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Board of Directors
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Clint Gjellstad
Chairman - Central District
Gjellstad graduated from Velva High and from NDSU with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting. He played defense for the Bison football team, starting every game in his 4-year career. His leadership, hard work, and determination was learned on the family farm and helped him on and off the field as well as in his career. Before returning to ND, Gjellstad spent 10 years in mortgage banking in Minneapolis. Along with his wife Jamie, they own and operate two local businesses in Velva.
Karen Hennessy
Vice Chair - Western District
Karen Hennessy was first elected to the board in 2010. She lives in Des Lacs with her husband Jay. Karen graduated from Lansford High School and Minot State University with an associate’s of applied science degree in 1993. She served on the Verendrye Electric Member Advisory Committee from 2001 to 2007 and was elected to serve two terms on the Operation Round Up Board. Karen was also elected to the Midwest Electric Consumers Association Board in 2019. The Midwest Association promotes and protects the interests of federal power customers and their consumers within the Missouri River Basin.
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Shawn Kaylor
Secretary / Treasurer - Central District
Shawn Kaylor, a fourth-generation farmer, was raised on a farm six miles north of Velva and currently lives on a farm near there. He graduated from Velva High School and attended Minot State University and North Dakota State College of Science, Wahpeton, where he studied farm management. Shawn is a volunteer firefighter with the Velva Fire Department and a member of the Velva Ambulance Service. He has been an advisory member and is newly elected to the Enerbase Cooperative board and is also a board member of North Dakota EMS Association.
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Maxine Rognlien
Asst. Secretary / Treasurer - Eastern District
Maxine Rognlien has served on the board since 2011. She grew up on a farm near Buffalo, N.D., which was served by Cass County Electric Co-op. She attended North Dakota State University and graduated with a major in Home Economics Education in 1979 and began her 32-year teaching career in Towner. She previously served on Verendrye Electric’s Member Advisory Committee. Maxine continues to learn and gain appreciation of electric cooperatives, having completed several classes to achieve her Director Gold Certificate. She was recently re-elected treasurer of the North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives.
Bob Wolf
Central District
Bob Wolf has served on the board since 2008. He is a Credentialed Cooperative Director and has completed the Board Leadership Training. Bob currently represents Verendrye Electric’s members on the Central Power Board of Directors. Bob is employed with Local 714 and is a licensed electrician in North Dakota. He still occasionally teaches apprenticeship classes and keeps very involved in the electrical construction industry.
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Ken Schild
Eastern District
Ken Schild is a Harvey native who has farmed on his grandfather, Bill’s, homestead southwest of the city since 1980. Ken is active in the community and has served on the school board, Farmers Union Oil Co-op board and as the Western Township assessor. He also served on the Verendrye Member Advisory Committee and the Operation Round Up board and is a former Farm Services Administration Wells County committeeman and former member of the Harvey Recreation Commission.
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Robert Hargrave
Western District
Robert (Bob) Hargrave was raised in the Minot area and his family has ties to the Drake and Anamoose area. His family moved to the west side of Logan in 1968 and that’s when they became part of the Verendrye family. He attended the Bell School and Minot Public School system and graduated from Magic City Campus. He attended the North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton for refrigeration and electrical. He worked as a Journeyman electrician at Coal Creek Power station while it was being built and from there spent 34 years working as an electrician/ appliance service tech and project manager for the housing maintenance on the Minot Air Force Base.
Blaine Bruner
Eastern District
Blaine Bruner has been a Verendrye board member since 2001. He previously served as chairman of the board for several years. Blaine has also served on the Operation Round Up board and was previously Verendrye Electric’s representative on the board of North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives (NDAREC). Blaine and his wife live near Drake where all family members are quite involved in the Bruner Angus Ranch, a fourth-generation family farm. He is also a member of the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association. He is a former board member of the McHenry County Farmers Union, a position he held for 30 years, and he currently serves on the Strege Township Board of Supervisors.
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Jon Hansen
Western District
Jon graduated from Bismarck State College with a degree in farm and ranch management and for the past 15 years has worked for RTC Networks. He has been a volunteer firefighter for the past 42 years with the Ryder/Makoti Fire & Rescue Department. He is also a member of the Calvary Church in Ryder and was a past board member. He also served on the VEC Member Advisory Committee. Jon is on the West McLean Insurance board & a member of the Douglas Sportsman’s Club.