Southeastern Electric Cooperative Honors Employees for Years of Service
Southeastern Electric Cooperative (SEC) honored thirteen employees and two board members for their years of service.
“I want to express my sincere gratitude to these employees and board members for their dedication and contributions to Southeastern Electric,” said Chad Kinsley, CEO of Southeastern Electric Cooperative. “I appreciate their commitment to our cooperative and our members.”
Keith Geiken, Sioux Falls crew foreman, celebrated his 25-year work anniversary. “My wife and I are both from Lennox and wanted to stay near family,” shared Geiken. “Being able to have a great career and stay close to home was important to me.”
Charles Fink, an electrician at the Marion office, also reached his 25-year milestone. Both Geiken and Fink remembered the 2005 ice storm that affected the Parkston area. “The conditions were grueling,” recalled Fink. “My job was to supply food and drinks to the crews and then I assisted with loading and hauling poles to deliver them to the crews. It was incredibly challenging work for everyone but completely rewarding in the end to see the lights come on.”
Todd Nelson, VP of IT, was recognized for his thirty-five years of service. Over the years, Nelson has witnessed several changes to the cooperative and the utility industry. “The changes in technology keep the industry exciting,” said Nelson. “When I started, members were reading their own meters and now we have the technology for the meters to report the data back to the co-op. We went from paper service orders to completing them on iPads. We are always working to improve our service for our members. I enjoy developing workflows to help make us a more efficient team.”
The following employees and board members celebrated anniversaries:
- Five years: Devin Eppard, Sheryl Fromm, and Dean Smethurst
- Ten years: Derik Bialas, Jeremy Hanson, Ben Piehl, Becca Steenek, and Johnathan Wildeboer (board member)
- Fifteen years: Travis Gerken and Sean Jolley
- Twenty years: Duane Pulse
- Twenty-five years: Charles Fink and Keith Geiken
- Thirty years: Steve Holmberg (board member)
- Thirty-five years: Todd Nelson