Sue Hakes
Local

Arrowhead Cooperative launches new branding, welcomes new board member

Arrowhead Electric Cooperative held its annual meeting on Saturday, June 5 on the football field at School District 166. This was the first time the cooperative’s annual meeting was held outdoors and by all accounts, it was a success.

CEO John Twiest welcomed co-op members and presented highlights from 2019 and 2020 since there was no annual meeting in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Twiest said overall the cooperative is in sound financial condition as evidenced by strong kilowatt sales, good margins, and continued growth.

Twiest commended Arrowhead Cooperative staff for their work during the pandemic, noting that the co-op worked with the community to help ensure that teachers, students, and local businesses had internet access.

Sara McManus, Arrowhead’s Member Service Manager, and Amanda Groethe, from Fuller Creative, were honored for their work on the newsletter that goes out with bills each month. Thanks to their work, the co-op received the National Rural Electric Association’s “Spotlight on Excellence Silver Award.”

CEO Twiest also announced the launch of new branding for the electric cooperative. Noting that the co-op has changed and grown over the years, it was decided that a new logo is needed. Twiest said it has been recognized that the two divisions of the co-op, electric and broadband, needed to united under one single, consistent look. The new logo/brand includes the name “Arrowhead Cooperative,” with two small images, a “power” button, and a symbol reflecting the Arrowhead region, a pine tree.

Part of the update includes changing the name of True North Broadband to Arrowhead Broadband.

In addition to a new visual update, the co-op launched a new website this week. See the new website here.

The meeting concluded with the announcement of the co-op board of director election results. Mike Littfin was reelected in District 4 and Stan Tull was reelected in District 5.

District 2 had two candidates for that vacancy, Howard Hedstrom and Donna Lunke. Lunke won the vacant seat and joins the Arrowhead Cooperative board.