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Five persons have filed for seats on the Matanuska Electric Association
Board of Directors. Two are incumbents.
Names put forward by the MEA Nominating Committee were Marvin L. Yoder
and Catharine W. “Kit” Jones. Nominated by petition were current Board
President Elsie E. “Lois” Lester, Crystal Keener-Nygard and Thomas
Staudenmaier.
Lester was interviewed by the Nominating Committee but she was not
recommended by the group. No statement has been given to explain that
fact. Their report to the Board, however, quoted the committee’s charge
from the Bylaws: to “nominate those candidates who, in its judgment,
appear best able to serve as directors of the Association.”
Lester is a 37-year resident of Eagle River. She has been on the MEA
Board for nine years and was elected President in July, 2008. She is a
retired chemistry professor with the University of Alaska Anchorage. Her
list of memberships includes representation of the American Association
of Retired Persons, where she was state coordinator of the driver safety
program, on the Railbelt Electrical Grid Authority study.
Jones, who had been appointed to the MEA Bylaws Committee earlier in the
year, was appointed to the Board at a special meeting in October 2008.
Her resume lists areas of certification as a Certified Public Accountant
in Tennessee, an airline transport pilot, and as a secondary teacher in
Tennessee. She is treasurer of MEA Ratepayers Alliance, secretary of
Mid-Valley Trail Club, a volunteer with NRCS Earthteam and reports
membership in Alaska Airmen’s Association, Friends of Mat-Su, Valley
Republican Women and the Palmer Chamber of Commerce.
Nygard is half-owner of a safety and environmental business whose
revenues grew from $20,000 in the first year to more than $2,700,000 in
2008, claiming an average growth of more than 25% per year. She was
selected by the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce as one of the Top 40 Under
40 business people in Alaska. She is a lifetime member of the National
Rifle Association and lists community involvement as a member of the
Alliance, Resource Development Council, Rotary International in Soldotna
and is a past director of the Alaska 8(a) Association. She also is a
current and past coach for youth sports.
Yoder is deputy administrator for the City of Wasilla and formerly
served as interim city manager in Seward. His resume lists 22 years of
service as a municipal manager, having served in Craig, Ketchikan,
Klawock and Galena. That experience included supervision of
municipal-owned utilities, including electric, water, refuse and sewer,
as well as other municipal services. He is a Certified Public Manager
and shows training in arbitration and mediation.
Staudenmaier did not file an application with his petition. He formerly
served on the MEA Board and was recalled by the members for disclosing
confidential information. He is a perennial candidate who runs under the
banner of Staudenmaier’s Electric Merger Committee and states its aim is
the merger of all Railbelt utilities into one.
Complete information about the candidates, along with their application,
can be found on the MEA Web site,
www.mea.coop. Also listed there are
financial disclosure forms required by the Bylaws.
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