After 22 years at Alfalfa Electric Cooperative, Gary Olson is

retiring from his job as Warehouse Foreman. He hasn’t always been the foreman, though. Gary was hired in August of 1997 to be the Oil Circuit Recloser Technician, a new endeavor for AEC and for Gary. When Bob Resler retired in 2012, Gary became the Warehouse Foreman. The last seven years and the years before that were spent doing jobs that Gary loved. Not many people have that feeling about their occupation.

Gary was born in Waynoka, OK and moved to Aline, OK when he was six. He helped his dad run the dairy farm there. In 1976 he married Kim, and they moved to Carmen, OK, where they still live today. Kim recently retired in April after teaching for 41 years.

Family means a great deal to Gary. Retirement will allow Kim and him to spend more time with family. They have three sons,

Landon, Dane, and Ian. Landon and his wife Ana live in Wichita, KS. Ian also lives in Wichita. Further down the interstate at Kansas City, MO, lives Dane and his wife Kristen. They have two children, Olivia-3 and William-1. Gary has always been proud of his sons, but having grandchildren brings a new meaning to proud.

Gary is a sports fan. I was reminded of that when his ESPN notice went off on his phone during the interview. Gary’s favorite teams are the OU

Sooners, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Kansas City Royals.

During retirement, Kim and Gary will continue traveling. They have already vacationed in Hawaii (twice) and Ireland. A year ago, they attended Landon and Ana’s wedding in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. There have been many family trips to the mountains in both New Mexico and Colorado. In September, Gary and Kim spent a week at Fun Valley, CO. Kim and Gary will enjoy a trip to Italy in March.

Retirement plans will undoubtedly contain more traveling.

Some things will not change with retirement. Gary and Kim will continue going to garage sales and estate sales on Saturdays. Tip to other fellow shoppers from Gary, “Go to estate sales on Saturday because everything is always half price!”

Gary had an idea of when he wanted to retire. “It got here quicker than I thought!

It seems like it was just

Continued on page 2

ALFALFA ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE'S

November 2019 | NUMBER 11 VOLUME 74

Published monthly for our members

HOTLINESPO Box 39, 121 E Main, Cherokee, OK 73728 | www.aec.coop

By Robyn Turney

Gary and Kim look forward to retirement. They plan to relax at home for awhile and then doing some more traveling.

Looking forward to changes in life

ALTERNATING CURRENTS...

Joe WaggonerDistrict 5

For 17 years, Joe Waggoner, from Nash, Oklahoma, has served the members of District 5. He and his wife Darlene have one daughter, Julie Price. Julie and her husband Mike live in Durango, Colorado.

Farming and ranching have taken up many hours, both day and night, for many years of Joe’s life. He finally gave up those long hours and is retired now. He now seems to have found the time to work on a variety of projects around the house. Joe continues to work on the restoration of a lawyer bookcase. A Coca-Cola clock is another endeavor that is receiving his attention. Joe also labors over the refurbishing of a visible gas pump. Hopefully, he will share the before and after pictures of these projects. Retirement has also given Joe more time to add to his collection of over 110 different antique coffee cans!

Like most responsibilities in life, being a board member at a co-op has its highs and lows. Joe finds it difficult to deal with government regulations, changes in the electric industry, and environmental agendas. However, co-op board members enjoy many enjoyable moments, too. “Representing members and working with the great AEC staff and employees is the best part of being a board member.”

Members hear many comments about their cooperative. Joe wants members to know that Alfalfa Electric Cooperative is one of the most financially stable co-ops in the nation, yet it has some of the lowest rates. Hearing good things about AEC never gets old.

January when I was thinking

about retiring at the end of the year, and

now it’s almost here!”

Manager of Operations and Engineering Jim Daub had this to say about Gary. “Working with Gary over the years has been a real pleasure. I will miss his dedication and accuracy, but most of all, I will miss his friendship.”

When asked what he liked most about his job, Gary replied, “I loved this job – still do. I enjoyed making sure the materials were there. When the crews come in, they had what they needed to get the job done. I always wanted things right…right as possible.”

Gary complimented the guys he works with daily. He knows that

the pole yard couldn’t run efficiently without AEC’s crews. “Our guys are excellent.” Gary was quick to praise the efficiency of Engineering Assistant Jess Schanbacher. "Her job isn’t easy. Keeping up with the changing materials and making sure that the items and quantity are correct are not simple tasks."

Kevin Roberts is taking over Gary’s responsibilities. He has been working with Gary for eight years. Since the two have been preparing

for Gary’s retirement, the personnel change should go rather smoothly. Gary’s advice for Kevin is “Do the best you can do. Look ahead for the things that need to be done.”

Gary has “no regrets” when looking back at his 22 years of service to AEC. “I am going to miss the people, the guys – everybody.” No regrets here, either, Gary. You have served the AEC members well. AEC will miss you, too but wish you and Kim the best in retirement.

