Meet the Candidates:
At Large:
Terry Lautner (Incumbent)
Candidate
Director At Large
Term: 2027
My wife, Cathy, and I own and operate a dairy farm in Elmwood Township, Leelanau County. We have three adult children and three grandchildren.
- I am a member of the Michigan Milk Producers Association and a trustee on the Elmwood Township Board. In addition to serving on the Cherryland Electric Board, I am Cherryland’s representative on the Spartan Renewable Energy Board and a member of the Wolverine Power Cooperative Board.
I am running for re-election to ensure Cherryland remains financially strong and continues to focus on reliability and affordability. To improve the member experience, our financial strength allows us to utilize and embrace new technology, such as outage text messaging and advanced metering.
My experience in operating a successful farm business, which requires planning, budgeting, and allocating scarce resources to ensure financial success, translates well into the decision-making process of a co-op director. I will do my best to keep Cherryland as one of the leading electric co-ops in the nation. Thank you for your continued support.
As part of the election process, Cherryland’s Policy requests candidates to disclose any financial campaign contributors in order to best inform member voting.
April 16: View disclosure here.
Grand Traverse/Kalkaska County
Gabe Schneider (Incumbent)
Candidate
Director for Grand Traverse/Kalkaska County
Term: 2027
I am a small business owner who founded Northern Strategies 360, a Traverse-City-based business. We provide government relations services to clients throughout the state. This includes serving as the Director of Government Relations for Munson Healthcare and Northwestern Michigan College, and supporting organizations such as the Women’s Resource Center, TART Trails and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.
- I currently serve as Vice Chair of the Cherryland Board and represent the co-op on the Michigan Electric Cooperative Association, where I also serve as Vice Chair. In addition, I am the Chair of the Traverse City Downtown Development Authority and Michigan Council of Trout Unlimited, and serve on the Traverse Connect Government Relations Committee.
I want to help the cooperative continue to focus on our mission of providing safe, reliable, affordable electricity to all of our member owners, while also maintaining a strong commitment to the environment and our community. As we build on our successes, such as keeping the lights on 99.99% of the time in 2023, we still have more work to do: Navigating cost pressures while maintaining affordability and reliability, as well as ensuring we stay competitive with our wages and benefits. I am seeking another term on the Board to make sure that Cherryland remains sustainable and strong into the future.
Having served on the Cherryland Board since 2017, in addition to my role on the statewide association of electric coops, and my years of business and leadership experience, I bring a solid foundation of knowledge and skills that will continue to benefit the cooperative.
As part of the election process, Cherryland’s Policy requests candidates to disclose any financial campaign contributors in order to best inform member voting.
April 16: View disclosure here.
