Directors
Who is my board representative?
Nick Strohbehn, President: District 3: Reinbeck
Nick and his wife, Melanie, live on the family farm northwest of Reinbeck. Nick raises corn and soybeans and custom feeds hogs and does custom manure applications. The Strohbehn’s have four daughters. Nick is a member and former board member of the Farm Bureau. He enjoys watching his girls in their school and sporting events and they like to spend their free time on the Mississippi River. Nick has been a director on the REC Board since 2018.
Kevin Pruisner, Vice President: District 1: Dike
Kevin and his wife, Patricia, live northwest of Dike in Beaver Township. Kevin raises corn, soybeans, and finishes hogs on the farm where he has lived since 1977. The Pruisner’s are members of Fredsville Lutheran Church and like to go camping when they can get away from the farm. Kevin has been on the REC board since 2004.
Matt Kopriva, Secretary: District 5: Traer
Matt lives just south of Traer in Perry Township on a small acreage with his wife Jaime and their three children. He attended Hawkeye Community College and Iowa State University, studying agriculture. He sells seed and also farms with his dad, just south of Traer. The Koprivas are very involved in their community, and they enjoy spending time with family and friends in their spare time. Matt was elected as a Director at the 2019 Annual Meeting.
Norbert Boyle, Treasurer: District 2: Ackley
Norbert and his wife, Lori, live just east of Ackley in German township of Grundy County. They have two grown daughters, 2 son-in-laws and 5 grandchildren. Norb graduated from Iowa State University with a bacherlor's degree in Ag Business. He currently works as an ag loan officer for Greenbelt Bank & Trust in Iowa Falls. In his free time, Norb enjoys camping with friends and family and going to activities for his grandchildren. Norb is also a volunteer firefighter with the Ackley Fire Department, where he has served for 23 years, and volunteers with various community activities in Ackley and Iowa Falls. The Boyles are members of First Presbyterian Church in Ackley. Norb has been a director on the REC board since 2012, serving in various roles.
Jason Paper, Assistant Secretary/Treasurer: District 7: Conrad
Jason lives south of Conrad in Vienna Township, Marshall County, along with his wife, Valerie. They are the parents of five children. Jason enjoys boating, fishing, woodworking, and going to all of his children’s activities. He currently works for New Century FS. The Papers are members of the Trinity Lutheran Church in Marshalltown. Jason was elected to serve on the REC Board in 2010.
Larry Rohach, Director: District 4: Reinbeck
Larry Rohach and his wife, Connie, have a grain operation in Black Hawk Township of Grundy County. The Rohach’s have four children and six grandchildren. Larry is a member of St. Gabriel Catholic Church in rural Reinbeck, the Masons, and the Farm Bureau. He has been on the REC board since 1993. Larry has served on the Corn Belt Power Cooperative Board of Directors since 2010 and previously served nine years on the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives Board of Directors.
Roger Brown: District 6: Conrad
More information coming soon!
Not sure who your director is or what district you are in? Contact the cooperative at 319-824-5251
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Monthly Board Meetings
The Board meets monthly on the last Thursday of the month at the cooperative headquarters. The meetings are held beginning at 9:00 a.m. with the exception of the months of April, May, September, and October the meetings are held at 7:00 p.m. The President shall have discretion to modify the schedule due to unusual circumstances.
Any person that wishes to speak or present any items of business to the Board may do so with time limitations determined by the Board President, provided that such person makes a written request not less than five days prior to the meeting and such request is granted by the General Manager or executive committee prior to the meeting.
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Serving as Board of Director
Members interested in running for a Grundy County REC Board of Director position must meet the qualification set forth in the cooperative’s Article of Incorporation, Bylaws and Board Policies.
- Must be a member in good standing of the cooperative
- Must reside in the district from which he/she is nominated
- Must be receiving electric service from the cooperative at the location where he/she resides
- In the case of joint membership, either one but not both may serve as director at any given time
- Shall not be engaged in conduct that is a violation of law or violation of a cooperative policy or policies
- Shall not be convicted of a felony
- Shall not be an employee or the spouse of an employee of the cooperative within 10 years preceding nomination
- Shall not be employed by a labor union within 10 years preceding nomination
- Must not be so closely related to any cooperative employee as to violate the cooperative’s Employment of Relatives policy
- Must not be in any way employed by or substantially financially interested in an enterprise completing with the cooperative or any cooperative affiliated business
- Must not be employed by, materially affiliated with, or has a financial interest in, any individual or entity possessing a conflict of interest with the cooperative or a cooperative subsidiary
The primary duties of the Board of Directors are to establish rules, regulations and policies that guide the operations of the cooperative. They include:
- Establishing and maintaining a legal entity
- Trusteeship of member interests
- Planning and controlling
- Providing facilities, finances and authorities
- Establishing controls
- Time commitment
Being a board member requires a large time commitment. The average number of hours spent by a Grundy County REC board member on a monthly basis is approximately 16-18 hours. This time includes training, participation in legislative activities, keeping up to date on electric utility trends, and preparing for regular board meetings. Board members do receive a per diem for meetings and training.
- Seven directors serve on the Board of Directors.
- Each director is voted on by the membership at the Annual Meeting.
- Each district is represented by one director.
Director elections begin with the cooperative asking for members to volunteer to serve on the Nominating Committee or to seek election to the Board of Directors. Announcements for both of these opportunities, along with how to apply, are in the spring editions of the Iowa Electric Cooperative Living Magazine publication.
Members may seek election to the Board of Directors in the district he/she resides in through the Nominating Committee or by petition nominations. The Nominating Committee is appointed at the April board meeting and meets prior to the May board meeting to submit their nominations.
The election of directors for Grundy County Rural Electric Cooperative’s Board of Directors takes place each year at the annual meeting of the membership held in August or September. Each year, a number of directors equal to the number of directors whose terms expire at the time of the annual meeting will be elected to hold office for a term of three years.
Each year, in August, the Official Notice of Annual Meeting of Members will be published in Iowa Electric Cooperative Living magazine, along with other important candidate and meeting information. Ballots and important annual meeting information will also be mailed out to members mid-August.
Specific details about the election process are provided in the cooperative’s Articles of Incorporation and By-laws that can be found on this website under the Co-op Info tab.