative professionally and diligently and we appreciate his service. This board seat will be filled during this annual meeting.

The board is a dedicated and very capable group of people. I can fully attest to their dedication to the cooperative and sharp focus on the members of Corn Belt Energy.

The future also brings its share of challenges. There are several bills of legislation to be considered by the state and federal government. From clean air bills and clean water bills to renewable energy, some legislation will enhance the service you receive while other legislation can have negative impacts. Corn Belt Energy works in cooperation with national, regional and state entities to make certain our members’ best interest is a top priority.

I invite you to read through the remainder of this report and attend your cooperative’s annual meeting to learn more about what it means to be “Always Cooperative” as a part of Corn Belt Energy.


MEMBERSHIP Open to all without gender, social, racial, political,

or religious discrimination.

DEMOCRATIC MEMBER CONTROL One member, one vote.

MEMBER ECONOMIC PARTICIPATION Members contribute equitably to, and democratically control,

the capital of the cooperative. The economic benefits of a

cooperative operation are returned to the members, reinvested

in the co-op, or used to provide member services.

AUTONOMY AND INDEPENDENCE Cooperatives are autonomous, self-help organizations

controlled by their members.

EDUCATION, TRAINING AND INFORMATION Cooperatives provide education and training for members so

they can contribute effectively to the development of their

co-ops. They inform the general public about the nature and

benefits of cooperation.

COOPERATION AMONG COOPERATIVES Cooperatives serve their members most effectively and

strengthen the cooperative movement by working together

through local, regional, national and international structures.

CONCERN FOR THE COMMUNITY While focusing on member needs, cooperatives work for the

sustainable development of their communities through policies

accepted by their members.

THE SEVEN

COOPERATIVEPRINCIPLES


The Nominating Committee of Corn Belt Energy Corporation met on January 12, 2016, at the Cooperative’s headquarters, One Energy Way, Bloomington, IL 61705.

Present were the following Nominating Committee members previously nominated by the Board of Directors:

District 1 - Owen Arvin 96 County Rd 1830 E, Carlock, IL 61725

District 1 – Bart Bittner 19754 E 1300 North Road, Bloomington, IL 61705

District 2 - Arlis Springer 25349 Litwiller Road, Delavan, IL 61734

District 3 - Terry Longman 1478 County Road 2600 East, El Paso, IL 61738

District 4 - Scott Baum 7277 Sawmill Road, Clinton, IL 61747

District 5 - Gene Hoffman 12202 Middle Creek Rd., Clinton, IL 61727

District 6 - Kenneth West 244 Knox Road 2250 E., Victoria, IL 61485

District 7 – Charles Read 17243 1600 East Street, Princeton, IL 61356

District 8 - Alan Peters 3316 E. 3rd Rd., LaSalle, IL 61301

District 9 - Brad Johnson 1499 N. 2550th Road, Ottawa, IL 61350

Also present was President/CEO, Don Taylor, and Cooperative Attorneys, Gary E. Barnhart and Nicholas N. Tinsman.

Don Taylor addressed the group and updated the Nominating Committee on activities at the Cooperative.

[DON TAYLOR LEFT THE MEETING ROOM]

Barnhart called the meeting to order, acting as Temporary Chairman, and called for the nomination of Chairman and Secretary of the Nominating Committee. Owen Arvin was

elected to serve as Chairman and Brad Johnson was elected to serve as the Secretary.

Barnhart explained that the Directors seats that were up for election at the next Annual Meeting were:

District 1, Current Director Robert Whitwood, Jr. has determined not to seek re-election

District 2, Current Director Jesse Slager (replaced Director Ralph Steiger mid-term when Ralph retired from the Board)

District 3, Current Director Steve Schertz, who is the second longest serving Director an interested in running for re-election

District 5, Current Director Laverne Malone, who is interested in running for re-election

District 9, Current Director Rob Angus, who is interested in running for re-election

After much discussion, the following members were nominated:

Peter Borowski as the candidate for the office of Director from District 1.

Jesse Slager as the candidate for the office of Director from District 2.

Steve Schertz as the candidate for the office of Director from District 3.

Laverne Malone as the candidate for the office of Director from District 5.

Rob Angus as the candidate for the office of Director from District 9.

The Chairman called for further business. Hearing requests for none, he called for a motion to adjourn. A motion to adjourn was, thereafter, properly made, duly seconded and unanimously adopted by voice vote.

Respectfully submitted,

Brad Johnson, Secretary

Nominating Committee Report


District 1: Peter Borowski Pete and his wife, Debbie, reside in Bloomington. They have been married for over 44 years and have two children and two grandchildren all residing in the Bloomington/Normal area. Pete retired from Country Financial as the Vice President and Corporate Controller in 2012 after a 38 year career. Pete is a certified public accountant (CPA) and also holds several other insurance industry accreditations. Pete has served on numerous Boards of Directors for social and civic agencies within McLean County and currently serves as Treasurer on the Board of Directors for the Illinois Prairie Community Foundation. Pete is looking forward to serving the membership of the Corn Belt Energy Cooperative and providing his best efforts toward maintaining the co-op’s delivery of excellent electrical service.

Nominees for Board Vacancies

District 5: Laverne MaloneLaverne resides in Maroa and has one daughter, Michelle Schafer, who is an attorney in Marion, Illinois with two children. Laverne graduated from ISU with a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Biology and Agriculture and also has 34 hours of advanced study in Agronomy and Biological Science. Laverne is the retired Executive Vice President and CFO of ASI Risk Management and Agriserve Crop Insurance, which he co-founded in 1982. He taught school for 8 years and farmed for 24. Laverne has also worked as a crop-adjustor, and a school board member. He has served as a Maroa-Forsyth Community Bank Board for 33 years. He has been a member of Corn Belt Energy Corp. for 35 years. Serving on the CBEC board since the spring of 1998 has been challenging and interesting, and Laverne feels the importance of representing the area for the co-op.

District 9: Rob AngusRobert and his wife, Betty, reside in Ottawa. They have two children, Brad (Julie) of Ottawa and Jason (Audrey) of Piper City, and four grandsons. Rob was first elected to the Illinois Valley Electric Coop Board in August of 1993 and continues to serve on the Corn Belt Energy Board as well as the Corn Belt Energy Finance Committee. He is a retired grain and livestock farmer. The Angus family has been a Corn Belt Energy member for 45 years. Rob is the Corn Belt director of the Wabash Valley Power Association (WVPA) in Indianapolis, Indiana. He has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of WVPA and as the WVPA board representative to the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives. Rob has earned the NRECA’s Credentialed Coop Director certificate, the Board Leadership Certificate, and the Director Gold Certificate. Rob enjoys collecting John Deere farm toys and cruising to car shows in his 1966 Ford Fairlane. Rob looks forward to continuing to serve Corn Belt members to maintain reasonable rates and high quality service.

