Every member of Sumner-Cowley Electric is also a member, with voting rights and representation on the cooperative board. Seven directors are elected by members to represent each of our geographic districts, each director serves a three-year term. Board meetings are typically the last Wednesday of every month. Directors may be nominated by petition in accordance with the cooperative bylaws.
Elections for the Board of Directors are held by mail-in ballot and results are announced at the Annual Meeting. The terms are rotated by district and at least one seat is up for election each year.
District 1 - Craig Knudsen
District 1 - Craig Knudsen - Director
District 2 - Jeff Swanson
District 2 - Jeff Swanson - Secretary/Treasurer
Jeff wishes to continue to serve as Secretary/Treasurer for Sumner Cowley Electric to ensure that the co-op adheres to the principles that give members control of the direction the cooperative takes to provide electricity in a safe, reliable and cost-effective manner. He will always remember that we are member-owned, and that his job is to do what is best for the cooperative.
Jeff earned his Cooperative Credentialed Director in 2017 and his Board Leadership Certificate from NRECA in 2017.
Jeff received his associates degree from Cowley County Community College and both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Kansas State University. He has served on the board of directors for Two Rivers Cooperative, Rural Water District 3 and the Cowley County Extension.
Jeff is currently a director for the co-op residing in District 2, on the family farm east of Arkansas City, with his wife of 37 years, Darla. Jeff is an insurance agent for Farm Bureau Financial Services.
District 3 - John Beard - Director
District 3 - John Beard - Director
John Beard has served two terms on the Sumner-Cowley Board of Directors. He and his wife Abby are raising their beautiful little girl in the rural Udall area. After earning his associate degree at Butler Community College, John returned to his roots to continue as the fifth-generation farmer in his family. John’s grandfather, Gene Beard, retired from the SCEC Board of Directors in 2017 after proudly serving for 18 years. John was happy to fill that seat, and continue representing COOP members, friends, and family. During his 6 years as a director, John has earned his Credentialed Cooperative Director certificate (CCD), his Board Leadership Certificate (BLC), and his Director Gold Credential (DGC). Aside from his full-time farming operation, and his position on Sumner-Cowley’s Board of Directors, John also serves on the Two Rivers COOP Board, and the Cowley County Rural Water District #07 Board.
District 4 - Keith Leddy
District 4 - Keith Leddy - Vice President
Sumner-Cowley Electric Cooperative Trustee Keith Leddy has earned his Board Leadership Certificate (BLC) and was awarded a pin commemorating his completing the curriculum at the NRECA Regional Meeting held in October 15th and 16th in Omaha, Nebraska. Prior to earning his BLC, Leddy was certified as a Credentialed Cooperative Director (CCD) after completing the CCD curriculum which emphasizes foundational governance knowledge in addition to skills required of electric cooperative directors. The BLC curriculum extends the core CCD program, providing greater depth on industry, governance, risk management, rate making, and policy development.
District 5 - James "Jim" McMullin
District 5 - James "Jim" McMullin - Director
James “Jim” McMullin is Sumner-Cowley’s newest board member. His parents were raised in the Danville and Freeport communities in Harper County. McMullin was raised in Argonia where he attended elementary through high school. McMullin attended KSTC-Emporia and Wichita State University. McMullin married his wife, Cindy, who was raised in Wellington where the family settled after marriage.
The McMullins became members of Sumner-Cowley in 1978 while building a home outside of Wellington on his wife’s grandparent’s farm. The McMullins raised their daughters on the farm and continue to live there. McMullin worked for Southwestern Bell and AT&T and still employed in the telecommunications industry. He has served multiple terms on the USD 353 Board of Education and has also served on numerous committees at First United Methodist Church in Wellington, where the family remains members today. In the time that McMullin has been on the board at Sumner-Cowley Electric Cooperative he has earned his Credentialed Cooperative Director (CCD) Certificate, and is currently working on obtaining his Board Leadership Certificate (BLC). Both of these are director programs, filled with a robust variety of electric cooperative centered education and training.
District 6 - Gabe Schlickau
District 6 - Gabe Schlickau
District 7 - John Schon - President
District 7 - John Schon - President