The meeting was opened by Chairman Steve AmRhein and Brian Scheidler kept the minutes of the meeting.

All board members were present. Also present was CEO Brett Abplanalp and employees Matt Raver, Crystal Greathouse, Abby Asher and Sam Ruf.

Dale Wernke moved to approve the agenda. Suzanne Parmer seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

SAFETY MINUTE AND COOL MOMENT

Brett Abplanalp showed an educational video on the dangers of downed power lines caused by a motor vehicle accident. For the cool moment, Abplanalp showed a video from the lineman rodeo. Lastly, Abplanalp congratulated the most recent Operation Round Up winners.

APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES

Jason Barnhorst moved to approve the minutes from the Aug. 23 board meeting. Steve Nobbe seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

CEO UPDATE

Brett Abplanalp updated the board on strategic projects:

• Three-five year strategic plan projects

• Broadband feasibility team update

• Capital credits of deceased members’ project

• Financial management plan

Abplanalp then covered August’s company metrics as prepared on CTO. August’s median temperature was 2.6% cooler than our five-year average. Hoosier Energy’s purchased energy was flat compared to our five-year average with demand -0.9% lower than our five-year average. Year-to-date energy sales are -2.85% under budget. There were no major storms for the month of August. Lost consumer hours were 682 compared to our five-year average of 2,932. The number of outages was 51 compared to our five-year average of 54.

FINANCIAL UPDATE

Matt Raver reported on August financials as prepared on CTO. Net utility plant increased $113,144 and our current equity is 60.93%. Revenues are over YTD budget and power costs are over resulting in a gross margin under budget of $937,269 YTD. Controllable expenses are under budget by $365,648. The cash flow statement shows a beginning balance of $578,626 and we ended the current month with a net increase in cash of $851,595 resulting in an ending cash balance of $1,430,211.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT PLAN

Matt Raver presented a new policy to incorporate board guidance, cleaning up and combining four policies into a single financial management policy.

Dale Wernke moved to rescind the old policies and to approve policy 4-14. Steve Nobbe seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

CAPITAL CREDITS FOR DECEASED MEMBERS

Crystal Greathouse presented options to retire capital credits for deceased members as a follow-up request from the August meeting. After discussion, it was decided to have a policy written up and presented for board approval in a future meeting.

ANNUAL MEETING SURVEY RESULTS

Abby Asher presented the annual meeting survey results. Eighty-eight percent of members were satisfied with the annual meeting and 77% were satisfied with the voting process. Member participation continues to trend upward. Online voting is increasing while mail-in ballots are decreasing. Members continue to want an election that allows early, secure, multiplatform voting options. Members enjoyed the in-person meeting this year, especially the food and prizes.

ANNUAL MEETING 2024 RESOLUTION

Carl Riedeman moved to approve the Annual Meeting Resolution, which states to have the 2024 annual meeting on June 14, 2024, at the Decatur County Fairgrounds with the business meeting also being held at the event. Clay Nuhring seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

REMC COMMUNITY TRUST REPORT

Brett Abplanalp discussed and presented the report for the Round Up winners. Since the program was established in 1999, Decatur County REMC has awarded 323 grants totaling over $594,000.

IEC VOTING DELEGATE AND DIRECTOR NOMINATION

Jason Barnhorst nominated Steve AmRhein to be the IEC director. There were no other nominations.

Barnhorst moved to close nominations. Suzanne Parmer seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Steve AmRhein was appointed as the IEC director.

Barnhorst nominated Steve Nobbe to be the IEC voting delegate. Parmer seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Steve Nobbe was appointed as the IEC voting delegate.

POLICY/BYLAWS REVIEWS AND REPORT OUTS

After much discussion, Dale Wernke made the motion to approve the redline changes to the Bylaws. Section 3.06: Nominating Committee Duties. Steve Nobbe seconded. Carl Riedeman requested a roll call vote. The voting was as follows; Brian Scheidler — approve, Dale Wernke — approve, Carl Riedeman — does not approve, Clay Nuhring — approve, Suzanne Parmer — approve, Steve Nobbe — approve, Jason Barnhorst — approve, Steve AmRhein — approve. The motion passed with a 7-1 vote.

Nobbe made the motion to approve the redline changes in policy 3-3: Statement of Functions of Nominating Committee. Jason Barnhorst seconded. The motion passed with a 7-1 vote.

Barnhorst made the motion to approve the redline changes in policy 11-13: Identity Theft Red Flag Prevention Policy and 10-20: Employee Emergency Action and Fire Prevention Plan. Nobbe seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS

Hoosier Energy Board/Committee Update: Jason Barnhorst reported that the Hoosier board approved the power purchase agreement with Holtec International and Wolverine Power Cooperative to recommission the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Covert, Michigan. This will be the first recommissioned nuclear plant in U.S. history. Holtec will own and operate the plant, Wolverine and Hoosier will split the energy and capacity with Wolverine receiving the majority.

Suzanne Parmer moved to adjourn the meeting. Carl Riedeman seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously, and the meeting was adjourned to executive session at 8 p.m.