District 2: Jesse Slager Jesse Slager and his wife Linda have been married 45 years and have two children. They all live on the six generation family farm. Both daughter Beth and son Brian have built houses on the family property and live there with their families, including four grandchildren in all. Jessie is very active in his community serving on many boards for many years including the Orendorff Cemetery, the Boynton Mennonite Church, the Hopedale Betterment and the Triangle of Opportunity. He has also been a Hopedale Township Supervisor for 18 years. Jesse has served on the Corn Belt Energy board since 2015.

District 3: Steve SchertzSteve, and his wife, Diane live north of El Paso. They have been members of Corn Belt Energy for 41 years and Steve has been a Corn Belt Energy director since 1983. He has served on the Association of Illinois Electrical Cooperatives board and is a Credentialed Cooperative Director. Steve is a University of Illinois graduate in engineering, Steve farms with his son Darrin. They also have a daughter Kara of Piedmont, South Carolina. Steve has served on the El Paso school board, the Pioneer Farm Business Farm Management board, and is a member of the El Paso Kiwanis. Steve and Diane are active members of Eastview Christian Church.


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Logan

Tazewell

Woodford

StarkMarshall

Putnam

Livingston

Kendall

La SalleBureauHenry

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District MapCorn Belt Energy

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Each of Corn Belt Energy’s thirteen

directors are elected to serve

staggered three-year terms.

Director Elections

Corn Belt Energy District Map


Corn Belt Energy is guided by thirteen directors, who are also residential

members of the cooperative and elected to serve three-year terms.

Each director represents a specific district within Corn Belt Energy’s

service territory.

Your Board


DISTRICT 1 Representing Champaign, Ford and McLean Counties

Denise MayesBloomington

Rae F. PayneBloomington Chairman

Jan ReimerCarlock Asst. Sec.-Treasurer

Jerry StarkeyLe Roy

Robert Whitwood, Jr.Hudson

DISTRICT 2 Representing Logan and Tazewell Counties

Jesse SlagerHopedaleSeeking re-election

DISTRICT 3 Representing Livingston and Woodford Counties

Stephen SchertzEl PasoSeeking re-election

DISTRICT 4 Representing DeWitt County

Gary ArcheyClinton

DISTRICT 5 Representing Macon and Piatt Counties

Laverne MaloneMaroaSeeking re-election

DISTRICT 6 Representing the townships of Copley, Knox, Lynn, Persifer, Sparta, Truro, Victoria and Walnut Grove in Knox County and the townships of Andover, Cambridge, Clover, Galva, Munson and Weller in Henry County

Dennis FredricksonVictoria

DISTRICT 7 Representing the townships of Alba, Annawan, Burns, Cornwall, Kewanee, Wethersfield and Yorktown in Henry County; the townships of Elmira, Goshen, and Osceola in Stark County; and the townships of Arispie, Bureau, Concord, Fairfleld, Gold, Greenville, Indian Town, Macon, Manlius, Milo, Mineral, Neponset, Walnut, Wheatland and Wyanet in Bureau County

Charles MeisenheimerWalnutVice Chairman DISTRICT 8

Representing the townships of Berlin, Clarion, Dover, Hall, Leepertown, Princeton, Selby and Westerfield in Bureau County; the townships of Hennepin, Granville and Magnolia in Putnam County; the township of Roberts in Marshall County; and the townships of Deer Park, Dimmick, Mendota, Peru, Troy Grove, Utica and Waltham in LaSalle County

Albert HagenbuchUticaSecretary-Treasurer

DISTRICT 9 Representing the townships of Adams, Dayton, Earl, Fall River, Farm Ridge, Freedom, Grand Rapids, Ophir, Meriden, Miller, Mission, Northville, Ottawa, Rutland, Serena, South Ottawa, and Wallace in LaSalle County; and the township of Big Grove in Kendall County

Robert AngusOttawaSeeking re-election

Visit www.cornbeltenergy.com for detailed biographies on each director.»


The 77th Annual Meeting of the members of Corn Belt Energy Corporation was held at Central Catholic High School, Bloomington, Illinois, on June 19, 2015. Chairman Rae F. Payne called the meeting to order. Albert Hagenbuch, Secretary-Treasurer, acted as Secretary of the meeting.

Chairman Payne welcomed the members to the meeting and asked the audience to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, invocation and National Anthem. The Chairman led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. The invocation followed and was given by Board Member, Janice Reimer. The Chairman then called on Grace Volker and she gave an outstanding vocal rendition of the National Anthem which all enjoyed.

The Chairman then called on Cooperative Attorney, Gary Barnhart, who reviewed the Notice of Annual Meeting, the Annual Meeting booklet and the Certificate of Mailing. Barnhart reported that the Committee on Registration had registered substantially more than the 150 members who are required to be present for a quorum to exist for the Annual membership meeting. Barnhart also reported that proper notice of the meeting had been given to the membership and since a quorum was present, the meeting was lawfully called and open for the transaction of business in accordance with the By-Laws of the corporation. A list of the members in attendance is attached to these Minutes and made a part hereof as Exhibit “A”, and the proof of the mailing of the Notice of Annual Meeting to the active membership is also made a part hereof and incorporated herein by reference as Exhibit “B”.

The Chairman then introduced President/CEO Don Taylor who also welcomed the members to the 77th Annual Meeting of the membership of the Cooperative. Taylor then welcomed a number of guests in the crowd, including several officials from the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives, including Mike Henry, Dan Gerard, Connie Newenham, Brandon Riley and Christina Harper; Rural Electric Convenience Cooperative, including David Stuva, President and CEO, together with his wife, Robin, and Brandon Taylor; and Wabash Valley Power Association, including Jeremy Konkle, Cheryl Morton and Kim Flowers. Taylor noted that Congressman Rodney Davis had appeared during the luncheon and had greeted several of the Cooperative members. Taylor then introduced the Illinois House Assistant Minority Leader, Dan Brady, who was present in the meeting hall. Congressman and former Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, was introduced to the members as well.

Barnhart then called the membership’s attention to the Minutes from the 2014 Annual Meeting which were contained on Pages 10 and 11 of the Annual Meeting booklet and offered to read those Minutes prior to requesting approval from the membership. A motion was thereupon properly made and duly seconded to waive the reading of the Minutes of the 76th Annual Meeting of the Cooperative and accept the Minutes as printed on Pages 10 and 11 of the 2015 Official Notice and Annual Report. That motion passed by unanimous voice vote accepting the Minutes as printed in the Annual Meeting Booklet for placement of record as the official Minutes of the acts and doings of the 76th Annual Meeting of the membership.

