Jeanne Muntean
On Wednesday, February 13, the board of directors of Arrowhead Electric Cooperative, Inc. announced that General Manager Jeanne Muntean had left the cooperative after 31 years. The announcement states, “It was with regret that the board voted to accept Jeanne’s resignation.”
Reached by phone, Scott Harrison, who is a member of a subcommittee of the Arrowhead Electric Board of Directors providing interim governance, said a special meeting was held on February 11 for the sole purpose of considering Muntean’s resignation notice. In response to questions about the reasons General Manager Muntean decided to resign, Harrison said it was her personal decision.
The announcement from the board of directors noted that Muntean “started at Arrowhead Cooperative as a receptionist in 1981 and worked her way up to General Manager in 2010. It was through hard work, selfless dedication, and a desire to succeed, that she was able to perform so effectively for the cooperative.”
Muntean became office manager in 2002 and assumed the general manager role in 2010, after having served as assistant manager for three years. Muntean earned her National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Manager Certification in February 2007.
Under her tenure, the cooperative completed the rehabilitation and expansion of the cooperative’s Lutsen headquarters, becoming the first LEED certified building in Cook County; reconstructed the Lutsen substation and began the lengthy and complicated process to provide broadband service to residential and commercial members of Arrowhead Electric and the city of Grand Marais.
Asked if the resignation had to do with any problems with the electric cooperative’s venture into broadband or any of its electrical operations, Harrison said no. He reiterated that the cooperative board accepted the resignation with regret.
In a phone conversation, Muntean also said she was leaving the position for personal reasons. “I loved working at Arrowhead—I was there 31 years. But this is the right decision for me at this time,” she said.
Harrison said no decisions had been made yet as to hiring a new general manager. At press time, Harrison said he would be meeting with cooperative employees over the next few days. The next regular meeting of the cooperative board is scheduled for Thursday, February 28 at 9 a.m.
The other members of the board of directors are Tom Spence, Howard Abrahamson, Mike Littfin, Forrest Parsons, Lou Terrizzi and Keck Melby.
Their message to the public concluded, “On behalf of the Board of Directors and the staff at Arrowhead Cooperative, we wish Jeanne the best of luck in her new endeavor and want her to know that she will be greatly missed.”
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