Annual Meeting Candidate Statements

There are four director seats up for election at the 2020 Annual Meeting. Director positions in the South, East, West and Mountain districts are up for three-year terms. Be sure to read about each of the candidates before casting your ballot. United Power directors serve in geographic districts, but they are elected on an “at-large” basis. Please vote for one candidate in EACH director district.

SOUTH DISTRICT

Greg Campbell

Greg grew up in California with his father working in the energy industry. Greg always knew he wanted to be an engineer, and he followed that dream and attended the Colorado School of Mines, graduating in 2005. Growing up on project job sites, he knew the best experience to learn the energy industry would be in the field. In addition to working throughout the U.S., he has worked around the world, with jobsites in eight different countries.

After doing this for about ten years, Greg was able to witness the surge within the U.S. in oil and gas, and he knew it was time to be part of this exciting growth away from energy dependence from foreign countries. He moved back to Colorado where he enjoyed his education, met his wife, and he now has a four-year-old son which has given him a newfound outlook for the importance of health and safety within the energy community.

Greg joined Summit Engineering in April of 2016 and is the Senior Vice President. Greg’s understanding of the energy industry and business helped him succeed in growing SESI from 23 people in 2016 ($4M in revenue) to over 140 people in 2020 ($20M+ in revenue). Greg has presented to the COGCC, in addition to his local Commerce City Chamber of Commerce regarding the industry and the drive to provide clean, safe and affordable energy to all of Colorado.

Greg’s focus around engineering regarding the health of our communities, safety of all engineering and design processed within SESI, in addition to the environmental economics surrounding this industry, has helped his company spearhead the industry through the political storm currently being experienced in Colorado. Greg understands that the changing political spectrum will result in new laws that will have an impact on the energy market, and the price of utilities to the consumer. Without a plan in place to balance where we get our electricity from (e.g. natural gas, coal, renewables, hydroelectric), we will create an upset condition in the market where the end user is the one that suffers.

The main goal of running for this position is to bring a point of view to United Power from someone who is “boots on the ground” in the industry. Colorado electricity is primarily created from coal and natural gas, and the electricity created by renewable sources has more than doubled since 2010. Politicians, both locally and nationally, continue to push an agenda to move away from fossil fuels. If elected, Greg will drive a balanced, long term approach to utilize the cleanest and cheapest form of electricity that utilizes the existing infrastructure, thus ensuring the least amount of impact to each member of United Power.

Stan Martin

United Power Board needs NEW LIFE and new blood.

As Adams County Clerk and Recorder I rolled up my sleeves implementing new innovation and technology saving you the taxpayer over $2 Million during my four year term.

As President Elect of the Colorado County Clerks Association having the opportunity to guide a statewide organization I learned what true leadership accomplishes.

As a 20 year local small business owner I learned what it takes to operate and oversee a successful business.

As a local native I learned that investing in our community pays dividends down the road.

As President of a Metro District I learned the importance of customer service.

As 17th Judicial District Board Commissioner I learned the value of being a public servant.

As a follower of Christ, I learned our purpose and identity in this life.

As your next United Power Director, I’ll work on your behalf to bring much needed “Term Limits” creating future opportunity for fresh new ideas ultimately driving innovation and technology better serving your electrical needs for generations.

As a customer just like you, what would it look like to bring NEW LIFE to United Power?

Please vote for Stan Martin this April.

Phil Noble

United Power is a co-op to be very proud of. It is always working to increase member value, improve rural and urban service, safeguard the environment and drive toward renewable energy sources. The future, however, has challenges that will require more innovation and leadership. I would like to become an important collaborating team member who contributes experience and knowledge to augment the Board of Directors’ strategic decision-making. As a board member of United Power, I would like to utilize my system-thinking expertise to accomplish strategies to meet the demand for using even fewer hydrocarbons and more energy alternatives. Having started my career in a small town in Illinois working summers and winters during college with the local municipally-owned electrical power facility, I have come full circle to this moment.

After graduating from Augustana College in Rock Island, IL I earned a master’s degree at the University of Texas in Arlington. In Texas, I worked in research and organizational development roles with public and private institutions, including the University of Texas Medical Branch, Monsanto and Exxon.

In 1993 I moved to Colorado for an opportunity at StorageTek as a Senior Organizational Development consultant, in which I focused primarily on business and quality processes as well as executive coaching, strategic planning and customer intelligence gathering.

Seven years later, I became an independent consultant and worked with, to name a few, the US Forest Service, Department of Defense, Exxon, Hewlett Packard, Lucent Technologies and startups in Silicon Valley. In 2005 I became Director of Organizational Development for a Baldridge Award-winning hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, and later continued in healthcare as Director of Workforce Development at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center in Wyoming.

