Record Turnout Highlights
60th Anniversary Annual
Conference Breese, Princeton Earn Top Awards
For the second year in a row, IMUA’s 2008 annual conference - held May
13 and 14 at the Par-A-Dice Hotel in East Peoria - featured another record
turnout, with more than 130 IMUA members and their spouses, municipal
officials, guests and others attending the day-and-a-half event.
The gathering also featured a total of 25 vendor displays (hosted by 30
IMUA Associate Members and their representatives) as well as guest speakers
from, among others, the American Public Gas Association (APGA),
Ameren, Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives (AIEC), American
Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE), Illinois Clean Energy
Community Foundation (ICECF), Illinois Municipal Electric Agency
(IMEA) and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA).
Also speaking were LaDonna Driver, of the Springfield-based law firm
of Hodge, Dwyer & Zeman, and Ronald D. Earl, IMUA General Manager & CEO, who also served as master of ceremonies for this year’s event.
In addition, a total of 72 golfers participated in the Tuesday morning golf outing at Quail Meadows Golf
Course in nearby Washington, Illinois, an event which also raised more than $500 in scholarship monies for
IMUA’s 2009 Scholarship Program competition.
Also highlighting this year’s event was presentation
of the 2008 IMUA Member Municipality of the Year
Award to the City of Breese; awarding of the 2008
IMUA Safety Award to the City of Princeton; and, the
recognition of six IMUA-member municipalities -
Bethany, Breese, Princeton, Rock Falls, Springfield
City Water, Light & Power (CWLP) and Waterloo -
for various APPA-related achievements regarding RP-3
and other municipal safety programs, events and activities.
Approximately a dozen people also took part in
IMUA’s Wednesday morning “Spouses and Guests
Program,” which featured a shuttle trip to The Shoppes
at Grand Prairie Mall, located on Peoria’s west side. “This is the fourth year in a row that IMUA has
‘played well in Peoria’, a location which again proved
popular among many of our attendees, including a
large number of Utility, Affiliate and Associate
Members,” Earl noted. “IMUA extends its sincere thanks
and appreciation to all who helped make this year’s
60th anniversary celebration a huge success.”
Helping showcase the City of Peru’s new electric-powered vehicle (aka, the “PPV,” or Peru-Powered Vehicle) at this year’s annual gathering
at the Par-a-Dice Hotel in East Peoria were (from left to right) Peru Alderman and former IMUA Board Member Jack O’Beirne; Peru Electric
Consultant Joe Prazen; Peru Aldermen David Potthoff, Dave Waldorf and Joe Mikyska; Peru City Treasurer and Chief Driver, Rick Scheri;
and, Peru Alderman and current IMUA Board Member Ron Wren. The car’s operating costs are less than three cents per mile.
Kevin Casper (left) and Pete Johnson of Forster Electrical
Engineering, Inc. take a break during the conference’s Vendor display
and hospitality hour.
Bob Peterson (left) and Terry Bowen greet IMUA members and
visitors and answer questions at the Henkels & McCoy, Inc. display
booth.
Photo left: HD Supply Utilities’ Bill Lawyer, Sullivan Power Plant
Superintendent Doug Carnes, Sullivan Electric Superintendent
Shannon Risley and retired Sullivan Electric Superintendent and
former IMUA Secretary/Treasurer Doug Lane and his brother Jeff
Lane, Sullivan Streets Commissioner, were on hand to discuss IMUA
business, hear the results of Tuesday morning’s golf outing at Quail
Meadows Golf Course and in general, enjoy the food, fun and
fellowship of the conference’s vendor display and hospitality hour.
Power Line Supply’s Dan Calloway (holding shirt), Waterloo Electric
Superintendent Chuck Steppig (center) and Waterloo Public Works
Director Tim Birk (far right) peruse the large selection of golf-outing
prizes and gifts.
Altorfer’s Tim Scheurmann and Fabick CAT’s Stacey Grimm discuss
business while manning their company’s respective display booths and
tables.