The post office has determined that these capital credit checks were undeliverable. Please call (580) 596-3333 and ask for Christy Schanbacher, Gina Waugh, or Jess Schanbacher if you have current contact information for the following individuals or their heirs. This will complete the list of individuals and businesses.

Continued on page 4

Jerome, OwenJohn, MarcyJohnson, ArthurJohnson, PhilipJohnson, ShairyJohnson, RuthJohnston, James WJojola, JoyceJomax Construction CoJones, DavidJones, EdmondJordan, James MJoseph Oil CorporationJudd, HenryJueneman, SteveKanokla Oil & Gas, CorpKansas Pipeline PtspKappel, Don Keck, Raymond GKeeling, Ken Kelly, GalenKelsey, Norma JKennedy, AnnaKephart, Kenneth C Kern Painting & Sand BlastingKerr, B EKerr, H TKetchum, MichaelKilbourne, MarkKilby, CliffordKimberly, DwainKing, Richard EKing, KimberlyKing, Delmer WKinnard, GeorgeKletke, RolandKnoll, DonaldKoehn, MarieKoonce, PhilKorell Jr, HenryKreiman, AlyssaKroll, GeneKun Sun PlumleeKunzman, RaymondLake Community ClubLakey, LillianLakey, Cletis MLambert, BenjaminLamke, Rita

Lamunyon, JustinLandreth, Harold ELang, Ernest Larkin, AdamLasater, AudreyLattimer, MickeyLauck, EstelleLedgerwood, HallieLee, BettyLeeper, E ALenhart, DustinLeslie, ShirleyLeslie, Thomas WLewis, G HLewis, James HLindsay, CorrineLindsey Land & Cattle LLCLister, CleveLittle, CindyLittrell, GeorgeLohmann, ArnoldLong, JamesLong , GlennLong II, A LLoven, RobertLueck, MarlinLuster, ElizabethLyons, HadLyons, ChadMaguire Oil CoMalenke, DaleMantz, NettieMarlo, DonMarsolf, CraigMartin, PearlMartin, ToddMartinez, JenniferMathers, CodyMathews, LoriMayberry, Everett LMcBrayer, JanieMcCaul, MadeleneMcCormick, Naoma LMcCullough Comsites CorpMcDonald, SteveMcDonald, DedieMcDowell, HaroldMcDowell, Amsa

McGlone, GeorgiaMcGuire, JohnMcGuire, Scott LMcKnight, EvaMcLaughlin, Kenneth McNamer’S L P GasMcQueen, RobynMcVay, CraigMcVicker, LaurenMcWhirt, CrystalMcWilliams, GoldieMeans, VernonMerrel, MargaretMessenger, AlfredMessick, MattMeyer, Forrest AMeyer, RichardMichlitsch, JohnMid-Continent Energy OpMiller, EdgarMiller, O JMiller, WillardMitchell, GlendaMondoux, SteveMontgomery, ClaudeMontgomery, RosalineMontoya, MikeMoore, KellyMoore, JayMorgan, BarbaraMorland, Alfred DMorland, Darold DMorning Star Baptist ChurchMorris, MargaretMorris, Maria VMorrison, H EMoser, LeleandMoyer, LillianMueller, Paul CMulkey, LindaMulkey Jr, HubertMurray, AlfredMurray, Glenn HMurray Jr, Thomas EMurry, TomNall, GeraldNance, JimNeely, Joe

Neilson, ScottNelson, JaneNelson, Lila BNelson, SydNelson, BernardNew Life Assembly of God Church IncNewman, HeatherNewton, Craig WNichols, TimothyNigh, M WNollenberger, BrianNollenberger, BethNollenberger, DustinNowels, W MOliver, Joe Olson, AmyOlson, TeresaOringderff, DaleOshel, WarrenOshel, J HPage, DonPainter, Charles RPalmer, L EPannell, SaundraPantel, DorisPantel, Al SPark, PierceParker, Howard & BelvaParker, LorettaParker, RobertParker, JohnParris, GaryParson, OpalPata, DorothyPatterson, A QPattillo, RichardPatton, LonPendpac IncPeterman, PamelaPetromark ExplorationPfleider, YvellePhelps, DorothyPhillips, Evelyn Pierce, CorrinePittman, WaynePlains Marketing & TranspPoindexter, LehmanPollock, Myrtle P