In 2009 I joined the Adams County Workforce and Business Center, and two years later became the Director/Administrator. In that capacity, I was involved in board leadership in several organizations:

• Executive Director, Adams County Workforce Development Board
• Board Member, Adams County Education Consortium
• Board Member, Adams County Economic Development
• Board Member, Brighton Economic Development
• Chair, Colorado Urban Workforce Alliance

Upon retirement, I planned to participate in outdoor activities, write and enjoy time with my wife and with my two adult children who also live in Commerce City, and I also knew I wanted to make a contribution where community, accountability and planning for the next generations’ future are priorities. That is United Power. I respectfully invite your consideration of my many years of community involvement, board experience, applied systems thinking, organizational skills, and deep understanding of workforce realities to represent your co-op member interests on the Board of Directors of United Power. Thank you for your support.

Dave E. Rose

United Power has had much success in the past few years and it has been a privilege to serve you as your United Power Director during these successful years. There are still many challenges facing United Power in our efforts to reduce rates and provide clean, reliable power to your homes, farms and businesses and I would like to continue to represent you. Based on my director certifications I have earned in the past few years I continue to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to make valuable decisions for all members. I am Dave Rose asking for your vote and support to re-elect me so I can continue to work for you.

I have been active in community events, meetings, and new developments that UP has initiated to better serve all the members in the UP territories. During this time UP has welcomed 2400 new members in Frederick, opened the Carbon Valley Service Center, implemented the Fire Mitigation Policy, exceeded $500 million in assets for the first time and reached 843 consecutive days without loss of time injuries. Also, during this time frame UP built the largest storage battery system in the state and quickly restored power outages during the bomb cyclone winter storm.

These are just a few of the major accomplishments and I know the importance of providing, affordable, reliable, safe, environmentally friendly electrical service to all the residential, agricultural and business members. I will continue to work hard for you as we negotiate with Tri-State to reduce energy rates and provide more flexibility in member choice. In my continued efforts to serve you I look forward visiting all the communities in the UP territories to meet and listen to UP members’ energy needs.

Experiences and Qualifications

United Power Board of Directors, 2014 – current
Almost Home Board of Directors, 2012 – current
Colorado Air and Space Port Advisory Board, 2013 -2020
Brighton Urban Renewal Authority, 2002 – 2019
Former Brighton Mayor and City Councilman (6 years)
Former RTD Board of Directors (8 years)
Kiwanis Club of Brighton, 1990 – current
Registered Psychotherapist (part-time), 2015 – 2020
Former Brighton Elementary School Principal, 32 years (National Distinguished Principal)

Formal education: B.S and M.S. degrees (Northeast Missouri State College) and Ed.S. U of Iowa

Family Man: Wife, Wilma, Son Ryan Daughter-in-Law, Connie, Grandson Hayden and Cooper, Daughters, Samantha, Megan and Son-in-Law Andrew Garnett and Granddaughter Blair.

EAST DISTRICT

James Vigesaa

Greetings United Power Members

Looking back on the past nine years I have served as your East District Director; it is amazing how the cooperative has grown and evolved during this time.

In 2011 when I became a Board Member our Annual Load was approximately 2,796 megawatts. By 2019 our Load has grown to approximately 4,951 megawatts—a 77 percent increase. The United Power “Can Do” team of great employees has not only seamlessly managed this growth but has actually increased our reliability of keeping the lights on! For a reliability snapshot comparison, In January of this year 2020 we had 48% less meters affected by outages than our historical five year average—and this was done while we added 20,000 meters to the system.

Nationally, thoughts on how power is generated has evolved with on coal fired generation being highly discouraged and renewable generation encouraged in its place. Locally, We have addressed this by providing Cost Effective green/alternative energy for our members through our industrial scale solar fields and other renewables. We have also worked with members who desire their own rooftop solar to the extent that approximately 3% of our residential members utilize rooftop solar-putting us near the top of electrical distribution systems for the use of rooftop solar. In addition to renewable generation, We have pioneered the use of Battery Storage. Our 4 Megawatt Battery Storage uses power at night (When demand is low) to charge the batteries, and then release that power back onto the grid during daytime peak demand. Using this battery storage allows the power plants to be more efficient and reduces the need for new power plant construction. Not only is the use of this renewable generation and battery storage good for the environment, it also saves our members money by reducing the cost of power nearly $4,000,000 dollars a year.

Looking ahead to the future—the biggest challenge facing us is power supply. We are working with our power supplier, Tri-State Generation to reduce the cost of our power supply as well as increase the amount of renewable generation within the power supply. As your Board of Directors, we make business decisions based on what is best for our members. We all are very committed to cost effectiveness, and for 2019 we have returned $5.5 million in Capital Credits back to our members.

I thank you for the opportunity to continue to serve you on the Board Of Directors and look forward to the next 3 years focusing on power supply, continued cost effectiveness and retirement of Capital Credits. Please do not hesitate to contact me at jvigesaa@unitedpower.coop with any questions, comments or concerns that you may have.

