The Chairs?
The Chairs came to life at the 2016 KMEA Annual Conference. Winning tickets were placed under chairs ahead of the Awards Banquet and four lucky individuals chose the right place to sit and won some great prizes!
Marshall Wind Farm Tour
On Tuesday the EMP1 members who take energy from Marshall Wind Farm were provided a tour by members of BHE Renewables and the onsite Vestas manager. The group listened to a presentation of the layout and various statistics of the wind farm before visiting the control room. The automation of the turbines is very advanced to the point that they respond in numerous ways to the wind direction, wind speed, wind gusts, and other environmental variables. Next came a visit to a wind turbine itself. The Vestas manager, Austin, opened the access door and invited everyone in look at the generator control panel, switchgear, access ladder and so forth. The towers are quite large and very impressived to visit. Our thanks to Tom and Janet of the BHE staff and Austin from Vestas for taking time to provide us with such an interesting tour and lunch.
KMEA Operations – 24 Hour Desk is now Operational
On September 29th at noon, KMEA took a big step at “creating our future”; we now are the sole point of contact for our cities and counterparts. Call the desk at 913-901-6224 and you will be talking to your staff of David, DJ, Garrett, Kent, and Paula.
Unique Advertising for “Farm City Days” in Iola
Gerry Bieker, Manager of Member Services could not pass up sharing “Farm City Days” in Iola. The Angry Bird themed Event is advertised locally with these impressive “Home Grown” Birds. “Farm City Days” has been an ongoing event for many years in Iola according to Corey Schinstock, Iola Assistant City Administrator. The event includes a carnival, food and 2 days of music on the square and runs October 6th through the 9th.
KMEA Staff Visits Eudora and Iola
KMEA Staff visited the cities of Eudora and Iola on Thursday September 29th. Member Services met with Mike Hutto, Director of Public Works for Eudora first thing in the morning and Sid Fleming, City Administrator and Corey Schinstock, Assistant City Administrator later in the day in Iola.
KMEA Staff Visits Chapman and Enterprise
KMEA Staff visited the cities of Chapman and Enterprise on Wednesday September 28th. Jay Newton, Interim City Administrator, Bobby Kamm, Public Works Director and the Staff for Chapman as well as Paul Froelich, City Superintendent for Enterprise took time out of their schedules to visit with us about a wide array of topics including the upcoming Annual Conference.
KMEA Annual Conference- Register today!
The KMEA Annual Conference November 3- 4 2016 is just around the corner. It’s not too late to register! We are kicking off the conference with the KMGA and KMEA Board of Directors meetings, which start on Thursday, November 3rd at 10:30 a.m. Registration will run from 8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
We are excited to bring you some great speakers presenting topics you won’t want to miss.
There is still time to register, however, to meet hotel deadlines and finalize conference materials, please be sure to register no later than Friday, October 7th. You can register by going to the Events tab on the kmea.com website or simply click here.
We hope to see as many of you as possible, as this year’s conference promises to be a great event.
2016 KMEA Golf Outing and Joint EMP Meeting
The 2016 KMEA Golf Outing was held at Falcon Ridge Golf Club on September 14. After an evening of rain, 32 golfers took to a soggy course for a very good time. Our generous sponsors made it possible for all the attendees to walk away with prizes and smiles. This annual event is sure to grow.
The following day, after two Executive Committee meetings and a Joint EMP meeting, attendees were treated to a Royals baseball game in a suite sponsored by Sega. 
Welcome D.J. Smith and Garrett Higgins
We would like to introduce you to D.J. Smith and Garrett Higgins. They are KMEA’s most recent additions to the staff. D.J. and Garrett together with Paula Campbell, David Rosenthal and Kent Balkenbusch will operate the 24-hour system operations desk. Welcome D.J. and Garrett.
Welcome Gerry Bieker – Newest Addition to the KMEA Staff
Beginning August 31st Gerry Bieker will join the KMEA Staff as your new Manager, Member Services. Gerry comes to KMEA with a background of public service in Kansas dating back to 1991. Gerry was the Director of Public Utilities for the City of Colby before moving on to Paola in 2004 to serve as Director of Public Works. In 2009 Gerry moved to Chapman to become the City Administrator. In July of 2014 Gerry became the City Manager of Goodland where he currently serves.
Gerry has an impressive list of achievements during his time in city government. We are very excited to welcome Gerry as the newest member of your KMEA team.
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