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2023 Candidates for Director
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Merle Anderson
Elmhurst Member: 48 Years
Incumbent
Mr. Anderson is a lifetime resident of Pierce County and a member of Elmhurst since January of 1975. He was appointed to serve on the Board of Directors in January of 1997, and since his appointment has been reelected 6 times. Mr. Anderson was the owner of a local business, Mr. Muffler, for 19 years. He is presently a property manager and real estate investor in the Pierce County area.
“My desire to serve on the Board comes from a sincere concern that Elmhurst provides affordable, reliable electric service to the members. The challenge of achieving this goal will increase in the near future as we face tiered rates from BPA and legislative mandates concerning carbon emissions and energy portfolio standards. An experienced Board member is best suited to understand and take on these challenges, and I feel that my time at Elmhurst has given me that experience.
Please vote for me so I may return to the Boardroom to take on these critical issues, and achieve my goal of providing affordable, reliable electric service to the membership of Elmhurst.”
Victoria Lincoln
Elmhurst Member: 36 Years
Incumbent
“It’s been an honor to serve on the Elmhurst Mutual Power and Light Board for the past 12 years. I’m proud to have been a part of the decision-making process to replace two substations, increase the tree trimming program resulting in fewer power outages, and in implementing a replacement program to automatic meters that can be read directly from the utility office. These and other programs have helped Elmhurst to be more efficient and more technologically advanced.
If reelected, I look forward to working with the rest of the Board and staff on the challenges facing the electric utility industry in the coming three years.”
Ms. Lincoln was elected to the Elmhurst Mutual Board of Directors in 2011. During her career, she covered all issues relating to electric utilities in the Legislature and with the Bonneville Power Administration. She has been a life-long resident of Pierce County, having lived more than 50 years in Spanaway. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from The Evergreen State College.
Scott Coleman
Elmhurst Member: 27 years
I have worked for Kaiser Permanente (formerly Group Health Cooperative) for over 37 years and have held progressively higher positions for numerous professional organizations and as board chair of my previous church. My interest in serving Elmhurst in this capacity is to bring fresh perspectives to the existing board and to better understand and serve this community.
Brian Ricard
Elmhurst Member: 3.5 years
Brian grew up in the town of Westford, Massachusetts and attended public schools in the town up to, and including graduating from Westford Academy in 1977. Later that year, pursuing his childhood dream of being a firefighter, 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.
There, Brian finished up his bachelor of science degree in Business Administration. Upon his Air Force retirement, he moved to Western Washington with his wife Kim and two girls, Sonya & Melanie. He soon entered Federal Civil Service with the Department of Veterans Affairs, initially as a Payroll Technician, then transferred to 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, he opted to use his GI bill to pursue and obtain his Master’s 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 remaining here in the local area, Kim and Brian opted to return to the life they enjoyed here near Puget Sound. Brian currently works approximately one-half day per week driving cars and trucks 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 Grand Knight in the Knights of Columbus Council there.
When Brian & Kim were in the process or 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 even more of how the company operates, and to share with the Board any experiences he learned through his years in Federal service to continue Elmhurst’s track record of providing high-caliber electrical service at very reasonable rates.