The cooperative shall hold a 2026 election of trustees to serve 3-year terms on 4 Rivers Electric’s governing board.

The election of trustees shall be by district, and only qualified candidates nominated by petition shall appear on the ballot. Each of the three board districts has one position included in the 2026 election. Your district of membership can be found at the top of your 4 Rivers monthly bill; contact our office if you have a question about your membership district.

Trustee board positions to be elected in 2026:

• District 1, Position 1 (Robert Converse, incumbent)

• District 2, Position 1 (Randall Bunnel, incumbent)

• District 3, Position 1 (Tom Ayers, incumbent – not seeking re-election)

PETITION REQUIREMENTS

To be placed on the ballot, a petition containing the signatures of at least 20 members of the cooperative who live in the district for which the election is being held, approving the nomination of the individual member to be placed on the ballot, were required to be submitted by December 30, 2025.

In January, ballots are mailed to members in each of the districts. Only the names of the nominees for such district shall be on the ballot. Returned and completed ballots must be postmarked or received at the Lebo office on or before February 20. The results will be announced at the Annual Meeting of Members to be held March 23 at the Lynn County Fairgrounds, Anderson Building, 2700 W Hwy 50, Emporia.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR CANDIDACY

No person shall be eligible to become or remain a trustee of the Cooperative who:

A. Is not a member, or is a member who is not in good standing pursuant to the provisions for members as set forth in Article I of the Bylaws;

B. Is not an individual (natural person) who is a member;

C. Is in any way employed or financially interested in a competing enterprise or business that sells electric energy, items, materials, or products that can be used to create electric energy, or supplies to the cooperative, or a business primarily engaged in selling electrical or plumbing appliances, fixtures, services, or supplies to the members of the cooperative (this specifically does not include a member who installs renewable energy electric generation individually on his or her own property and is inter-connected with the Cooperative’s transmission lines);

D. Has equipment connected to cooperative equipment and has an agreement through which electricity is sold to the Cooperative;

E. Is not a resident of the district they would otherwise represent (for purposes of this section, “resident” means that they have lived in the district for a minimum of at least three years prior to the election, and that their address during said 3-year time-period in Kansas within the district is such person’s primary address and has been for such three-year period, and that such person is receiving electricity from the Cooperative at this residence);

F. Is a current employee of the Cooperative, or a member of the family of a current employee of the Cooperative (for purposes of this section, “member of the family” shall mean a spouse, father, mother, son, daughter, stepson or daughter, or any lineal descendant of a current employee);

G. Has been an employee of the Cooperative within three years prior to the election, or is a member of the family of a person who has been an employee of the Cooperative within three years prior to the election as “member of the family” is defined in section “F” above; or

H. Is a member of the family of a current trustee (incumbent) who is not up for election, as “member of the family” is defined in section “F” above.