The Chairman then introduced the existing Directors of the Cooperative and after their introduction, he called upon Owen Arvin, who served as Chairman of the 2015 Nominating Committee to give the Nominating Committee report. Arvin came forward and reported that the Nominating Committee met on January 21, 2015, and considered nominations for the office of Director from Districts 1, 4 and 7, and on behalf of the Nominating Committee, he placed in nomination for the office of Director for District 1 (Bloomington Township), Denise Mayes; for District 1 (Dry Grove Township), Janice Reimer; for District 4, Gary Archey; and for District 7, Charles Meisenheimer. The Chairman then called upon Gary Barnhart to handle the election of Directors.

Barnhart reminded the membership that the Cooperative’s By-Laws do not provide for nominations from the floor, but do provide for additional nominations by petition. He indicated that the Secretary of the Cooperative had reported that there were no petitions filed to nominate any persons to serve as Directors of the Cooperative. Accordingly, Barnhart asked for and received a second to the Nominating Committee’s nominations made by Owen Arvin as Chairman of the Nominating Committee. After receiving the second to the Nominating Committee’s nominations, Barnhart indicated that he would entertain a motion to elect the Directors nominated by the Nominating Committee by acclamation since there was no contest for any of those Directors’ seats. A motion was then properly made, duly seconded and unanimously adopted by voice vote to elect the following persons as Directors for the terms provided by the By-Laws:

District 1 (Bloomington Township) – Denise Mayes District 1 (Dry Grove Township) – Janice Reimer District 4 – Gary Archey District 7 – Charles Meisenheimer

The Chairman then declared that the above Directors were duly elected.

The Chairman then called on Albert Hagenbuch, Secretary-Treasurer of the Cooperative, who presented the Treasurer’s Financial Report. Hagenbuch called the membership’s attention to the Financial Data contained on Page 12 of the Annual Meeting booklet previously mailed to each of the members and, in particular, the Statement of Revenue and Expenses. Revenues from the sales of electric energy increased by right at 2%, or approximately $1.6 million. These sales figures reflected a 0.7% increase in kWh volume. This was the second year in a row that

the Cooperative had seen positive growth in sales volumes after several years of sales declines. The increases in kilowatt hour sales volumes came despite a much milder summer. The very mild summer of 2014 was followed by a frigid, cold winter, but the net effect was still a decrease in sales volume because kilowatt hour sales are heavily influenced by summer heat. Hagenbuch reported it was encouraging to see that despite fewer weather-related sales, volumes were up again in 2014. The number of member accounts grew by 207 accounts. Therefore, Hagenbuch concluded that was a sign that the local economy was improving slowly.

The cost of purchased power increased by about 5%, or $2.6 million. This increase reflected the increase in sales volumes which cause more kilowatt hours to be purchased and, therefore, increased the cost, as well as increases in natural gas costs, especially early in the year coupled with some price increases in wholesale power from Wabash Valley Power Association, which is the Cooperative’s electric provider. Also, cost of capacity increased. The capacity charge is an amount that is paid to always have electrical energy available.

Operating and Maintenance expenses showed an increase of 13.6%, just over $1 million. A significant factor there, other than weather, was the completion of tree trimming contracts that were scheduled for completion in 2013, but did not get completed until 2014. If the O&M expenses were adjusted to reflect the proper timing of the payment for the tree trimming expenses, O&M expenses would have remained flat from 2013 to 2014.

Interest expense remained low on the long-term debt after a dramatic drop that occurred in 2013. Interest expense only increased by 1/10 of 1%, or $6,000 in 2014. The Board and staff have done an outstanding job of locking in historically low interest rates, which have greatly decreased the interest costs to the Cooperative. Not only did the Board’s actions to decrease interest expense help decrease expense in 2014, but by locking in some of the rates long-term, there will be significantly reduced interest expense for many years to come. In total, over $19 million in long-term debt has been locked in with fixed interest rates for the remaining terms of these loans. These rates are, on average, 2% lower than they had been in the past and when fully in place, they will save the Cooperative as much as $300,000 a year in interest expense.

Total Utility Plant increased by $2.5 million from 2013 to 2014, about a 1.2% increase. Total Utility Plant is the investment in the entire electric system owned by the Cooperative. The growth in the size of the Utility Plant was low compared to 2013, which was an aggressive year with $6.8 million in growth in Utility Plant investment, primarily because of the construction of a new substation.

Materials and Supplies decreased by $1.1 million, roughly a 5.1% decrease from 2013 to 2014. The decrease in 2014 follows a similar drop in 2013. These drops are the result of continued improvements to handling of inventory by the strategic use of “just in time” inventory and the efficient use of materials.

Long-term debt decreased by over $5.2 million from 2013 to 2014. By lowering the debt, even while the Total Utility Plant and other parts of the total asset base have grown, Corn Belt has been able to significantly raise the equity level for each of the members. At the end of 2014, the Cooperative’s equity, as a percentage of assets, rose to 44.4%, its highest level in recent history. Having a strong equity position is significant because it is a key piece of financial information that lenders want to know. A strong financial position is what results in the lowest interest rates possible on long-term debt. Hagenbuch then presented a slide showing the increase in equity over roughly the past 15 years from a low of 20% in 2001 to the 44.4% at the end of 2014.

Finally, Hagenbuch noted that the Board of Directors has a Finance Committee of eight Directors which meets each month on the night prior to a Board meeting and reviews financial data in great detail, especially including a review of Director and employee expenses, as well as all checks written. That Committee then makes a recommendation to the full Board on any action needed as it pertains to financial issues at the Cooperative. The full Board also reviews a summary of the monthly financial data and, annually, the Cooperative’s books and records are audited. When the audit is complete, the auditor meets with the Board and staff to give his report. The figures that were presented for 2014 are complete, audited figures. The auditor also meets privately with the Board without any staff present in case there any problems. Corn Belt received a “clean audit” from the auditors indicating that the Cooperative’s books and records truly and accurately portray the financial condition of the Cooperative.

Chairman Payne then gave his report detailing some of the major events that had occurred during the year. He noted that environmental issues are front and center in the cooperative world. Some of the new proposals by the EPA will surely result in dramatic increases in the cost of electrical energy. Corn Belt Energy’s Board of Directors, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (“NRECA”), Wabash Valley Power Association (“WVPA”), and the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives (“AIEC”) continue to support a common sense approach to these recurring EPA issues. These initiatives will continue to remain a priority for the electric industry. Also, these same organizations are deeply involved in such issues is a portion of the Clean Waters Act which involves the waters of the United States. The definition of the “waters of the US” has been greatly expanded and it now has a significant impact on planning, citing and permitting energy and utility projects.

