PAHRUMP – Valley Electric Association (VEA) Board President John Maurer was re-elected to a fourth term in District 4, and David Hall was chosen as the new board representative in District 2 by members of VEA in March elections.
In Amargosa Valley, Hall replaces retiring board member Shiela Rau, who has served 18 years on the Board, one of the longest tenures in the 51-year history of the organization.
“I’m certainly grateful to be re-elected,” said Maurer. “It’s an honor to serve.”
Maurer, who represents Fish Lake Valley, said two of his top priorities include rolling out high-speed broadband service to all the districts and trying to reduce VEA’s long-term debt. “We want to run the company the best we can,” said Maurer. “Anything we can do to make the lives of the members better is very important.”
Maurer has served on VEA’s Board of Directors for eight years representing District 4, serving as Board Treasurer, Secretary and now, President.
A 41-year resident of Fish Lake Valley, Maurer grew up in the area and chose to make it his home after graduating from the University of Nevada, Reno, with a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural business. Maurer and his wife, Valerie, have three children.
David Hall, the new District 2 representative, and his wife, Pam, have been residents of Amargosa since 1994. He is currently serving on the Nye County Water District Governing Board as the Vice Chairman, on the Amargosa Planning Committee as Chairman, member of Amargosa Senior Project Council and Nye County Senior Nutrition Program Board of Directors.
Hall said he had developed great respect for the VEA board over the years as well as admiration for outgoing board member Shiela Rau, which prompted him to run for her seat.
The direction of the VEA board “makes me really excited about rural Nevada,” said Hall. High-speed broadband, which is in the process of being installed in all the valleys served by VEA, is a game changer for farmers, he added.
“These farmers want to take advantage of the new technology. This can change farming. You can’t believe the difference in the increased yield and the decrease in expenses.”
With his work on the Amargosa Planning Board and farming he has had experience in the VEA service area, including distribution, service installations and efficiency programs for irrigation.
Each year, two of the six positions on the board are up for election. In 2017, elections will be conducted in District 5, where Kenneth Derschan currently serves as director, and District 6, which is headed up by David Dawson.
The three-year terms begin at the first board meeting after the April 23 annual meeting.
About Valley Electric Association, Inc.
Valley Electric Association, Inc. (VEA) is a member-owned nonprofit electric utility headquartered in Pahrump, Nev. While VEA started as a small rural electric utility in 1965, the company now provides service to more than 45,000 people within a vast 6,800-square-mile service area located primarily along the California-Nevada border, with the majority in Nevada. VEA’s service area starts in Sandy Valley, southwest of Las Vegas, and extends north for more than 250 miles to Fish Lake Valley. For more information about VEA, please visit www.vea.coop.
###