For 30 years, our District 4 Director Clarence “Topper” Barth has served as chairperson of the MEC Board of Directors.
In addition to earning his Credentialed Cooperative Director (CCD) status and Board Leadership Certificate (BLC) from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), his leadership has seen MEC through a number of new initiatives and opportunities, including:
The merger of Fruit Belt Electric Cooperative and Southeastern Michigan Rural Electric Cooperative in 1997 that resulted in MEC
Entering the propane business
Hiring a new CEO in 2002 and again in 2024
Changing our power supplier to Wolverine Power Cooperative
Entering the internet business, going all the way back to a partnership for dial-up and continuing through fiber internet grants such as RDOF
Building a new headquarters to best serve our customers
Creating the Southwest Michigan Advanced Research and Technology (SMART) Park to bring new economic opportunities and jobs to Cass County
It’s an impressive list! Now, it’s time for a well-deserved rest. Topper has elected to step down as chairperson and serve solely as District 4’s director. We can’t thank him enough for his years of leadership and dedication to serving our customers!
At our annual meeting on April 18, the board elected a new chairperson: District 2 Director Jim Wiseley. Jim joined us in September 2022 and has been hard at work ever since expanding his skills as a cooperative director by attending industry events and education sessions such as the
NRECA Directors Conference, NRECA Legislative Conference, Fiber Connect Conference, and more. He’s racked up more than 800 hours serving our customers and has already earned his CCD and BLC by taking a wide variety of classes about topics like political engagement, the electric grid, artificial intelligence, and directorial leadership.
Congratulations, Jim! We know you’ll do a great job and we look forward to many more years of excellent leadership.