Director Profile: Tom Van Pelt

The past year has seen us lay the ground for several improvements for Cherryland members, including the installation of AMR meters. The meters will be read electronically, so you won’t have to do it.

Also, as a member of Wolverine’s power marketing team, we earned a national award for our innovation on behalf of Cherryland members. The award is called the “Honored Cooperator” and I was one of five members of this group to earn the national honor from the National Cooperative Business Association for launching the Wolverine Power Marketing Cooperative five years ago and guiding it through the formative years.

We organized the Power Cooperative with just $40,000 in capital and today sales are approaching $48 million, with no debt and an average of 170 percent annual sales growth since its inception.

At Cherryland I have worn many different hats, from board president to a member of the Wolverine board. With more than 16 years of experience on both boards, I have attempted to be a watchdog for your concerns.

I have an extensive background in utility rates, productivity and efficiency. These issues will become even more important for Cherryland in the next few years.

I understand the importance of providing the quality electric service that you have come to expect and deserve. In fact, our board is trying to make that quality even better. Between the installation of Hendrix cable to cut down on the number of blinks and outages, plus our new AMR system, your reliability will be cutting edge.

Locally, Cherryland has become a more visible and viable part of the northern Michigan Community. We are involved in the Relay for Life, blood drives, the National Cherry Festival and come to the aid of our law enforcement and township groups when they needed help.

We have listened to you and heard you tell us that reliability is a primary concern. We have worked hard on that front. That’s why I believe I have the experience and the commitment to keep doing the job for you.

My background includes being involved with our northern Michigan community. I belong to a number of statewide organizations and been a member of the Leelanau Township Fire Department and the Northport Emergency Medical Service squad.

I am a graduate of Michigan State University, with a bachelor’s degree in horticulture. My wife Deborah and I have two grown daughters - Sarah and Becky - and own and operate our family’s fruit farm in Leelanau County.