There is a concern about all of these efforts at both the State and the Federal level because NREA, a global consultant firm, predicts that residential electricity prices under these new programs would rise by 13% and residential electricity bills by 8%.

2015 Annual Meeting Minutes


The NRECA and all of its constituent members believe in protecting and enhancing air quality, but the question is the pace at which these goals are reached. The NRECA and the AIEC stay fully conversant with the ongoing legislation which could drastically affect Corn Belt members, and that is one of the top priorities for each of these associations.

The Directors at Corn Belt are keenly aware of these issues as well. The past year, the Board of Directors elected to hold a two-day strategic planning session to help navigate the Cooperative’s future path. Not only the pressing environmental issues out there, but the Cooperative must be identify and deal with current trends, strengths, weaknesses and opportunities that it faces. The Cooperative’s Board of Directors spend countless hours doing just that. As well, the Directors attend Continuing Education classes to keep the Directors abreast of all of these important issues as well as educating and re-educating the Directors on their duties and obligations as a Director of the Cooperative. The Directors do not take their positions lightly.

The Chairman then noted that James Adams is retiring from the Board, having served as a Director for the past 12 years in McClean County District 1, and Ralph Steiger, a 30-year veteran of the Board, serving Tazewell County District 2, is also retiring. James Adams did not attend the meeting, but Ralph Steiger did and the Chairman asked him to stand and be recognized. Ralph has seen 30 years of changes, economic crises, war, the introduction of the digital age, and even to going paperless in the Board meetings. Ralph has served the Cooperative with grace, humility and a wonderful spirit and his sense of corporate history, professional wisdom and personal warmth will be sorely missed by the Board.

The theme of this year’s annual meeting, “People, Power & Progress,” focuses on the beginning point, which is the people. Having the right people in place allows Corn Belt’s goals and objectives to be met. It is people like James Adams and Ralph Steiger, along with all of the Cooperative staff that make Corn Belt outstanding. The Board and the Membership sent James and Ralph off with thanks and best wishes for the next chapter of their lives. The Chairman then took a moment to personally thank all of the hard working and dedicated Board members who continue to serve the Cooperative.

The Chairman then noted that financial management and stability have been important cornerstones of the way Corn Belt Energy conducts business. The financial report just given by Secretary-Treasurer Albert Hagenbuch proves that sound financial management never goes out of the style. The Board conducts monthly financial meetings, both through the Finance Committee, and as a committee of the whole to keep its fingers on the pulse of big and small expenditures. That allows Corn Belt to maintain a strong equity position, meet its debt obligations, meet employee obligations, meet the obligations to the membership, and do the Capital Credit retirements that the Cooperative has done over the years. Capital Credits are periodically returned to the membership as the financial condition of the Cooperative allows. When Capital Credits are returned to the membership, they are returned in two groups – the longest-standing members and the newest members of the Cooperative. This allows both groups to experience the benefits of being a member-owned electric Cooperative.

The Chairman then announced that in 2015, Corn Belt Energy will refund $8,000,000 in Capital Credits to the members. Including this 2015 retirement, nearly $30,000,000 has been returned to Corn Belt Energy members over the years. The Chairman indicated that the Capital Credit checks should be hitting the mailboxes starting in August. He encouraged the membership that if they have any questions, to call the Cooperative or stop by the office.

The Chairman then indicated that Corn Belt is poised for the future. Chairman credited Don Taylor, Corn Belt Energy’s President and CEO, as being largely responsible for Corn Belt being in that position. Taylor’s leadership, together with a deep commitment by the Board of Directors to maintain Corn Belt’s financial stability, emphasize Corn Belt’s purpose which is to serve the membership with the highest level of professionalism and care.

President/CEO Don Taylor then addressed the membership. He thanked all of the participants in the Annual Meeting and indicated that the theme of “People, Power & Progress” was very apropos to Corn Belt Energy. Starting with the “Power” part of that theme, he noted that there were 34,705 mW of power generation facilities which were as a result of the EPA regulations. That is nearly 10% of coal energy capacity. He presented a slide which showed these closures noting that it was obvious that the less available electric energy there is, the higher the price will be. There are significant challenges out there as a result of environmental legislation. He encouraged the members to take part in Action.coop where they can make a difference.

Turning to the “Progress” part of the theme, he showed several photographs of the 3.2 mW landfill gas energy plant at Clinton, Illinois, that has been purchased by WVPA and he showed the remodeled portions of that facility. This type of renewable energy is a great local project and is an example of how Corn Belt and WVPA are involved in renewable energy projects that are helpful to the environment.

He then turned to a review of a number of new Cooperative members that are important to the growth of the Cooperative, including the Illinois Cancer Center; Pinnacle Actuarial Services; Gold’s Gym-Express; Prairie State Bank & Trust Company; Residence Inn Hotel; the new construction on the Center for Integrated Wellness which had just broken ground; Silverleaf Resort near Sheridan, Illinois;

Hornbaker Gardens Wedding Hall near Princeton, Illinois; and Corn Belt’s largest member, Patriot Renewable Fuels which was completing its bio-diesel plant addition. Additionally, as a result of some improvements in the economy, new homes were under construction. As well, Corn Belt Energy continues to maintain and improve its electric distribution system. The three-year construction work plan includes projects at the Lexington Substation, Tiskilwa, Hopedale and a new substation to be constructed near Mackinaw to provide transmission redundancy.

Also, the Smart Hub application is available to Corn Belt members to check their bills, check their usage, and check on outages by use of the Internet or mobile phones. Corn Belt has also introduced pre-paid metering and, in its natural gas operation, is providing incentives for members to sign up for natural gas service through Corn Belt Energy. Surge protection is available without installation fees, and a geothermal rebate of up to $1,500 is also available.

Taylor then noted that there has been excellent stewardship by the Board and the equity in the Cooperative has more than doubled in roughly the past 12 years. This brings financial stability to Corn Belt and, as well, reduces Corn Belt’s borrowing costs.

Turning to the people that make Corn Belt strong, Taylor noted that the Board has created a Member Advisory Committee. Members who are willing to participate will be involved in meetings three to four times a year where programs and projects will be communicated to the membership together with an update on industry trends. Corn Belt has continued its concern for the community through education grants. The first Jeff Reeves Memorial Education Grant was made to the Leroy Elementary School. The grant will be used to start a school radio station.

James Adams and Ralph Steiger, retiring members of the Corn Belt Board, are also among those people who have made Corn Belt strong. They and the remainder of the Board continue to impress Taylor with their dedication and commitment, and their professional and strategic approach to Corn Belt’s business.

