Mid-Ohio Energy Celebrates 90 Years of Local Service during 2026 Virtual Annual Meeting

KENTON, OH – Mid-Ohio Energy Cooperative’s Annual Meeting of Members premiered last week, coinciding with the cooperative’s celebration of 90 years of service to members in its rural north-central Ohio territory.

The meeting was held in a virtual online-only format, allowing members the opportunity to log in at their convenience and view a co-op update, receive annual election results, and submit for a $20 meeting attendance energy credit.

In addition to the meeting, Mid-Ohio Energy also posted video updates from President & CEO John Metcalf, who spoke about the current state of the cooperative and power delivery, as well as an annual report from the Mid-Ohio Energy Community Fund, which awarded 31 grants totaling more than $43,500 in 2025.

Cooperative election results
In this year’s trustee election, a total of 795 votes were cast, constituting 11% of the available voting members.

The following candidates were elected to represent the membership at-large:
District 7: Ben Bowsher of Harrod
District 8: John Thiel of Marion 
District 9: Robert Imbody of Larue 

Ben Bowsher is newly elected to the District 7 trustee post, while incumbents John Thiel and Robert Imbody were re-elected in their respective districts.

The cooperative recognized outgoing District 7 trustee Gene McCluer, who opted not to seek an additional term. McCluer finishes his trustee tenure with a total of 41 years of service to the cooperative. Gene served in all local board leadership roles, including two terms as board chairman. Additionally, he represented the cooperative at the statewide level as a member and past chair of the Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives board.

Current board chairman Trevor Fremont thanked the membership of Mid-Ohio Energy for their involvement throughout the election process— as they served on the nominating committee, ran as candidates, and voted in the election.

Those who receive power from the cooperative can go online to view the meeting anytime between now and April 30, for the opportunity to receive their energy credit and be entered to win one of five bonus $100 energy credits. The page can be viewed online at www.MidOhioEnergy.com/AnnualMeeting.