Two Mountain View Electric Association board of director’s members have retired. Naomi Malcom joined the MVEA board of directors in 1977. At the time there were very few women that served on electric cooperative boards not only in Colorado but also across the nation. She is one of the longest serving women directors in the state. Taking courses through NRECA and the CREA, Malcom worked very hard to learn the in’s and out’s of the electric distribution business. “It was like getting a business and financial degree,” Malcom said.Born and raised near Agate, Colo., Malcom’s father, Walt Butler, was one of the original members of MVEA and served on the nominating committees for many years. “I have always appreciated working with the men on the board and staff, and they have always been gentlemen. They truly made me feel like an important part of the board,” Malcom said.During her tenure, Malcom served as the secretary/treasurer of the MVEA board for 17 years and MVEA’s representative to Western United Supply for 21 years. She also served as president for that organization.The second board member to retire at the end of his term is Duane Steinke. Born in Hope, N.D., he moved with his family to Bemidji, Minn., at a young age. Seeing pictures of airplanes on the package of Wing Cigarettes that his dad smoked, Steinke decided he wanted to be an aviator as a young child and never lost that vision. He attended the Minnesota State Teachers College, where he met his wife, Kathy, and then went on to aviator school where he graduated in 16 months and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant. Included in his tours of duty were Japan and Vietnam.Duane, Kathy and their three children moved to Monument in 1974 from Langley AFB, Virginia after Duane retired as a Lt. Colonel from the Air Force. Steinke served on the MVEA board since 1983 and was president from 1988 to 1994. “It was a hard decision to leave the board, but I feel it is time. The greatest satisfaction I had while serving on the board was working to meet the needs of the membership in a rapidly growing environment,” he said. “One of the best things about the MVEA board is that no matter how we may disagree on a subject, once a decision is made, everyone on the board supports that decision.”Malcolm and Steinke have 56 years of board experience between them. They helped guide MVEA from being 80 percent rural to 80 percent urban in membership. They have strived to keep themselves informed on not only the financial aspects of this business, but also the many changes in technology that have occurred over the years, while always staying abreast of the members’ needs.They have done an excellent job representing the membership over the years and the cooperative will miss their knowledge and their presence on the board. MVEA thanks them for their many years of dedicated service and the membership wishes them the very best in their future endeavors.