Of course, one of the very most important group of people that make Corn Belt strong are its employees. Taylor indicated he is very proud to be a part of the Corn Belt employees and the employees are working diligently to become more efficient; work more safely; solve member problems; grow the system; and consider expansion into new areas of endeavor. Taylor showed an extremely snowy picture from the back of a Corn Belt truck. There was an outage in the Northern Region on the worst day of the year . . . Super Bowl Sunday. There was rain, ice, a blizzard, and in the Northern and Central Region, there were 1,400 members out of service for about 48 hours. The Corn Belt crews worked diligently to get service reinstated for the membership as quickly as was humanly possible braving some very difficult conditions.

Corn Belt is also adding new programs, utilizing new devices and has implemented a new call center which will provide members with more assistance for after hour calls. Most of the calls will be answered by an operator instead of an automated system, except in those times when there is a significant emergency and automated responses must be used. The Board and the staff are very excited about this enhanced service, which will begin soon and should serve the membership better.

Corn Belt’s concern for community is not limited solely to Central Illinois. Corn Belt sent two of its journeymen linemen, Todd Moore and Adam Brendsel, to Haiti to assist with the construction of electric lines in that country. Taylor called Adam Brendsel to the stage and he discussed his inspiration for volunteering to go to Haiti. Taylor noted that Brendsel has three small children, and they and his wife made daily sacrifices while he was away.

Taylor then introduced the entire Corn Belt team and the Corn Belt employees entered the auditorium. He complimented the team and the employees were given a round of vigorous applause from the membership. Taylor concluded that Corn Belt has a superb team who is ready to serve the Corn Belt Energy membership and that Corn Belt will utilize its power, politically and otherwise, from Washington, D.C., to Springfield, Illinois, to keep power flowing to the membership at as reasonable cost as possible. Also, he pledged that Corn Belt will continue with progress with upgrades to minimize outages and increase service reliability. He noted that people, power and progress is what Corn Belt Energy is all about.

Finally, Taylor noted that membership should utilize some of the new media contacts that are available with Corn Belt Energy’s office. Also, because a number of members are now using cell phones as opposed to land line phones, he encouraged the membership to contact the office and update their phone number information in case it is necessary to contact the members.

The Chairman then called for any further business to be brought before the meeting of the membership. Hearing requests for none, he declared the meeting adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

Albert Hagenbuch, Secretary/Treasurer


Your not-for-profit

cooperative aims to

keep power costs

stable over the

long-term.

2015 Financials

Revenues 2015 2014 2013

Sales of Electric Energy $78,499,657 $80,035,561 $78,469,570

Other Electric Revenues $247,663 $233,601 $198,070

Other non-electric Revenues $1,613,759 $2,660,597 $1,773,810

Total Revenues $80,361,080 $82,929,760 $80,441,451

Expenses

Cost of Purchased Power $51,765,195 $54,502,983 $51,910,805

Operating Expenses $2,825,330 $2,823,551 $2,999,184

Maintenance Expense $5,412,088 $5,951,790 $4,722,231

Billing, Accounting,& Member Service $6,177,517 $6,018,356 $5,977,968

Depreciation Expense $5,524,019 $5,048,108 $5,034,168

Tax Expense $3,178 ($3,240) $171

Interest Expense on Long-Term Debt $4,416,410 $4,651,100 $4,645,047

Other Interest and Deductions ($45,363) ($62,132) ($51,526)

Total Expense $76,078,375 $78,930,518 $75,238,050

Operating Margins $4,282,705 $3,999,242 $5,203,401

Interest on Investments $97,216 $93,030 $97,109

Other Non-Operating Margins (Loss) $244,690 $733,373 $676,351

CFC and Other Patronage Capital $2,379,676 $2,308,773 $2,414,164

Extraordinary Loss Allowance $0 $0 $0

Total Margins $7,004,287 $7,134,417 $8,391,024

Member's Patronage Capital Beginning of Year $87,854,233 $81,121,074 $80,518,823

Capital Credits to be Allocated for this year $7,004,287 $7,134,417 $8,391,024

Retirement of Capital Credits ($8,219,270) ($401,258) ($7,788,773)

Member's Patronage Capital End of Year $86,639,251 $87,854,233 $81,121,074

Statement of Revenue & ExpensesFor the year ending December 31, 2015


Assets 2015 2014 2013

Total Utility Plant $217,949,810 $212,666,679 $210,148,613

Accumulated Depreciation ($59,823,129) ($56,679,658) ($57,151,935)

Net Utility Plant $158,126,681 $155,987,021 $152,996,677

Investment in Associated Organizations $24,624,798 $23,543,359 $21,892,278

Other Investments $56,114 $160,074 $556,559

Temporary Investments $1,072,702 $3,301,260 $287,916

Accounts Receivable $8,543,722 $11,296,153 $9,867,845

Materials and Supplies $1,735,123 $1,791,446 $1,888,377

Prepaid Expenses $598,827 $920,745 $791,375

Other Receivables & Current Assets $22,245 $21,696 $22,324

Deferred Debits $6,773,456 $7,807,308 $9,750,258

Total Assets $201,553,667 $204,829,062 $198,053,610

Member's Equity and Liabilities

Member's Patronage Capital $86,639,251 $87,854,233 $81,121,074

Other Equities $4,479,753 $3,139,597 $2,953,460

Total Member's Equity $91,119,004 $90,993,830 $84,074,534

Long-Term Debt NRUCFC & COBANK $95,184,784 $92,347,352 $97,597,227

Accum. Prov. for Post-Retirement Benefits $5,825,201 $5,519,622 $5,479,863

Notes Payable $0 $4,223,790 $579,038

Accounts Payable $5,152,785 $5,613,687 $5,791,729

Consumer Deposits $896,948 $886,040 $884,707

Other Current & Accrued Liabilities $1,604,039 $1,430,045 $1,326,512

Deferred Credits $1,770,906 $3,814,697 $2,319,999

Total Members Equity & Liabilities $201,553,667 $204,829,062 $198,053,610

Balance SheetMembers’ Financial Report as of December 31, 2015


2015 2014 2013

Miles of line 5,365 5,363 5,352

Member accounts 35,515 35,285 35,078

Members per mile of line 6.62 6.58 6.55

Kwh purchased 663,116,998 678,336,633 674,251,200

Kwh sold & used 638,775,386 653,629,709 649,041,865

Percent Loss 3.67% 3.64% 3.74%

Full-time employees 85 82 81

Central Region

Avg. monthly kwh used per residential member

967 1,002 1,007

Avg. monthly bill per residential member

$124.81 $128.50 $127.59

Avg. cost per kwh per residential member

$0.1291 $0.1282 $0.1267

North Region

Avg. monthly kwh used per residential member

932 1,008 989

Avg. monthly bill per residential member

$145.18 $152.67 $150.33

Avg. cost per kwh per residential member

$0.1558 $0.1514 $0.1520

Cooperative Facts & Figures

Corn Belt Energy

has 5,365 miles

of line and 89,810

poles in our service

territory.


