Pertaining to membership, Annual Meetings, board representation, and nomination and election procedures for electing directors, the following is a summary of a portion of the Bylaws of Petit Jean Electric Cooperative. Copies of the official Bylaws are available at the Cooperative’s business offices.
Article I – Membership
- Section 1. Any person, firm, association, corporation or body politic may become a member of the Cooperative by: (a) making a written application for membership; (b) agreeing to purchase electric energy from the Cooperative; (c) agreeing to comply with and be bound by the Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws and Rules and Regulations of the Cooperatives; and (d) paying a $20 membership fee.
- Section 2. Membership in the Cooperative may be evidenced by a membership certificate.
- Section 3. A husband and wife may apply for a joint membership.
- Section 7. (c) Upon the death of either spouse of a joint membership, such membership shall be held solely by the survivor, in the manner and to the same effect as though such membership had never been joint.
Article II – Rights & Liabilities of Members
- Section 2. Members are exempt from liability for the debts of the Cooperative.
Article III – Meetings of Members
- Section 1. An Annual Meeting of the members shall be held each year in a location reasonably central to the majority of the total membership at such time and place as determined by the board of directors and designated in the notice of the meeting for the purpose of electing directors, passing upon reports for the previous fiscal year, and transacting other business.
- Section 3. Written notices of meetings of members stating the place, day, and hour of the meeting shall be delivered not less than 10 days nor more than 30 days before the date of the meeting.
- Section 4. 5% of the members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at meetings of members. Members voting by mail shall be counted as present in determining a quorum.
- Section 5. Each member shall be entitled to 1 vote only on each matter submitted to a vote at meetings of members.
- Section 6. (a) Any member who is absent from a meeting of the members may vote by mail on all matters submitted at such meetings, including the election of directors.
Article IV – Directors
- Section 1. The business and affairs of the Cooperative shall be managed by a board of 9 directors.
- Section 2. At each Annual Meeting, a number of directors whose term shall have expired shall be elected by secret ballot by and from the members to serve for a period of 5 years or until their successors shall have been elected and shall have qualified. Directors may be elected by a plurality vote of the members.
- Section 3. To become or remain a director, a person must comply with or meet the following qualifications:
- be an individual.
- have the capacity to enter into legally binding contracts;
- be a member in good standing of the Cooperative;
- be a bona fide, permanent, and full-time resident in the particular district which he/she is to represent.
- not be a current employee, or a former employee of the Cooperative, within 5 years of termination of his/her employment, or the spouse, parent, or child of such employee;
- not be a close relative of an incumbent director or of a current employee of the Cooperative;
- not have pleaded guilty to, or been convicted of, a felony.
- Section 5. The board of directors shall appoint, not less than 60 days nor more than 90 days before the date of a meeting of members at which directors are to be elected, a committee on nominations of not less than 5 or more than 11 members of the Cooperative, selected from different sections of the service area so as to ensure equitable representation. No members of the board of directors may serve on such a committee.
The committee shall prepare and post at the principal office of the Cooperative at least 45 days before the meeting, a list of nominations in writing, under their signatures.
- The Nominating Committee is scheduled to meet on March 26.
Any 100 or more members from a designated district may make other nominations, for their district only, by petition not less than 30 days nor more than 60 days prior to the meeting, and such nominations will be posted at the same place where the list of nominations made by the committee is posted.
The secretary shall mail the notice of the meeting or separately, but at least 10 days before the date of the meeting, a statement of the number of directors to be elected and the names and addresses of the candidates, specifying separately the nominations made by the committee on nominations and also the nominations made by petition, if any. No nominations shall be permitted from the floor at the meeting.
There are 2 director positions to be filled at the 2026 Annual Meeting – District 1, Position 2, which is held by Terry Kirkendoll from Clinton; and District 3, Position 1, which is held by Gilbert Lewis from Bee Branch.