Posey, H LPotter, JackiePowell, AndrewPrewett, PattiPrince, JoanPrivett, Frank Prochaska, DonProchaska, J MProtégé Engergy, LLCProvince, ColetaProvost, DonPruitt, JohnPugh, DannyPyle, RobertQualls, SueQuinn Energy CorpRansom, B RReeves, SethReitz, Rowena EReplogle, L DResler, ElveraReynolds, HelenReynolds, Robert LRhea, JimRice, LeslieRichard, Virgil E Richardson, Myra BRichardson, DonRicke Sr, DennisRiggs, JackRiley, Elsie MRipley, CodyRitchie, LeroyRitter, IrvinRoach, Erica PRobbins, Carolyn LRobbins, RussellRobinett, Mae ERobins, ChesterRobinson, JustinRogers, MikeRollins, BettaRollins, GeorgeRollins, Lila QRonck, John PRose, David MRoss, AileenRoth, PhyllisRound Up ClubRoy, James M

AEClfalfa ooperative

lectric

Power Outage?SmartHub App

580-596-3333 | 888-736-3837

Board of Trustees John Regier, President

Ringwood, OK (District 4)

Steve Eck, Vice President Sharon, KS (District 6)

Julie Russell, Sec. Treas Freedom, OK (District 3)

Mark Angle Byron, OK (District 1)

Larry Dewitt Cherokee, OK (District 2)

Joe Waggoner Nash, OK (District 5)

Joe Hise Cleo Springs, OK (District 7)

Joe Woods Cherokee, OK (District 8)

Greg Goetz CEO & General Manager

Gail Ridgway Chief Financial Officer

Jim Daub Manager of Engineering & Operations

Brandon Wright Director of Engineering

Christy Schanbacher Director of Accounting

Terry Ryel Manager of Marketing

& Public RelationsScott Cudmore

Director of OperationsRobyn Turney

Communications Specialist Kyle Hadwiger

Attorney580-596-3333

Continued from page 3Rucker, CraigRunge, Alan LRupe, JeanRupp, KyleRusk, PattyRyther, Adeline RSalzer, Irvin CSamrock, LutitiaSanchez, ShaunSapp, BrianSayers, EssieSayers, TressieSchartz, LeroySchieck, LottieSchmidt, John HSchmitz, KarlSchoneweis, C HSchrock, ElwynSchuermann, BradSchuler, Lou AnnSchwartz, C DScott, AlvetaScott, Edna GScribner, JoelScripsick, MichaelSeale, WillieSeiger, ArminaSellers, CarolynSeverin, Emil FShaffer, Mary AShaffer, LarryShell, CaryShoemaker, Carl L

Short, NeilShults, AllenSigl, ThelmaSilmon, CynthiaSimpson, DonaldSims, SarahSkillings, StanleySmith, Clyde PSmith, JewelSmith, Leroy JSmith, MurlynSmith, Nellie BSmith, Norma JeanSmith, HarveySmith, GeorgeSmith, Helen ASmyrl, MarthaSnead Jr, John RSnider, J LeeSodowsky, JasonSomers, Orville WSouthard, JaneSparks, KathySpeaker, GalenSpinney, DebraSpringsteen, Ralph JStallings, Gladys YStallion Energy IncStarks, TroyStebens, HaroldSternberger, GlenStewart, George KStewart, Steven

Stice, MauriceStocking, BernieStoddard, RobertStone, RickieStout, Pat Stout, Ralph LSTP IncStraw, VeraStuber, Gladys EStudnicka, TomSturgeon, PearlSturgeon, MeganStutzmann, JohnSymns, E WT Bone RanchTag Team Resources LLCTate, IreneTaylor, Christy MTaylor, D LTaylor, IvanTerry, Twyla DThomas, Glenn S Thomas, Howard AThompson, MichaelThree LakesTodd, JamesTrejo, CristinaTrentham, Myrtle JTrevitt, Cora RTrotter, HowardTurner, Robert EUnruh, IreneVandeveer, Lance

Vandevelde, CVandivort, LukeVandruff, LucilleVap, ChrisVenable, JoelVillarreal, KasandraVincent, LoydVogelsong, BrianVonschriltz, CharlieVoss, CathyVoth, JeremiahWaite, RobertWallace, ElizabethWallace, JosettaWalls, CherylWalters, DorisWanless, JuanitaWanless, JohnWardrop, JustinWarren, Everette RWasson, RebeccaWasson, PatrickWeaver, James EWedel, KentWeibel, Josette MWelch, KerryWelch, DavidWells, PearlWertz, John Weset, Jewel AWessels, LauraWest, EthanWharton, Lloyd

White, ConnieWhite, TracyWhite, CarrollWhite, NorvalWhiteaker, PeggyWhitney, VernonWhitworth, LarryWhitworth, FannieWick, MichaelWiggins, BelleWight, H AWilber, Richard PWilhite, NevaWillbros Engineers IncWilliams, SusanWilliams, RickleeWilliams, KyleWilliams, JimWilson, VickieWilson, Gerald Wilson, DebbieWilson Jr, Raymond CWilton, Virginia RWinn, LarryWinters, VeraWion, LloydWise Nickel, FlorenceWohlgemuth, StephanieWolfe Jr, John WWostal, StevenYoung, Gayle MZukerman, Morris