Corn Belt Energy EmployeesExecutive Administration

Don Taylor, President & CEO Diana Thomlinson, Executive Assistant

Department of Utility ServicesMichael Volker, Vice President

Accounting & Finance Lynn Oleson, Director

Susan Bohm, Plant AccountantNicki Gwin, Payroll AccountantDenise Adkins, AP Accountant Teri Pape, AP Accountant

Communications Hillary Cherry, Director

Information Technology Joe Priestley, Manager

Construction & Maintenance Northern Region Mike Nelson, Northern Region Manager

Steve Cimei, Area Serviceman Michael DeRubeis, Apprentice Lineman Kris Doyle, Apprentice Lineman Gary Glover, Journeyman Lineman Gerry Henning, Substation Foreman Adam Knudsen, Journeyman Lineman Joe Law, Journeyman Lineman Jamie Lind, Construction Foreman Linda Lorenzen, Administrative Clerk Tom Neahring, Mechanic David Ponsetti, Construction Foreman Rod Rolando, Area Serviceman Steve Sanders, Area Serviceman Randy Skaggs, Senior Storehouseman

Department of Electric DistributionSteve Hancock, Vice President

Construction & Maintenance Central Region

Ryan D. Campbell, ManagerScott Farmer, Operations Supervisor

Tim Baker, Area ServicemanMitch Behrends, Apprentice LinemanShane Bollhorst, Area ServicemanAdam Brendsel, Underground ForemanPatrick Carr, StorehousemanJason Carter, Dispatcher/SchedulerMike Conway, Area ServicemanBrandon Curtis, Apprentice LinemanJerry Daugherty, Substation ForemanNorm Dunlop, Area ServicemanBrian Felker, Construction ForemanRobert Fisher, Journeyman Lineman Russ Hartrup, Journeyman LinemanScott Hays, Underground ForemanJohn Lee, Construction Foreman Tim Merrill, Mechanic Jason Moore, Journeyman LinemanTodd Moore, Journeyman LinemanTammy Rever, Operations AssistantBret Richards, Journeyman LinemanLinda Rosenthal, Purchasing & Operations CoordinatorSteve Rosenthal, Construction ForemanJack Ross, Apprentice LinemanMark Schaley, Area ServicemanAdam Shenaut, Apprentice LinemanDennis Stremming, Meter & Serviceman JourneymanSteve Streitmatter, Underground Foreman Jeannie Wilson, Sr. Storehousewoman

Energy Services

Mark Shoemaker, Energy Services Coordinator

Engineering CentralRyan C. Campbell, ManagerRon Hopkins, Special Projects Engineer Alan Meissner, Planning Engineer

Jason Cotner, Field EngineerJill Dirr, Field EngineerTerri Fowler, Field EngineerJay Ivers, Engineering Clerk

Engineering North Ian Cardosi, Manager of Engineering & Power Use Zack Ahlgren, Field Engineer Barry Burkman, Engineering Technician

Corn Belt Energy employees work hard to provide reliable, affordable power

to almost 36,000 households and businesses throughout 18 Illinois counties.

Human Resources Kacy Wickenhauser, Director

Member AccountsPam Carr, Sr. Member Accounts RepresentativeChantel Eddins, Member Accounts RepresentativeLisa Gaddis, Member Accounts RepresentativeMegan Keiser, Member Accounts ClerkAmy Lane, Credit/Collections SpecialistSandy Myers, Member Accounts RepresentativeJennifer Prill, Member Accounts RepresentativeJane Stegall, Billing Systems Specialist

Member ServicesJustin Stuva, Marketing & Member Services Coordinator

Safety, Forestry & Custodial ServicesDaren Deverman, Safety & Forestry Manager Adam Dilbeck, Custodian/Repairman

Frank Kinnison, Forestry ForemanSteve Toliver, Journeyman ForestrymanAdam Horn, Utility Helper (Forestry)


The Board of Directors of Corn Belt Energy Corporation adopted a Resolution to propose to the Membership an amendment to Article III, Sections 1(a), (c), (d), (l) and (n) with the proposed amendments shown as follows:

ARTICLE III

Directors

....................

Section 2:

(a) To attempt to ensure proportional representation based on area and population: Five Directors shall be elected from District 1; and One Director in each District from Districts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. No more than one Director in District 1 may reside in the same Township. A “Township,” for this purpose, shall be the official U.S. Government Survey Township and any and all Municipal Townships shall be disregarded.

………………..

(c) All Directors must continuously meet the qualifications to become or remain a Director. If at any time during a Director’s term, he or she should move his or her residence outside of the District from which he or she was elected, said move shall be considered as a resignation. If he or she should move his or her residence within the same District he or she may continue to serve as a Director unless there is another Director residing in the same Township into which that Director moved, in which case said move shall be considered as a resignation.

(d) No person shall be eligible to become or remain a Director of the Cooperative:

(1) Who is not a Member of the Cooperative; or

(2) Whose principal place of residence does not receive electric distribution service from the Cooperative; or

(3) Whose election or continued service on the Board violates any of the requirements concerning a single Director per Township as set forth in Article III, Section 2(c) above; or

(4) Who is an employee, former employee or close relative of an employee, or former employee who is or was financially interested, in any business, firm or corporation that sells any form of energy, directly or indirectly to the Cooperative or others; or

(5) Who is an employee, former employee or close relative of an employee or former employee of any Corporation that does business with the Cooperative; or

(6) Who is an employee, former employee, or close relative of an employee or former employee of the Cooperative.

(e) “Close relative”, for the purpose of this Article III is intended to include spouse, all children, a spouse of any children, parents, brothers, sisters, uncles and aunts.

(f) When a Membership is held jointly by a husband and wife or by two persons who are not husband and wife, who otherwise meet the qualifications to become a Director, either one but not both of such joint Members may be elected a Director.

………………..

Section 3:

(l) Except as hereinafter provided for District 1, where there are two or more candidates for any office, the ballots shall be counted separately and the nominee receiving the highest number of votes for each office shall be elected to said office.

(m) With regard to election of Directors from District 1, where multiple Directors are to be elected, the Directors receiving the highest number of votes for each office shall be elected to said office, except, where more than one Director from the same Township is a candidate for the office of Director. In that event, the candidates receiving the highest number of votes, who do not reside in the same Township shall be elected to the office of Director from District 1.

