Mark Arnold was elected to the Wheatland Board of Trustees in 2016 to represent District 7, which included part of several south-central Kansas counties including Sumner, Harper, Kingman, and Sedgwick.  

Mark grew up in north central Oklahoma and has been living in his district since 2004. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma State University and started working in banking shortly after. Currently, Mark serves as the CEO for the Stock Exchange Bank of Caldwell.

In addition to his banking career, Mark has spent time serving as a  Member on the Braman (OK) school board, Kay County Cattleman’s Association -  Director from 1997-2000 , and junior high basketball and football coach at Caldwell Schools from 2008-2010.  Mark also has previous electric cooperative trustee experience through Kay Electric Cooperative in Blackwell, OK.

From 2007- 2019, Mark served as the Mayor of Caldwell. 

Mark is the current Wheatland board representative for Kansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc., the electric cooperative's statewide association. 

Mark’s wife Leslie works at the Caldwell Regional Medical Center, They have two daughters and two granddaughters. For fun Mark likes to hunt, fish, golf, as well as travel and attend sporting events.

Josh Young is a lifelong resident of western Kansas and represents District 2, serving members in Wichita and Wallace Counties.

After graduating from Greeley County High School in 1996, he attended Fort Hays State University before moving back to Tribune where he worked in his family's feed yard/ farming operation.  In 2005, Young began his banking career in Garden City and then moved his family to Leoti in 2009, where he is currently a senior vice president with Security State Bank.  along with his passion for agricultural finance, he and his wife, Courtney, an elementary school teacher and Garden City native, own and operate JCY Inc., a a storage unit facility in Leoti.

Josh has served as a member of the Wichita County Hospital Board, Wichita County Park and Recreation Board, served on Wichita County Economic Development and is currently serving his second term as a member of the Wichita County USD 467 Board of Education.  He has also served as a volunteer coach for Wichita County recreation football and basketball and is a member of the Christ Covenant Evangelical Presbyterian Church.

Josh currently serves as the Board's treasurer and is WEC's alternate representative for the Sunflower Electric Power Corporation Board.  He has achieved his Credentialed Cooperative Director Certificate from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and is currently working on his Board Leadership Certificate.

The Youngs have three sons, the oldest currently attending Fort Hays State University.  In his spare time, he enjoys traveling, coaching, spending time with friends and family and attending his children's sporting events.

First elected in 2016, Stacey Addison-Howland represents District 4. District 4 is a mostly rural district based in Syracuse.  It services a large agricultural base that includes family farms, cow/calf operations, and several dairies and feedlots.

Stacey earned her bachelor’s degree from Fort Hays State University and has previously taught high school business classes and worked in banking as a loan review officer and as part of an internal audit team.  She has been an agent for the Farmers Union Midwest Agency in Syracuse for nearly 18 years, serving Hamilton County and the surrounding area.

Stacey brings with her a wealth of experience from sitting on internal bank committees and numerous community boards including the Tamarisk Golf Course and Hamilton County Chamber of Commerce. 

Since joining the Wheatland board, Stacey has completed all three levels of board certification.  She is a NRECA Credentialed Cooperative Director and has earned both her Board Leadership Certificate and Director Gold Certificate.

Her goal is to be a voice for the small communities in Wheatland's service area and to be responsive to member concerns and employee safety.

Stacey and her husband Mike have two daughters. 

They enjoy attending concerts, golfing and camping.

In 2016, John Kleysteuber was elected as a Wheatland trustee for District 5. District 5 comprises most of Finney County, eastern Kearny County, and a small portion of northwest Gray County.

Growing up in Garden City, John attended Garden City High School, Garden City Community College, and received his bachelor’s degree in agribusiness from Kansas State University.

After college, John moved back to Garden City where he joined his family’s irrigated farming and cattle operation. 

John and his wife Marisa enjoy watching their boys Cooper and Colin participate in activities. When the family wants to escape for some weekend fun, they like to go water skiing, snowboarding, or taking the UTV to the mountains.

Lynn Freese was elected in 2023 to represent the Scott City District - District 1.

Lynn was raised on a farm in Oklahoma and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in agriculture from Oklahoma State University.  He relocated to Scott County in 1979 to join Wheatland Electric, first serving as the energy conservation director.  During his 38-year career with Wheatland, Lynn served in various capacities including supervisory roles in consumer services, internet technology, broadband and water. He was a Class 4 water system operator.  Lynn retired in 2017 to become a full-time rancher and continues to operate a cow/ calf operation in Scott County today.

Lynn has been a part of many community organizations including serving on the Finney County Rural Water District for ten years and has previously umpired little league baseball.

Lynn and his wife Lori have three adult children and one granddaughter.  In addition to enjoying time with family and ranching, Lynn is an avid fisherman, hunter and knife crafter.

Kevin White is a 1984 graduate of Greeley County High School and has resided in Greeley County for 20 years.

He currently farms 1,500 acres of crop ground and has had a cow/calf operation in the past. In May 2010, he went to work for Foley Equipment as a Petroleum Engine Product Support Representative where he is currently employed.