Princeton Superintendent of Electric & Telecommunications Jason
Bird thanks attendees at Tuesday night’s awards banquet after the
City of Princeton was presented with IMUA’s 2008 Safety Award by
IMUA General Manager & CEO Ron Earl (left).
Mike Genin, Director of Marketing & Economic Development for IMEA
and IMUA, emphasizes a point during his Wednesday morning ratecomparison
presentation.
Scott Wiseman, Vice President-Midwest Region for the American
Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE), explains ACCCE
membership as a prelude to his Wednesday afternoon lunch presentation,
“The Governor, the General Assembly and the Future of Coal; Climate
Change and the Illinois General Assembly.”
Norman Conrad, General Counsel for the Association of Illinois Electric
Cooperatives in Springfield, explains the impact of interconnecting and
net metering as part of a presentation focusing on customer-owned
renewables. Conrad co-hosted the presentation along with fellow AIEC
colleague Don Wood and HD Supply Product Specialist Dan Cothern.
IMUA General Manager & CEO Ronald D. Earl (second from left) poses with 2008 IMUA Annual
Conference award winners who included (from left to right) Greg Yakle, Superintendent of
Electric Transmission and Distribution for Springfield City Water, Light & Power (CWLP); Jason
Bird, Superintendent of Electric and Telecommunications for the City of Princeton; Jeff
Fiegenschuh, Princeton City Manager; Tim Birk, an IMUA Past President and Board Member
and City of Waterloo Public Works Director; Paul Jakubczak, Electric Superintendent for the
City of Rock Falls; and, City of Breese Mayor Don Maue.
Among the many guest speakers and presenters who joined IMUA
General Manager & CEO Ronald D. Earl (left) at this year’s 60th
anniversary annual conference were Ameren Services Vice President of
Strategic Initiatives Shawn Schukar (center) and American Public Gas
Association President & CEO Bert Kalisch.
IMUA Contractual Trainer Al Thorson (center) visits with (from left
to right, with back to camera) Susan Gorke of PCI Management &
Consulting, Inc.; Steve Hinderliter of Sega, Inc.; and IMUA Board
Member and City of Naperville Assistant Public Works Director Mark
Curran (right).
City of Peru Alderman Joe Mikyska and his wife, Claudia, Alderman
David Potthoff, Peru Electric Consultant Joe Prazen and his wife,
Dianne, and Peru Alderman and IMUA Board Member Ron Wren enjoy
each other’s company and the Tuesday evening Vendor hospitality
hour.
Photo above: Julie Schmid, JoAnn Maguire and Joyce Ewert, all
of Geneseo, smile for the camera while visiting with each other
during the Vendor display and social hour.
A fully-stocked table of door prizes and vendor-supplied golf gifts
awaited attendees at the start of IMUA’s Vendor display and social
hour.
IMUA General Manager & CEO Ron Earl converses with the City of
Cairo’s Karl Klein at the start of the IMUA vendor display and hospitality
hour.
Naperville Director of Public Utilities Alan Poole, IMUA Administrative
Assistant Tammy Hall, Oglesby’s Jerry Scott and Highland City
Manager Mark Latham gather for a group photo prior to
announcement of the winners of Tuesday morning’s golf outing.
Bob Romo, Senior Program Officer for the Illinois Clean Energy
Community Foundation, delivers opening remarks for his
presentation on energy efficiency and renewable energy grants and
programs following the Tuesday night IMUA dinner banquet and
awards ceremonies.
APGA President and CEO Bert Kalisch at the opening of his
Wednesday morning presentation, “The Future of the Natural Gas
Market.”
IIlinois Emergency Management Agency Region 2 Coordinator Susan
Coers discusses the importance of disaster planning and emergency
operations procedures as part of her presentation titled “Preparing
for the Unthinkable: IEMA Disaster Preparedness.”
IMUA General Manager &
CEO Ron Earl opened
Wednesday morning’s
activities with a review of
IMUA’s performance for
the past year, highlighted
by a tribute to the
Association’s 60th year of
service to members.