(n) Notwithstanding anything in this Article to the contrary, each Member so elected shall be considered a de facto Director until a successor shall be elected and any act of the Board of Directors in which a de facto Director shall participate shall nevertheless be valid and remain in full force and effect until rescinded by a majority vote of the Board of Directors.The Board of Directors has always been concerned about preserving not only proportional representation based upon population, but also geographic representation on the Board of your Cooperative. Therefore, Article III, Section 1(a) provided for five Directors to be elected from District 1, which is the only Director District that has multiple Directors. The purpose of that provision was to ensure adequate representation on the Board of Directors due to the large number of members that live in McLean County, in general, and in Bloomington Township, Normal Township, Towanda Township and Old Town Township and those other surrounding Townships.

However, another problem that the Board has always faced is having a concentration of Directors in, perhaps, one Township. It would have been theoretically possible for all five Directors from District 1 to live in one Township which is a result the Board wanted to avoid in order to give appropriate geographic representation to District 1.

PROPOSED BYLAW AMENDMENT

Visit www.cornbeltenergy.com to view a copy of our current bylaws.»


The Board of Directors has always been concerned about preserving not only proportional representation based upon population, but also geographic representation on the Board of your Cooperative. Therefore, Article III, Section 1(a) provided for five Directors to be elected from District 1, which is the only Director District that has multiple Directors. The purpose of that provision was to ensure adequate representation on the Board of Directors due to the large number of members that live in McLean County, in general, and in Bloomington Township, Normal Township, Towanda Township and Old Town Township and those other surrounding Townships.

However, another problem that the Board has always faced is having a concentration of Directors in, perhaps, one Township. It would have been theoretically possible for all five Directors from District 1 to live in one Township which is a result the Board wanted to avoid in order to give appropriate geographic representation to District 1. Therefore, Article III, Section 1(c) of the Bylaws provided that no more than one Director from each Township may serve on the Board at any one time.

Unfortunately, there are two types of Townships in the State of Illinois. There are the official U.S. Government Survey Townships which consist of 36 square miles set out in 36 one-mile square increments. Those Townships have fixed boundaries that never move. There are also about 80 municipalities that were created years ago by the Legislature as their own separate Township and Municipality. They are not only a Municipality but they are also their own separate Township within those municipal boundaries of the city. They have borderlines that can move as the city grows and advances in different directions. Bloomington is one of those Municipal Townships that is its own Township within the city limits of the City of Bloomington. The Bloomington Municipal Township now extends into the U.S. Government Survey Townships of Towanda, Normal, Dry Grove, Dale and Old Town, as well as being a significant part of Bloomington Township. The current Bylaws make reference to a “Township” by defining it as a “geographic Township.” There could be some argument over what a “geographic Township” is since both a Municipal Township and a U.S. Government Survey Township cover a “geographic” area. The problem is that the geography of a Municipal Township moves while the U.S. Government Survey Townships remains stationary.

Therefore, the proposed amendment is intended to clarify that only the U.S. Government Survey Townships are recognized as a “Township” for the purpose of electing Directors at the Cooperative and any and all Municipal Townships, such as Bloomington Municipal Township, are disregarded for that purpose. The Board believes this amendment will ensure the following: (1) preservation of proportional representation in District 1 based upon the heavy population of members located there; (2) preservation of geographic representation, not only in the remaining districts of the Cooperative but also in District 1; and (3) make it perfectly clear that no District 1 Directors may reside in the same U.S. Government Survey Township, which has always been the Board of Directors’ policy.

Finally, there are some language changes to incorporate the new definition of a “Township” and some simple grammatical changes as well.

The Board of Directors unanimously recommends the adoption of these amendments to the Bylaws.

Explanation

Complete redlined copies of the detailed bylaw amendments are available at no cost by contacting Corn Belt Energy’s office at 1-800-879-0339 or by downloading a file at www.cornbeltenergy.com. A copy of our current bylaws can be found at www.cornbeltenergy.com.


If you receive electricity from

Corn Belt Energy, you’re a member

of one of the largest not-for-profit

electric cooperatives in Illinois, and

you can participate in our member

programs and utilize our rebates.

Co-op Membership


Benefits of Co-op MembershipIllinois Country Living MagazineYou’ll also receive a complimentary subscription to Illinois Country Living magazine. The center section of each Illinois Country Living magazine, called Powerline, is customized by Corn Belt Energy and serves as a monthly newsletter containing information specific to our cooperative member-owners.

Capital CreditsAs a not-for-profit electric cooperative, Corn Belt Energy is owned by the members who use our services. When you pay your electric bill each month, you are building equity in your cooperative based on your usage, referred to as capital credits allocation. Each electric co-op member is assigned an individual capital credits account, separate from their billing account. Whenever funds are allocated to your capital credits account, your equity in the co-op increases.

At the Board's discretion and as the financial condition of the co-op allows, capital credits are periodically retired and returned to co-op member-owners. When Corn Belt Energy returns capital credits, funds go to the cooperative's first members (first in) and also to the co-op's newest members on the lines (last in). This way, our longest-served members and our newer members both experience the benefits of cooperative ownership. To date, your co-op has returned more than $28 million to member-owners in the form of retired capital credits.

Co-op ConnectionsCorn Belt Energy members receive a free Co-op Connections Card for discounts and valuable offers at local businesses and national retailers. With more than 140 businesses in Central Illinois participating in the program, you’re bound to save money! Search local offers at www.connections.coop/cornbeltenergy.

Your card can also save you on prescriptions at participating pharmacies including CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Target and many more! Use your card to purchase prescriptions not covered by your insurance plan. Simply present your card with your prescription at any participating pharmacy and pay the discounted price; no additional forms or paperwork are needed. Go to www.cornbeltenergy.com to search for participating pharmacies and to look up drug prices.

Need a card? Simply stop by our office, call us at 800-879-0339, or e-mail us at [email protected].

Vegetation ManagementTo maintain the reliability of our electrical distribution system, Corn Belt Energy operates an aggressive vegetation management program. Our crews look for foliage growing under lines, overhanging branches, trees that could grow into lines, and leaning or other types of “danger” trees that could pull down a power line if they fall.

In an effort to improve reliability for our members, Corn Belt Energy trimmed over 458 miles of overhead

line and cleared10.7 miles of right of way over the past year.

If you notice a dead or dying tree near power lines, a tree with branches growing very close to or touching power lines, please contact us immediately and do not attempt to remove the tree branch(es) yourself.

If you request the removal of a tree that could endanger Corn Belt Energy lines, the entire tree will be taken down and cut up for your use or disposal.

