VOTE

To Vote On-Line you will need your customer number.  This number is NOT on your monthly bill, however you can find it in your “Smart Hub” account.  Click on “My Profile”, then “Manage My Registered Accounts”, it will be the number next to your name.  See the graphic below:

 

2024 Candidates for Director

John Costanti

Elmhurst Member: 17 Years

Incumbent

My focus as a director is to ensure that our mission to “safely deliver reliable low-cost power to our members” is sustained and that we remain careful and thoughtful with our customer funding.  Since 1922, Elmhurst has been handled with great care by people with a passion to serve their neighbors.  The organization has done a remarkable job of adapting to change with careful planning and common sense.  Elmhurst is highly respected in the industry and our power rates are the lowest in the region, and one third of the national average.

The national trend away from fossil fuels and toward electrification is bringing its own set of new challenges for our team.  We have the personnel and a detailed plan to ensure our mission is carried out in a cost-effective way.  Infrastructure upgrades, substation rebuilds, user friendly metering, outage mapping, pole replacement, tree trimming, team building, safety training, and much more are happening now to prepare us for the future.

In the last term I have served as Board President and earned my Credentialed Cooperative Director Certification.  I also served on the Labor Negotiation Committee, participate in state and regional conferences, and participate in county and statewide association meetings.   In 2023, along with other power utilities, we formed WAPPA (Washington Public Power Association) and I have served as a member of that organization for the benefit of all Elmhurst Customers.  WAPPA gives Elmhurst a direct voice with our State Legislators to be able to communicate the needs of our members as it relates to power delivery.

I am proud of Elmhurst Mutual and honored to serve on its board. Please cast your vote for me to continue making Elmhurst Members a priority.

 

Scott Coleman

Elmhurst Member:  28 years

As a customer of Elmhurst, I greatly appreciate the low rates we pay. I’m impressed with the service the staff provide and the innovations and infrastructure enhancements I’ve seen Elmhurst implement over the 28 years my family has been members in this community.

I believe the member-controlled cooperative model is an excellent way to meet the needs of the customer as the community Elmhurst serves expands and changes. I believe I can bring fresh ideas and oversight to the board with my professional experience and genuine interest in improving the community.

I have worked in a management capacity at a large national healthcare organization for over 39 years. My current role is in Finance leading the Asset Management Program. My previous roles encompassed multimillion-dollar budgets, a staff that exceeded 150 team members, experience with labor relations, and a strong sense of customer service and process improvement.

I have served on numerous professional and non-profit boards and committees and have a collaborative and professional leadership style.

I appreciate the opportunity to be considered for the board.

 

Brian Ricard

Elmhurst Member:  4.5 years

Brian hails from Westford, Massachusetts where he attended public schools and graduated from Westford Academy in 1977. Later that year, pursuing childhood dreams of being a firefighter and seeing the world, he enlisted in the United States Air Force as a Fire Protection Specialist.  He spent the next twenty years traveling around the globe in service to the country and rose through the ranks to Senior Master Sergeant, and within the Fire Service to Deputy Fire Chief in his last two assignments of Altus AFB, Oklahoma and Kadena Air Base Okinawa, Japan. At Kadena, Brian finished up his bachelor of science degree in Business Administration. Upon his Air Force retirement in 1997, Brian moved to Western Washington with his wife Kim and two daughters, Sonya & Melanie. He soon entered Federal Civil Service with the Department of Veterans Affairs, initially as a Payroll Technician, then transferred into Human Resources Management. His career with the VA began in Seattle at the VA Puget Sound Healthcare System in 1998. With Brian’s new career direction in HR, he opted to use his GI bill to pursue and obtain his Masters Degree in Human Resources Management from

Chapman University located on Joint Base Lewis-McChord.  Brian once again rose through the various HR levels within the VA to become the Chief of Employee & Labor Relations at VA

Puget Sound.  In 2011, with the opportunity to return nearby to where he grew up and to be close to extended family with whom he could again pursue his lifelong hobby of ice fishing, he accepted the position of Chief, Human Resources Management at the VA New England Healthcare System hospital in Manchester, New Hampshire. Upon his retirement from the VA in 2019, with their youngest daughter having remained here in the local area, Kim and Brian

opted to return to the life they enjoyed here near Puget Sound.  Brian currently works two part- time jobs to keep himself active.  On Tuesdays he works at LifeScience Logistics warehouse in Puyallup, and on Wednesdays he can be found driving used vehicle inventory through the auction barn at Manheim Seattle Auto Auction in Kent. He is very active in his faith and

attends Holy Disciples Catholic Church on South Hill, where he is also the Faithful Navigator in the Knights of Columbus (KofC) Assembly there as well as a Trustee for the KofC Council. When Brian & Kim were in the process of relocating back to the Puget Sound region, they found their retirement home in Parkland. They soon learned from their neighbors what they

were suspecting on their own about the terrific electrical provider they have in Elmhurst Mutual. They’re all very impressed with the low rates, and customer-driven service that Elmhurst

Mutual provides to its customers.  Brian enthusiastically would love to join the Board of Directors to learn the intricacies of Elmhurst’s operations and to be able to inculcate any experiences he’s learned through his years in Federal military and civil service to Elmhurst to aid in its continuous, successful track record of providing high-caliber electrical service at very reasonable rates.