He started his career with Sunflower Electric Gas Division in Greeley County. When the plant was shutdown, he transferred to the Sunflower Electric coal-fired plant in Holcomb, Kansas, for a short time. He has been a member of Garden City Fire and Rescue for three years, moved over to be a reserve deputy with the Finney County Sheriff’s reserves, and was later being voted to captain of the reserves by his peers.

Kevin joined the Kansas Army National Guard in 1986 for eight and was the gun chief on an 8-inch howitzer. At that time, he worked for Northern Natural Gas located in Holcomb, Kansas, for six years, which was purchased by Enron. When Enron failed, he went to work for Exline Inc. in Salina, Kansas, to perform sales duties. Later, he was promoted to division manager over the ignition and automation division for 10 years. While in Salina, he was a member and commander of the Saline County Sheriff’s Mounted Patrol and Rescue Squad.

Kevin has been married to his high school sweetheart, Lori, for 35 years. The couple has one daughter, a son-in-law, and three grandchildren, all residing in Greeley County. Horseback riding, golf and following his grandchildren’s sporting events are his favorite hobbies.

Jeff Clarke was elected as a WEC trustee for District 5 in 2025. District 5 comprises most of Finney County, eastern Kearny County, and a small portion of northwest Gray County.

A native of Jetmore, Kansas, Clarke has lived in Garden City since 1982, following his graduation from Fort Hays State University. He recently retired after a 41-year career as a Certified Public Accountant, working with Birney and Company and later Keller and Miller, CPAs.

Jeff has been active in both his church and community, serving on committees for Big Brothers/Big Sisters, United Way of Finney County, Knights of Columbus, and various leadership roles at St. Dominic Catholic Church. He currently serves on the boards of the Finney County Humane Society, LiveWell Finney County Health Coalition, St. Catherine Hospital Development Foundation, and serves as a trustee for the SDSI Foundation, Inc.

He and his wife of 40 years, Marjie, enjoy traveling, spending time with friends, and making memories with their three adult children and three grandchildren.

When invited to run for a board seat on the WEC Board of Trustees, Clarke welcomed the opportunity. Throughout his career, he viewed his work as a way to help others—and he sees the cooperative in the same light: people helping people. He looks forward to collaborating with community and business leaders to help guide WEC’s mission and support the region’s future.

Maribeth Benker has lived in Great Bend for most of her life, bringing a strong background in agriculture, business management, and legal support to her work. She represents District 6 in WEC's service territory, which encompasses the City of Great Bend and was acquired by our cooperative through the Aquila acquisition in 2007. She was elected by the membership in 2025. 

After moving from her family’s farm in Reno County in 1966, she spent 15 years managing the financial operations of her family’s John Deere dealership. In the 1990s, she and her late husband founded an irrigation service and sales company, where she continues to serve as secretary/treasurer and provides financial oversight.

For the past 30 years, Maribeth has worked as a civil litigation paralegal at Watkins Calcara, Chtd. Her experience includes a wide range of cases, from employment law and personal injury to contracts and eminent domain. She has also worked on behalf of Wheatland Electric Cooperative, Inc. and other cooperatives, gaining valuable insight into service territories, annexations, and utility regulations.

Maribeth's lifelong connection to farming and rural life gives her a deep understanding of the concerns facing agricultural communities. Combined with her business and legal experience, she offers a well-rounded perspective on the needs of WEC’s members and the importance of maintaining strong, reliable, and cost-effective electric cooperative services.

John Sullivan was appointed to the board in 2021 to fill a vacated seat by an outgoing trustee. He represents District 6 in Wheatland's service territory, which encompasses the City of Great Bend and was acquired by our cooperative through the Aquila acquisition in 2007.

John, a native of Logan, KS, is the chief financial officer of the Great Bend Cooperative Association and has lived in Great Bend for 24 years. Prior to that he was a certified public accountant for Lindburg Vogel, where he audited local grain cooperatives. A graduate of Western Illinois University, where he also played college football, John received his bachelor's in business finance. He also holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Wichita State University.

John has served as an ambassador for the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce for 13 years, is currently a member of the Great Bend Optimist Club and past president, has served as treasurer for a local Boy Scouts troop for 12 years, and has also served as a PTA president for a local Great Bend school.

He is married to his wife, Annie, of 33 years, and together they have two children: Erin and Blake. In his spare time John enjoys spending time with his family hiking in the mountains and biking around Barton County enjoying the countryside.

Dustin Stansbury, a native of Argonia who graduated from Chaparral High School in Anthony, is a small business owner from Harper. 

Dustin has owned and operated DLS Underground LLC, with his wife, Lindsey, since 2014. 

The small business owner employs almost two dozen employees, and the company specializes in the placement of underground utilities in commercial, industrial, and residential areas. 

District 7, which represents a region of south-central Kansas that includes communities across Sumner, Harper, Kingman and Sedgwick counties, was acquired by WEC following the 2007 Aquila purchase. 

Dustin has three daughters: Cabela, 8; Kimber, 6; and Sterling, 4.

The family enjoys traveling to the lake on the weekends and attending ball games together.