Fred Turk (above left), of Decatur, and Daniel Sovinski, of Big Rapids, were seated and welcomed to the Michigan Electric Cooperative Association Board of Directors at their Oct. 7 meeting in Lansing.

Turk will represent Midwest Energy, and was voted-in to finish out the term of Ken Swope, who retired after 20+ years of service to MECA.

Turk brings 38 years of experience as a former Midwest Energy Cooperative employee, first as a lineman and later in operations management, and then working for a local electrical contractor before retiring. Turk has served on the Midwest board since April 2014.

Growing up on the family farm in east Decatur, Turk graduated from Decatur High School and then served two years in the U.S. Army, including 12 months of active duty in Vietnam. Upon his return, he married his high school sweetheart, Grace Elgersma, and they settled in Decatur. The couple has two adult sons and five grandchildren.

In his community, Turk is very active as a volunteer with the Veterans Outreach Buddy to Buddy Program through the University of Michigan and is involved with the local VFW Post 6248.

Sovinski, of Big Rapids, will represent Wolverine Power Marketing Cooperative (WPMC) on the MECA board, and has served on the WPMC board for nearly eight years.

Sovinski replaces Jerry Akers, who served the MECA board for over a decade and resigned in order to follow a new career path.

In his career, Sovinksi is a plant engineer and power plant manager at Ferris State University (FSU). Supervising daily operations for the safe, reliable efficient operation of the campus power plant and consulting on energy strategic planning and conservation are his main tasks. He also manages natural gas and electricity purchasing and capital for renewing electricity, water, sanitary, telecom and other infrastructure projects.

Sovinski has an MBA from FSU, and is also an energy adjunct professor for its Energy Systems Engineering Program, in which he teaches classes on Wind, Solar and Alternative Energy Generation and Fundamentals in Energy.

Born in Fremont, MI, he served in the U.S. Air Force as a crew chief on a cargo aircraft. He and his wife Cindy have three grown children and five grandchildren.