Skip to main content

Toll Free: (800) 214-2694 | Pay by Phone: (855) 730-8709

Pay Your Bill
Power Outages
Contact Us
Home
Menu
  • Home
  • Community
    • Economic Development
    • Education Programs
    • Kids Corner
    • Operation Round Up®
    • Political Action
  • Cooperative Information
    • About People's Energy Cooperative
    • Board of Directors
    • Bylaws & Articles of Incorporation
    • Careers
    • Member Advisory Committee
    • News and Information
    • Our Mission, Vision & Values
    • Privacy Statement / Notice
    • Service Territory and Board Districts
    • Seven Cooperative Principles
    • Statement of Non-Discrimination
  • Electric Service
    • Start, Stop, or Transfer Service
    • Construction/Modification
    • 811 Call Before You Dig
    • Landscape & Tree Planting Guidelines
    • Power Line Safety
    • Power Outage Information
    • Power Outages Map
    • Vegetation Management
  • Member Center
    • Choose Paperless
    • Account
      • Account Management
      • Become a Member
      • Capital Credits
      • Payment Options
      • Rebates
      • Rates
    • Programs & Services
      • Co-op Connections Discounts
      • Energy Audits
      • Energy Management Programs
      • Energy Saving Resources
      • Evergreen Renewable Energy Program
      • Heartland Security
      • HomeServe Service Plan
      • Outdoor LED Lighting
      • People's Community Solar
      • Power Down - Voluntary Load Reduction
      • Standby Generator Program
      • Viasat Internet
      • Water Heating Programs
  • Renewable Energy & Electric Vehicles
    • Clean Energy Initiative Partnership
    • Minnesota Three LLC Solar Array
    • Renewable Energy
    • Electric Vehicles

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is the governing body of the Cooperative and represents the members in policy and rate-making. Directors are elected to three-year terms, attend cooperative events, and participate in state, regional, and national conferences and training sessions.

The Board meets every month and notes from that meeting are published in the next month's Highline newsletter.

About the Board of Directors

Eligibility

Based on the Cooperative’s Bylaws, residential members are eligible to serve a three-year term on the Board of Directors if they:

  • are a member of and receive electrical service from the Cooperative at their homestead (for tax purposes) located within the Cooperative's service territory.
  • are not employed by or financially interested in a competing enterprise or a business selling electric energy or supplies to the Cooperative.
  • have not been employed by the Cooperative in the five years prior to being elected.
  • are not a close relative of an incumbent director or of an employee of the Cooperative at the time of election to the Board.

Board Elections

At least two board seats are up for election each year.  The election is typically held in late March and members receive information in the mail with voting instructions on how to participate.  Members who are interested in serving on the Board should notify the Cooperative so they may be referred to the Nominating Committee.  The Nominating Committee is comprised of cooperative members who reside in the districts up for election and they seek out and a vet board candidates.  Members who are not nominated by the Committee may petition for nomination by securing signatures from at least .05 percent of the membership at the time of petition which equates to approximately 100 signatures. 

Training

Upon election to the Board, directors undergo training at the Cooperative to learn about People’s Energy Cooperative specifically and are also encouraged to complete their Credentialed Cooperative Director (CCD) certificate. The CCD certificate program includes courses about director duties and liabilities, understanding the electric business, board operations and process, strategic planning, and financial decision-making.

Several board members have also earned their Board Leadership Certificate (BLC).  These Board members have expanded their knowledge by taking 10 additional courses on topics including the cooperative business model, governance, finance, communications, technology, and risk management.

Your Board of Directors

District One: Jon Kroening

District 1: Jon Kroening - Rochester
Term: 2022-2025

Jon has been a cooperative member for 13 years and is a lifelong resident of Haverhill township.  He graduated from Dunwoody College, holds a boiler license, master electrician's license, and a system maintenance administrator designation from BOMA International.  He currently works at Egan Company as a general foreman for electrical construction.  Jon resides on his family's farm located on Viola Road near the Haverhill Town Hall.

Phone: (507) 884-0160
Email: jkroening@peoplesenergy.coop

Jon Kroening
District Two: Jodie Tvedt

District 2: Jodie Tvedt - Byron
Term: 2021-2024

Jodie has been a cooperative member for two years.  She was raised on a dairy and crop Century Farm in Steele County and for the last 10 years, she's farmed with her husband on his family's Century Farm in Dodge and Olmsted Counties.  After graduating from Iowa State University with a Mechanical Engineering degree, she accepted a management trainee position with BNSF Railway.  She worked at locomotive repair shops in the Midwest and on the West Coast for the next 18 years in management roles of increasing responsibility.  More recently, she has also been on the board of directors of a township mutual insurance company and has served as secretary since 2019.

Phone: (507) 218-2141
Email: jtvedt@peoplesenergy.coop

Jodie Tvedt
District Three: Bob Hoefs

District 3: Bob Hoefs, CCD -  Mazeppa
Term: 2020-2023

Bob became a cooperative member in 1967 and has served on the Board since 2002. He lives near Mazeppa and serves on the Mazeppa Cemetery Board and on an advisory committee for the Zumbrota-Mazeppa School vocation house construction.  He served in the Army National Guard for four years before being honorably discharged.  Bob is retired following a 30-year career as the owner of a John Deere dealership.

