Valley’s committees get underway for Pahrump-based co-op

Some of Valley Electric Association Inc.’s new committees had their first meetings this summer with others planned in the coming weeks.

Valley’s finance and member liaison committees, created by the co-op’s board of directors in April, had their first meetings on July 10, according to a news release from Valley.

Dave Hall, president of Valley’s board of directors, said in the co-op’s release that the new committee structure’s purpose is to “help re-engage our Board with our members.”

Each committee has members from each of Valley’s six districts, according to Valley’s release. Each committee is chaired by a member of Valley’s board of directors.

In total, four committees were created during Valley’s April 2019 board meeting, according to a June 4 news release from Valley.

Those four committees were finance and member liaison, along with the policy and charitable foundation committees, which are expected to conduct their first meetings in August.

The next meeting dates for the member liaison committee is set for Aug. 14 and the finance committee is set to meet on Aug. 20. The meetings are open to the public.

Member liaison and finance committees

The member liaison committee was designed to improve the organization’s bylaws, according to a July 29 release from Valley. The finance committee is working on “assisting the board with the co-op’s financial goals,” the release stated.

Kathy Keyes, District 4 director for Valley Electric, is heading up the finance committee.

Keyes took over the District 4 seat from John Maurer in 2019. She ran unopposed in the election.

The member liaison committee is being headed up by Michelle Caird, District 1 (south Pahrump).

Caird replaced Peter Gazsy, who resigned from his seat in early May.

The initial meetings of the finance and member liaison committees were held to help “orient” the committee members, according to Valley’s release.

The finance committee is working on gaining “background and context” around Valley’s “revenue, costs and accounting processes” before the committee members can make recommendations for the co-op to reach its financial goals, according to information in the co-op’s release.

“That should not take long because each committee member can draw on extensive professional financial experience,” Valley’s release stated.

“The committee seems to be the right size with everyone having impressive experience,” Keyes said in the co-op’s release. “We are going to do great things.”

According to Valley’s release, “the Finance Committee will review reports and make recommendations pertaining to the cooperative’s fiscal operation, including all CEO expenses.

Duties will include reviewing the annual work plan and budget, recommending external audit firms and advising the board on rate issues.”

Committee members have direct access to Steve Morrison, Valley’s chief financial officer. Morrison plans to attend the finance committee meetings, according to Valley’s release.

The meetings were planned to be quarterly; however, the finance and member liaison committees have opted to meet monthly, “because so much work needs to be accomplished,” Valley’s release stated.

Committee members can meet digitally and in person.

“The Co-op’s broadband technology team has set up a network of remote stations to facilitate member participation in each district without requiring them to travel to Pahrump,” according to Valley’s release.

The co-op’s member liaison committee began a line-by-line review of the co-op’s bylaws during its first meeting, the release stated.

The member liaison committee works to advise Valley’s board “on matters involving co-op membership involvement by sharing news and information and assisting research pertaining to VEA services, strategies and bylaws,” the release stated.

“The (member liaison) committee will recommend revisions to the board of directors,” Valley’s release stated. “Since all bylaw changes must also be ratified by the Cooperative’s membership, all Board approvals must be completed in time to accommodate a special election in the run-up to the annual meeting in April.”

“It’s very gratifying that members are willing to invest their time to help improve the Co-op,” Caird said in the release. “We had great attendance at our first meeting, and we made a lot of progress in reviewing the bylaws.”

Other committees

Two other committees are also coming together at Valley: the policy committee and the charitable foundation committee.

“The Policy Committee will make recommendations for revisions to VEA policies on a three-year cycle,” Valley’s release stated.

The committee encompasses “members who have policy and procedure experience,” the co-op’s release stated.

The policy committee will be chaired by Dave Dawson, Valley’s District 6 (north Pahrump) director.

“The charitable foundation committee will assist with fund-raising opportunities and will help ensure that the needs of communities served by VEA are represented in the foundation’s mission,” Valley’s release stated.

Terrie D’Antonio, Valley’s District 5 director, will serve as chair of the committee.

D’Antonio replaced former Valley Electric board president Ken Derschan, who resigned in May 2019.

Contact reporter Jeffrey Meehan at jmeehan@pvtimes.com on Twitter @MeehanLv