Democratic elections are held each year for trustee positions during the Wheatland Electric Annual Meeting. Candidates must be active Wheatland Electric account holders.
This year's elections will be held at the 74th Annual Wheatland Electric Meeting on April 27, 2022. (Members of the nominating committee can also be viewed at this link.)
A bylaw change beginning in 2016 limits board members to six three-year terms. If elected this April, all three candidates named below would serve their third three-year term of six available terms. For more information about Wheatland’s trustees, visit our website.
These members have been nominated by the nominating committee for the position of Wheatland Electric Cooperative, Inc. Trustee.
WES CAMPBELL – District 5
Wes Campbell, a Finney County resident who represents District 5 comprising of his home county, eastern Kearny County, and Gray County is seeking election to the Wheatland Electric Board of Trustees.
Campbell said he firmly believes in the member-owned and controlled electric cooperative business model and its seven guiding principles.
“I have had the opportunity to serve as a trustee for the last several years in an effort to guide policy decisions that deliver affordable and reliable power to our members, provide effective use of capital and resources, and invest in and give back to our communities to help ensure the vitality of our territory,” Campbell said. “I strongly desire to continue serving on the board and believe my experiences serving on both the Wheatland Electric and Sunflower Electric boards can help our cooperative and its members prepare for the fundamental changes the electric industry will encounter over the next five years, which will have a significant impact on rural America.”
Campbell, who grew up on a farm near Friend, Kansas, (located between Garden City and Scott City) is a longtime farmer and owner of a Finney County cattle grow yard. He has been integrally involved in many aspects of the agricultural industry, which represents a significant portion of Wheatland’s membership base and represents “the heartbeat of southwest Kansas,” according to Campbell.
“I understand just how important stable, competitively-priced and reliable electricity is to all of the members we serve. I also understand and have experience in risk management through my business, which I utilize trying to manage risk at Wheatland Electric,” he said. “Finally, I have and continue to serve on other professional boards, including a bank board, which has given me experience in good governance practices, risk management and effective policy decisions.”
First appointed to fill a vacated position on the Wheatland board in 1997, Campbell serves as president of the Sunflower Electric Power Corporation Board of Directors. Sunflower is Wheatland’s generation and transmission power supplier.
After graduating from Scott Community High School, Campbell attended the University of Kansas where he earned his bachelor’s degree in personnel administration. He currently serves as a community bank director and has earned his Credentialed Cooperative Director Certificate (CCD) from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA).
Campbell and his wife, Debbie, have three daughters and two grandchildren. They enjoy spending as much time as possible with family. In his spare time, he likes to travel, read, fish and follow KU sports.
BOB HISS – District 6
Bob Hiss, a senior partner at Hiss Sherman Wealth Management based in Great Bend, is seeking election to the Wheatland Electric Board of Trustees.
First elected in 2008, Hiss joined as a trustee shortly after the Aquila acquisition that brought Great Bend (District 6) into the Wheatland Electric Cooperative family.
Hiss said part of his motivations for returning to the board are due to his strong belief in the cooperative business model and seven guiding cooperative principles shared by co-ops around the world.
“I’d like to help more members understand that they are not just customers of Wheatland Electric but are member-owners,” Hiss said. “I also believe we’re at a critical time in both the electric industry and the co-op’s role within in it, with regard to issues like renewables, power sources, grid issues, aging infrastructure, and a host of other issues. The decisions that we make in the next few years could be generational decisions.”
A lifelong resident of his district, Hiss and wife, Patty, have raised two sons and operated a dairy farm in Great Bend. He attended Kansas State University where he received his bachelor’s degree in agricultural business.
In 2003, after nearly two decades in financial investment and management, Hiss went into private practice, opening Hiss Sherman Wealth Management Group. In 2015, he grew the Great Bend business further by adding CenterPointe Wealth Management to the firm.
Hiss said he enjoys serving on the Wheatland Electric Board of Trustees because of the new challenges that continually arise. It’s also a way for him to serve the co-op membership and give something back to his community.
“I believe that my professional role as a financial adviser and planner benefits my role as a trustee in being able to understand and evaluate the cooperative’s financials and in helping to make long-term business decisions,” he added.
Hiss and his wife now enjoy spending time with their sons and their four grandsons. In the past, he has been involved as a scoutmaster for Boy Scouts of America, a member of the USD 428 Foundation Board and has served in a multitude of positions for the First Christian Church of Great Bend.
In his free time, Hiss enjoys hunting and fishing, attending football games, and is an instrument-rated private pilot.
WILLIAM “WOODY” BARNES – District 7
Woody Barnes, from Caldwell, is seeking election to the Wheatland Electric Board of Trustees for a seat representing our cooperative’s easternmost district.
The owner of a small construction management business said his motivations for returning to his role on the board where he currently serves as president have to do with his sense of duty to the cooperative and its membership.
“The industry is in precarious and unprecedented times as we try to adapt and operate in uncertain political, environmental, regulatory, and economic times,” Barnes said. “I’ve developed a strong understanding of our distribution and generation cooperatives, and I feel that I can provide effective and knowledgeable leadership to continue improving Wheatland’s overall service and performance.”
Barnes was first elected to the board in 2008 when District 7 was acquired through the Aquila purchase in 2007. District 7 represents a region of south-central Kansas that includes communities across Sumner, Harper, Kingman and Sedgwick counties.
Born and raised in Sedan, he has been a district resident since 2005 and earned his bachelor’s degree from Kansas State University in 1988 in construction science and management.
He spent the first 10 years of his career as a project supervisor, estimator and manager for several large construction firms and moved into residential construction in 1998. In 2005, upon moving to Caldwell, Barnes started his own business building and remodeling homes and small businesses in south central Kansas and north central Oklahoma.
“I grew up in small-town rural Kansas and came back to small-town rural Kansas to raise my family,” he said. “I see the value of our rural communities and want to advocate for not just the Wheatland membership but all of the rural areas served by the cooperative system.”
If he retains his seat, Barnes said he intends to advocate for greater economic development efforts that would bring in larger industrial and commercial loads to the Wheatland service territory.
“The more ‘high-volume’ demand we have for electricity, the better wholesale rate we receive from our generation system, which in turn could help us to maintain or improve our overall electric rates and bring new jobs to help stabilize our communities,” Barnes said.
As a Wheatland trustee, Barnes has completed several courses through the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), including the Credentialed Cooperative Director Certificate (CCD), Board Leadership Certification, and the Director Gold Credential. He has also accumulated 36 continuing education credits that typically involve six hours of classwork per credit and currently serves as an alternate board member for Wheatland’s generation and transmission power supplier, Sunflower Electric Power Corporation.
