The Homer Electric Association held its 69th Annual Meeting of the Members in Kenai on Thursday and elected three directors to the association’s board, two of which were incumbents.
According to a May 3 press release from HEA, director Dan Chay of Kenai ran unopposed and was elected to another three-year term to represent District 1, which covers Nikiski, Kenai and parts of Soldotna.
To represent District 2 — which covers Soldotna, Sterling and Kasilof — incumbent Ed Oberts of Soldotna ran against Ed Schmitt of Soldotna. Oberts was reelected.
Erin McKittrick of Seldovia ran against Gregory C. Martin, Jr. of Homer to represent District 3, which covers South Kasilof down to the Kachemak Bay Area. Voters elected McKittrick as the District 3 representative.
According to the press release, more than 300 people attended the annual meeting, which featured informational booths about services and programs offered by HEA.
Several youth awards were given out at the annual meeting as well, including Homer Electric’s Safety Poster Contest, Youth Rally selections and HEA Scholarship recipients.
The Safety Poster contest challenges third and fourth graders to create informational posters about the potential hazards that come with using electricity. Jovee Matson, a third grader at Soldotna Montessori Charter School won Best Safety Message for this year’s contest. Meanwhile, fourth grader and Connections Homeschool student Atlas Burke received Most Creative Message, and third grader River Kruzick from K-Beach Elementary School was awarded Most Humorous Message.
The Youth Rally is a weeklong summer camp in Idaho hosted by statewide electric co-ops and the National Rural Electric Cooperative, and is designed to develop leadership skills for tenth and eleventh graders and increase awareness regarding issues faced by the utility industry. This year Olivia Davis and Katie Delker, both tenth graders from Soldotna High School, were selected by HEA to attend the camp.
Finally, HEA awarded several $1,000 scholarships to high school seniors and adults in pursuit of higher education. According to the press release, the number of scholarships and dollar amount awarded each year is determined by the Board of Directors and funded by interest earned on unclaimed capital credits.
This year’s high school senior recipients are:Justin Cox — Nikiski High School
Carlee Rizzo — Nikiski High School
Maria Salzetti — Kenai Central High School
Kortney Birch — Soldotna High School
Michael David Michael — Soldotna High School
Hunter Moos — Cook Inlet Academy
Katelyn Davis — Homer High School
Dexter Lowe — Homer High School
Rylyn Todd — Homer High School
This year’s adult recipients are:Kirsten Hinz
Chelsea Holsonbake
Timothy Lehman