Phone: (507) 254-3787
Email: rhoefs@peoplesenergy.coop

Bob Hoefs
District Four: Tracy Lauritzen (Secretary/Treasurer)

District 4: Tracy Lauritzen - Altura
Secretary/Treasurer
Term: 2021-2024

Tracy has been a member of the Cooperative for over 12 years and joined the Board in March of 2018.  She lauched Krakerjak - a strategic marketing, sales, and analytics firm- after serving 15 years in management, marketing, and business development roles at other companies.  She has served the March of Dimes as a Director on their Board, Chair of their Signature Chef's Auction Committee, and as an honorary family at several events.  Tracy has been an active member on Journey to Growth's Regional Committee and the Rochester Area Builders Programming Committee.

Phone: (507) 261-8740
Email: tlauritzen@peoplesenergy.coop

Tracy Lauritzen
District Five: Jerry Wooner (Board Chair)

District 5: Jerry Wooner, CCD, BLC - Eyota
Board Chair

Term: 2020-2023

Jerry has lived in the Dover-Eyota area for 34 years (except for the five years he spent in the Marine Corps) and has been a cooperative member since 1999.  He has served on the Board of Directors since 2011 and as Board Chair since 2013.  Jerry enjoys living and doing volunteer work in his community including serving on the Viola Gopher Count Committee and as a former EMT for the Eyota Volunteer Ambulance Service.  He currently works as a sergeant for the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office supervising 14 detention deputies.

Phone: (507) 259-7217
Email: jwooner@peoplesenergy.coop

Jerry Wooner
District Six: Art Friedrich (Vice Chair)

District 6: Art Friedrich, CCD, BLC - Rochester
Vice Chair
Term: 2022-2025

Art is from rural Chatfield and became a cooperative member in 1983. He was elected to the Board in 2013.  Art served in the U.S. Air Force in electronics maintenance prior to attending Dunwoody College where he studied drafting and estimating.  He later studied building inspection and soil mechanics from the College of Civil Engineering and has worked in the construction trade since.  Since 1992, Art has owned and operated Friedrich Construction and has been an active member of the Rochester Area Builders Association since 1994 serving on several committees and the Board of Directors. He resides in Marion Township on what used to be his grandfather's farm.  Art has earned his Director Gold Certificate by completing additional BLC credits.

Phone: (507) 951-0590
Email: afriedrich@peoplesenergy.coop

Art Friedrich
District Seven: Jeff Orth

District 7: Jeff Orth, CCD - Rochester
Term: 2020-2023

A native of Austin, Minnesota, Jeff graduated from St. Olaf College in 1976.  After five years in public and private accounting, Jeff became a Deputy Registrar for the State of Minnesota in 1981 and currently owns and manages six license bureaus in the state.  For over thirty years, he has lived in Rochester Township and actively owns and operates farms southwest of Rochester.  Jeff has been a cooperative member since 1985 and was elected to the Board in 2011.

Phone: (507) 254-6358
Email: jorth@peoplesenergy.coop

Jeff Orth

Board Districts

To determine what Board District you live in, click below.

Board District Map
2022 Board of Directors
How the Electric Co-op Works
Back to Top

Quick Links

  • Become a Member
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • News and Information
  • Payment Options
  • Power Outage Information

Contact Us

People's Energy Cooperative

1775 Lake Shady Avenue South
Oronoco, MN  55960

Phone | (800) 214-2694 or (507) 367-7000
Fax | (507) 367-7001

Office Hours
Monday-Friday | 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

 

©2022 People's Energy Cooperative. All Rights Reserved.

  • Home
  • Community
    • Economic Development
    • Education Programs
    • Kids Corner
    • Operation Round Up®
    • Political Action
  • Cooperative Information
    • About People's Energy Cooperative
    • Board of Directors
    • Bylaws & Articles of Incorporation
    • Careers
    • Member Advisory Committee
    • News and Information
    • Our Mission, Vision & Values
    • Privacy Statement / Notice
    • Service Territory and Board Districts
    • Seven Cooperative Principles
    • Statement of Non-Discrimination
  • Electric Service
    • Start, Stop, or Transfer Service
    • Construction/Modification
    • 811 Call Before You Dig
    • Landscape & Tree Planting Guidelines
    • Power Line Safety
    • Power Outage Information
    • Power Outages Map
    • Vegetation Management
  • Member Center
    • Choose Paperless
    • Account
      • Account Management
      • Become a Member
      • Capital Credits
      • Payment Options
      • Rebates
      • Rates
    • Programs & Services
      • Co-op Connections Discounts
      • Energy Audits
      • Energy Management Programs
      • Energy Saving Resources
      • Evergreen Renewable Energy Program
      • Heartland Security
      • HomeServe Service Plan
      • Outdoor LED Lighting
      • People's Community Solar
      • Power Down - Voluntary Load Reduction
      • Standby Generator Program
      • Viasat Internet
      • Water Heating Programs
  • Renewable Energy & Electric Vehicles
    • Clean Energy Initiative Partnership
    • Minnesota Three LLC Solar Array
    • Renewable Energy
    • Electric Vehicles