The Kanza Cooperative Association Annual Meeting will be held on April 4, 2019 at The Cotillion, 11120 W Kellogg Drive in Wichita, KS. Doors open at 5 p.m. with dinner being served at 6 p.m. Business session and keynote speaker, Rhett Laubach, to follow immediately. Please RSVP to Paula at 620-546-2201 or 1-800-546-5614, Extension 310.
During the business session a bylaw change will be considered to change the method of voting to vote-by-mail. The full language of the proposed change is included below. Directors will also be elected for Eastern District, Northern District and Southern District positions.
Director Candidate Biographies
Eastern District: Brent Gruenbacher
Brent Gruenbacher farms in Colwich and Andale and as part of his
families operation in Reno, Harvey and Sedgwick counties with his dad
(Dennis), uncle (Mike Patry) and brother-in-law (Kyler Arpin). He grows
corn, soybeans and wheat with around half of the acres irrigated.
Gruenbacher served for two terms on the Andale Farmer Cooperative
Board of Directors and has served one term on the Kanza Cooperative
Board of Directors since the merger. Brent is married Kaitlyn, the couple
has two children: Walter (3) and Addilyn (1).
Northern District: Mike Christie
Mike Christie farms on the Pratt and Stafford County line. He has
served on the Kanza Cooperative Association Board of Directors
for 22 years total. Christie also serves on the soil conservation,
Ninnescah Rural Electric Cooperative, church and Rose Valley
Township boards. He is married to Julie, the couple have four
children Bradley (Courtney) of Florida, Ryan (Jill) of St. John, and
twins Tara and Teresa who are seniors at Kansas State University in
Manhattan. Mike states, “I would appreciate your vote and will work
hard to keep the coop profitable, efficient and growing.”
Southern District: Thomas Penka
Thomas Penka manages his family’s farm that produces wheat,
corn, milo, soybean, oats and cattle. The cattle operation has led
to a growth in hay production. Penka is completing his first term on
the Kanza Cooperative Association Board of Directors and currently
serves as Secretary of the organization. Penka states, “I would like
for you to consider voting re-elect me to the board. Kanza has
many great plans for the future of this cooperative business with
several in process and several on the drawing board. I will enjoy the
development and growth of our cooperative as a board member.”
Proposed Bylaw Change to Vote By Mail
Members will consider changes regarding voting method for election of Directors during the Annual Meeting. The proposed changes to Article IV Section 2 of the Kanza Cooperative Association bylaws, which will allow for vote by mail, are:
Strike the Following
Directors shall be elected by the active members of this association at the annual meeting, and nominations for each expiring term or vacancy shall be requested from the membership in session at the annual meeting. All elections of directors shall be by secret ballot unless there is only one nominee for any expiring term or vacancy. Each member of the association shall have one (1), but only one (1), vote for each expiring term or vacancy. The nominee receiving the greatest number of votes for each position shall be elected. Directors at large shall be elected after directors for districts have been elected.
Add the Following
Directors shall be elected by the active members of the association. Director elections shall be in conjunction with the annual meeting. The board of directors may appoint a Director Nominating Committee consisting of three (3) directors, whose terms will not expire at the ensuing meeting, with one member from each of the three (3) Districts. The Nominating Committee may also include one or more other members of the association. The Nominating Committee may nominate one or more candidates for any director whose term is expiring at the upcoming annual meeting. Nominations may also be made by petition addressed to the association requesting placement on the ballot of the name of a person nominated and signed by not less than twenty (20) members.
Not less than thirty (30) days prior to the annual meeting, the secretary shall cause notice to be sent to all members advising that director nominations are in order, designating the incumbent directors whose terms will expire at the next annual meeting, and advising of the names and contact information of the Nominating Committee Members. Nominations will close fourteen (14) days after the said notice whereupon the Secretary will provide all members with not less than (10) days’ notice of the annual meeting together with a list of director nominees and a return ballot, which may be returned by any available means to be received by the secretary or the secretary’s designee prior to the annual meeting.
The member’s ballot, as described above, shall be considered when the final vote is taken at the annual meeting or continuation thereof unless the member participates at the meeting and requests the surrender to the member of the member’s ballot.