WEST DISTRICT

Virginia "Ginny" A. Buczek

Virginia “Ginny’’ Buczek, is the incumbent director in the West District, and currently works part-time in design review. She has 13 years private sector managerial work experience and studied business management at Red Rocks Community College. Buczek earned her CCD, Board Leadership and Gold Leadership certifications from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). During her tenure she has served as the President, Vice-President, Secretary/Treasurer, and currently chairs The Audit Committee. Buczek is United Power’s director on the Colorado Rural Electric Association Board (CREA). She is Vice President of the CREA Board, serves on CREA’s Executive and Policy Committees. She has served as CREA’s Secretary, Treasure and Budget and Finance Chair. Buczek represents United Power on the Tri­State G&T Contract Committee.

Ginny’s elected and appointed experience includes: Weld County Council, Southwest Weld Technical Committee, Tri-area Ambulance Board of Directors. She has been active in her hometown, on the Firestone Planning Commission, Firestone Board of Trustees, and Park Commission, receiving the Colorado State Parks’, Conservation Hero Award, 2006. She served on United Power Round-Up Foundation before being elected as a United Power Director.

She has been active in many civic groups including 4-H, Girl Scouts, Neighborhood Watch, and Frederick High School Booster Club. Ginny is a member of the Colorado WestPoint Parents Club, has served on congressional and a senatorial Military Academy Appointment Boards and is a member of Weld County’s Bright Futures Advisory Board.

“The electric industry is rapidly changing; presenting new opportunities and challenges requiring experienced, knowledgeable leadership. It is the responsibility of Directors to contribute to decisions resulting in a focused plan to maximize and leverage opportunities, mitigate risk and maintain a quality workforce. Ensuring safe, reliable, cost efficient electrical power, financial stability, maintaining quality service for all United Power members, and positioning the Cooperative to provide the future needs of our communities are fundamental Board duties.

I have been a committed member of the United Power community for twenty-nine years and remain focused on the families and businesses of our community. I thank you, for the investment you have made in me as one of your United Power Directors. That investment has provided hundreds of hours of Electric Cooperative education. Using my electric director education, coop experience and the input you have provided, I will continue to work for the best interest of the members. Thank you, for your continued support and interest in Your Co­op. I would be honored to serve you, the members, for another term.”

James P. Menghi

Jim Menghi has been a United Power member for 9 years. Jim is retired from a career in accounting and auditing. Jim worked at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) as the Deputy Director of the Joint Office for Science Support (JOSS) since 2002 and Internal Auditor/Compliance Officer from 1985 to 2002. Jim retired in 2016. Previously, he was an Auditor with the US General Accounting Office (GAO) for nine years. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from the University of Delaware and held several related professional certifications during his career. In addition, Jim has served on the Elevations Credit Union Board of Directors since 2008. During his directorship of this financial cooperative, Elevations increased membership to 139,000 and assets under management to $2.2 Billion. Under Jim’s directorship, Elevations was awarded many quality awards. The most noteworthy award is the Malcolm Baldridge Presidential Quality Award awarded in 2015. As with any company’s efforts to improve the quality of products and services, the Malcolm Baldridge framework changed the corporate culture to focus on quality. The general sentiment among the staff is “it is more about the journey than the award.”

Raising two daughters has been his pride and joy, but when possible he walks, bikes and hikes, taking advantage of the great Colorado outdoor lifestyle.

As a successful candidate for United Power Board of Directors, Jim will apply his governance and fiduciary experience to act with integrity while representing and supporting United Power’s and our members’ best interests.

MOUNTAIN DISTRICT

Tamra K. Waltemath

I, Tamra (Tami) Waltemath am currently the director for the Mountain District. In my three years as a director, I have worked hard to educate myself about the electric industry, taking classes to obtain a Credentialed Cooperative Director designation and a Board Leadership certificate from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). United Power is a leader in the move toward battery storage, community solar, renewable energy, micro-grids and fire mitigation in our mountains. New technologies are challenging the electric industry to be cleaner, cheaper and more dependable and I would like to continue to be involved in the efforts to make United Power the best cooperative in Colorado.

I have a good background to be your director. I am an attorney with my own practice in Westminster, Colorado. As an attorney I have experience in operating a business, I understand contracts and contractual relationships as well as employee issues and I understand the fiduciary duties required of a director. I am comfortable with making daily decisions as well as planning for long range goals. Participating on a board requires engaging in a group collaborative process, a skill I have found necessary to be a good attorney.

I currently serve on the board of directors for the Coal Creek Community Improvement Association and I believe in giving back to my community. United Power as a cooperative, follows cooperative principles which include supporting the communities it serves. I will continue to be a director who encourages the efforts of United Power to actively engage its members to be informed about what is taking place in their communities. United Power helps bring communities together by helping them to hold events like parades, community dinners and children’s events. I feel proud to be a director of a corporation that supports its communities and provides value to our members.

As a United Power member, I am a consumer, like you. As a United Power director, I promise to work with the entire United Power community to achieve a clean energy future. I will listen to the concerns and needs of all our members, because it is the members I serve as a director and I would be honored to serve you for another term.