Tree pruning is a free service that may or may not be required on your property. If your area is scheduled to be pruned, you will be notified with a green postcard approximately 3 to 4 weeks beforehand.

Live Line DemoCorn Belt Energy is proud to be offering Live Line Demo. This safety presentation is structured to help educate businesses, schools, public safety departments, etc., on electrical safety.

For more information, contact us at 800-879-0339.

SmartHub

Log in to your SmartHub account online at www.cornbeltenergy.com or download the app to track your electric use down to the hour and to see how weather impacts your consumption. Make sure to check out these other convenient features from your computer or mobile device:

• View your hourly, daily and monthly usage overlaid with temperature data

• Compare usage between months

• Set usage thresholds and alerts

• Receive bill reminders

• Report outages

• Pay your bill quickly


Electric Heat RateIf your home utilizes an electric heat source (including geothermal), take advantage of Corn Belt Energy’s Electric Heat Rate of 4.45 cents/kWh, plus any additional current cost of power as indicated by the Wholesale Power Cost Adjustment on your monthly statement. To see if you’re already receiving this rate, check for a Rate 10 or Rate 19 line item charge on your monthly statement.

All electric heat is sub-metered through equipment supplied by Corn Belt Energy and the Electric Heat Rate is applied to your sub-metered usage from October 1 through April 30.

Electric Water Heater RebatesIf you’re in the market for a new electric water heater, Corn Belt Energy offers rebates for members. Buy an electric 40-gallon water heater and you’ll receive a $100 rebate; purchase a 50-gallon or larger electric unit and you’ll receive a rebate check for $125. You can purchase your water heater from any retailer and we encourage you to buy an energy efficient model with good insulation.

NOTE: To receive a water heater rebate, co-op members must also agree to allow Corn Belt to place a load management switch on the water heater (at no cost), which is eligible for bill credits of $4.50/month for June - September bills. The load management switch will turn your water heater off periodically during peak load times during the summer, typically in the late afternoon on very hot days. This load management switch minimally affects your hot water while allowing the cooperative to reduce electric load during peak usage times which saves money by avoiding peak power charges from our power supplier. To receive the bill credit, member must use a minimum of 400 kWh per summer month (June - September).

Security Lights

Security yard lights are available to our members for a low monthly rate. The price includes maintenance and electricity for an automatic dusk-to-dawn 100-watt sodium vapor light.

Corn Belt Energy can install these lights for members in an overhead area on a Corn Belt-owned pole where there is currently a service. There is no installation fee but we do require that you keep the light for at least a year.

Contact our Engineering Department at 800-879-0339 during normal business hours for more details.

Energy Efficiency RebatesWabash Valley Power Association, the cooperative that supplies power to Corn Belt Energy, is offering several rebates to our residential and commercial member-owners through a program called Power Moves®. The incentives are designed to promote energy efficiency upgrades in homes, businesses, schools and farms. Visit www.powermoves.com to view available rebates and to print the appropriate forms..

In addition, we are now offering rebates to members for the purchase of energy efficient CFL and LED light bulbs. This rebate program rewards our members when they invest in new, energy efficient lighting.

GeoCentsWhether you are in the process of new construction, updating the HVAC systems or just looking into geothermal as a heating and cooling alternative, Corn Belt Energy’s GeoCents program makes geothermal more affordable for our members.

As a part of this program, Corn Belt Energy will pay to have the geothermal loops (the outside loops that go into a member’s yard) installed at a members home. In turn the member will pay a monthly fee to be able to utilize the loops.

Participating members will receive:• $1100/vertical ton & the member

will pay $7/ton/month on their electric bill

• $900/horizontal ton & the member will pay $6/ton/month on their electric bill

• Corn Belt also has a $1500 rebate for the installation of a geothermal that utilizes electric as the backup

Corn Belt Energy is focused on serving our members while promoting overall energy efficiency and environmental stewardship. The GeoCents program is an example of this focus.

For additional information about the Corn Belt Energy GeoCents program or for the most up-to-date GeoCents certified HVAC and looper contractor list, please contact Justin Stuva at [email protected] or 800-879-0339 x235.

Member Rebates and Programs

Power Surge ProtectionWhile power strips are effective at stopping most in-house surges, they can be overwhelmed by surges that enter your home through the

power line as a result of lightning. Whole house network protection is recommended for these more severe surges. Corn Belt Energy can install a meter-mounted surge protector on the exterior of your home for a monthly fee.


Member Rebates and Programs Corn Belt Energy launches new GeoCents program, making geothermal more

affordable for our members. Corn Belt Energy’s GeoCents Program first participant,

Cory Matheny, is pictured below.


2016 EDUCATION GRANT RECIPIENTS


Each spring, Corn Belt Energy supports innovation in the classroom through our Education Grants Program. Of the applications received, six schools are awarded grants to fund programs that enrich students’ education. Five of these schools will each be awarded $1,500 and one school will be awarded the $2,000 Jeff Reeves Memorial Education Grant to fund innovative programs that enrich students’ education.

The 2016 Education Grant recipients are as follows:

2016 Jeff Reeves Memorial Education Grant Recipient Glenn Elementary School* Michelle Wagehoft, 3rd Grade Teacher

2016 Grant Recipients Evans Junior High SchoolKatherine Brown

Galva Junior Senior High SchoolStephanie Peterson, Science Teacher

Education Grants El Paso Gridley Junior High SchoolCheryl Prairie-Steber, Art Teacher & District Librarian

Sheridan SchoolKristi Sutter

Mulberry SchoolSheila Snyder, Director of Finance

High school sophomores and juniors with a passion for leadership and government are encouraged to apply for an all-expenses-paid, week-long trip to Washington D.C. in June.

Corn Belt Energy members are welcome to nominate a child or grandchild to attend the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour. Up to ten applicants will be selected by an impartial panel of judges to attend Illinois Cooperative Youth Day in Springfield in the spring. From that group, students will be chosen to represent Corn Belt Energy by attending the Youth to Washington Tour, an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., in June, with other statewide winners.

2016 Youth Tour Winners:Morgan AldridgeShrijani Kongara

For more information and to download the application, visit www.cornbeltenergy.com.

Youth Tour

Nine scholarships of $2,000 each are awarded to eligible high school seniors through the Illinois Electric Cooperative (IEC) Memorial Scholarship Program.

The tenth annual scholarship of $2,000 will be awarded to help pay for costs to attend the lineworker’s school conducted by the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives (AIEC) in conjunction with Lincoln Land College in Springfield.

For more information, please contact Hillary Cherry, Director of Communications, at 1-800-879-0339 x250.

Scholarships

2016 Illinois Cooperative Youth Day Participants


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