BLOOMFIELD — The Utilities District of Western Indiana REMC held its 90th annual meeting on April 22 at the cooperative’s headquarters, at which three officers for its Board of Directors were re-elected.
Those re-elected to the Board of Directors were Melinda Hendrix of District 7, David Kirkling of District 1, and Todd Carpenter of District 5. The full seven-member board now consists of Hendrix, Kirkling, and Carpenter, along with Shawn Dugan of District 2, Michael E. Williams of District 3, Terry McDanial of District 4, and W. Edward Cullison of District 6.
Because no new nominations to run for the Board of Directors were submitted, this year’s seats were uncontested. However, cooperative bylaws still require each candidate to receive a minimum number of UDWI member votes to validate the election. With members voting online, by mail, or in person at the annual meeting, more than 1,500 votes were cast—representing around 9% of the membership.
After announcing election results, UDWI REMC’s CEO Shane Smith gave an annual meeting presentation focused on ‘Keeping our Momentum.’ The presentation started with a brief look back on all that was accomplished over the last year, including the crews’ storm responses, achievements in safety, and the cooperative’s continued effort to support expanded fiber access across the territory. Smith next shared the cooperative’s strategic goals and next steps for UDWI.
“We recently completed a strategic plan to guide us in our day-to-day operations, but also to plan ahead for our members’ power needs,” said Smith. “Our number one priority is, and will continue to be, safety for our employees, linemen, and our members. We also want to ensure that everything we do enhances the cooperative’s mission of improving rural life and enhancing the communities in southern Indiana.”
Smith also emphasized the cooperative’s ongoing commitment to reliability and operational efficiency. With severe weather events becoming more frequent and intense each year, strengthening system resilience remains a priority. A key component of this effort is vegetation management—one of the cooperative’s largest investments over the last several years. While this is a high cost for the cooperative, Smith noted the importance of continuing the vegetation management effort as it plays a critical role in preventing outages and maintaining service reliability.
Other priorities include increasing member engagement through communications and education, along with initiatives that can enhance customer service experiences. Another goal aims to strengthen the workforce and culture within the organization through training, with a focus on creating a positive workplace with opportunities for growth and development.
Finally, Smith highlighted the intentional and proactive approach to economic development in the service territory. UDWI works closely with community partners to help prepare and ready our region for business growth that will attract jobs and expand the tax base for members. Projects that bring new investment to the region and lessen the burden on existing infrastructure and funding are important to strengthening the local economy and building better communities for members.
Member Keith Buck, a Greene County resident, attended the meeting to learn more about progress related to ongoing fiber expansion in the UDWI service area. “I have been a member for nearly 17 years and have attended the annual meeting several times during the past few years. I appreciate the opportunity to talk with the UDWI employees, get updates on the topics that are most important to me as a member, and learn how the cooperative is preparing for the next year,” said Buck.
The 2026 Annual Meeting presentation is available on the UDWI REMC website, and the next three board meetings will be held on Monday, April 27; Tuesday, May 19; and Monday, June 22. Stay updated on UDWI REMC by following them on Facebook or by going to www.udwiremc.com.
Utilities District of Western Indiana REMC (UDWI REMC), located in Bloomfield, Indiana, is an electric utility cooperative that serves nearly 16,000 members in Clay, Daviess, Greene, Knox, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Owen, Putnam, Sullivan, and Vigo counties and maintains over 2,700 miles of power line.
