BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Members of Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative are represented by the Board of Directors. Board members in each district are tasked with advocating for their constituency and deciding the strategic initiatives undertaken by the cooperative.
Jerome Sasala has resided in the area since 1969, when he was hired as a music teacher by the Cameron County School District. He moved to Potter County after purchasing a farm near Austin in 1982.
Sasala has worked in education as an elementary and secondary teacher, assistant principal, elementary and secondary principal and, for the past several years, served as the superintendent of the Austin Area School District. In addition, he has worked as a carpenter, home builder, plumber and residential electrician.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in education and a Master of Arts from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He obtained a master’s degree in administration from St. Bonaventure University.
He and his wife, Judy, reside on their working beef farm and are the parents of two grown children.
District 1 includes Homer, Keating, Portage, Summit, Sylvania and Wharton in Potter County; Grove and Lumber in Cameron County; Liberty and Norwich in McKean County.
Valery J. Robbins is a resident of Potter County’s Sweden Township. She and her husband, Chris, operate a fourth-generation family crop farm in Allegany and Ulysses townships, producing Pennsylvania-certified seed potatoes and seed oats, along with chip and table potatoes and green snap beans. They have one grown son.
Valery was elected as vice-chairman of the board in July 2020.
Prior to joining the family farm, Robbins spent a significant amount of time employed in the telecommunication industry, serving in a management capacity in customer care with Adelphia and also as a business analyst with Level 3 Communications. She is currently a member of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, a past member of Women in Cable & Telecommunications and a past director of the Coudersport Alliance Daycare and Learning Center.
District 2 includes Hector, Pike, Ulysses, Allegany, Sweden, Hebron, Eulalia, Clara, Pleasant Valley, and Roulette townships in Potter County.
Michael Filer of Shinglehouse, Pennsylvania, graduated from Alfred State College with a degree in Electrical Engineering Technology. He retired from C&T Enterprises in 2020 after 25 years as a Member Service Technician/Representative and Key Account Specialist, serving the Tri-County members. In this role, he interacted with members solving problems from energy audits to stray voltage. He performed many electrical safety presentations for the schools, fire departments, and sate organizations. He carried the IGSPA certification for geothermal, bringing another efficiency to the members. He still advocates with family and friends on electrical issues, tasks, and planning. Mike was involved in the early stages of mapping and surveying the first 125 miles of the new fiber project bringing internet capabilities to the members.
Mike has been a member of Tri-County REC since 1984. He has been involved in many community organizations such as T.R.A.C.K., which raised funds for the new all-weather running track at Oswayo Valley High School. He has helped fundraise for numerous non-profit groups through his hardwood barbeques. In 2010, he was awarded the Winston Donaldson Community Service Award by the Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association. Mike has served as a past board member of the Oswayo Valley School District, and a current member of the American Haflinger Association.
Mike and his wife Michelle have two married sons and one married daughter with eleven grandchildren. He loves hiking and has even hiked sections of the Appalachian Trail. He enjoys hunting, riding his Haflinger horses, and making memories with his grandchildren.
District 3 serves members in Bingham, Genesee, Harrison, Oswayo and Sharon townships in Potter County; Brookfield and Westfield townships in Tioga County; and Ceres Township in McKean County.
James R. Davis of Farmington Township represents District 4 on the Tri-County board of directors.
Davis also serves on the boards of directors of Allegheny Electric Cooperative, Tri-County's wholesale power supplier. He has also served on the board of directors of National Cooperative Services Corporation, a national cooperative banking operation.
A managing partner of James Daniel Associates, an educational consulting firm, Davis is retired from the Northern Tioga School District, where he was assistant superintendent. During his career as a professional educator, Davis served as a mathematics teacher, coach, counselor, principal and college professor. He serves as Farmington Township auditor and is a member of the River Valley Country Club board of directors.
Davis and his wife, Elaine, reside in Farmington Township. They have three grown sons.
District 4 includes Chatham, Deerfield, Elkland, Farmington, Middlebury, Nelson, Osceola, Shippen, Clymer, and Gaines townships in Tioga County.
Matthew S. Whiting, P.E., of Lawrence Township was elected to represent District 5 on the Tri-County board of directors during the cooperative’s 2014 Annual Meeting. Mr. Whiting served as chairman of the board from 2016 to July 2020.
Matt is a licensed professional engineer in Pennsylvania and New York and retired in 2015 from Corning Inc. after a 32 year career that included senior leadership roles in research and development, software, electrical and systems engineering, and project management.
A native of Wellsboro, Whiting graduated from Williamson High School and holds bachelor’s degrees from Mansfield University and Alfred University, and a master’s degree in civil engineering from Norwich University. Matt recently completed the CCD (Credentialed Cooperative Director) certificate program in 2016 and is working towards the BLC (Board Leadership Certificate).
Whiting is a deacon and treasurer of the East Lawrence Baptist Church. He has been a member of Tri-County since 2000.
Matt and his wife, Linda, have three children, April Parker, Sarah Whiting and Jason Whiting.
District 5 includes the Wells Township in Bradford County, and Jackson, Lawrence, Richmond, Rutland and Tioga townships in Tioga County.
Alfred G. Calkins of East Troy is seeking re-election as District 6 director.
Calkins is a dairy farmer and serves on the executive committee of the Pennsylvania Holstein Association. He has been involved with the Troy Trojans Booster Club, served as a director with the Bradford County Holstein Club and is a life member of the Troy Rod and Gun Club.
Calkins serves as vice president of the Tri-County board of directors and is the president of the C&T Enterprises board of directors. He is also a member of the Wellsboro Electric Co. board of directors.
Calkins and his wife, Sharon, have two sons and four grandchildren.
District 6 includes the townships of Armenia, Columbia, Granville, Troy, Springfield and West Burlington in Bradford County; and Sullivan and Ward in Tioga County.
Janet M. Teeter, was elected to represents District 7 on the Tri-County Board of Directors at the July 2021 annual meeting.
Teeter graduated with an associate degree in accounting from Elmira Business Institute in 1982. In 2012, she also earned the ACH Accredited Professional Certification. Additionally she was a Pennsylvania Notary from 1996-2000 and re-established this position in 2018 and remains current in this role.
Teeter is a mortgage loan officer with the Ingersoll-Rand Federal Credit Union. She has been involved in the banking business for 20 years, starting as a teller and working up to the role of deposit operations supervisor and online banking specialist. Additionally she worked as a production accountant and accounts payable specialist for Leprino Foods for 17 years.
Janet and her husband, Alston, reside in Smithfield Township, and have been members of Tri-County REC since 2017. They have two daughters; Katrina and Stephanie.
Janet enjoys being part of the Encounter Church and working the election polls in Smithfield Township. She also enjoys quilting, crafting and spending time with family.
District 7 serves members in Athens, Ridgebury, Smithfield, South Creek and Ulster townships in Bradford County.
Gerald A. (Arnie) Kriner of Liberty Township, Tioga County, was first elected to the Tri-County Board of Directors in 2016 and has served as chairman of the board since July 2020.
A member of Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative since 1996, Kriner previously had served as the chairman of Tri-County's Elections and Credentials Committee and also served on the co-op's Member Advisory Committee.
In addition to his service on the Tri-County Board, he also serves as a director on the boards of C&T Enterprises and Valley Energy. Kriner is also a board member of the Endless Mountains Transportation Authority and UPMC Wellsboro.
Kriner and his wife, Lianne, have one adult daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren.
District 8 includes the townships of Brown, Cogan House, Cummings, McHenry, Pine, Lewis, Jackson, and McIntyre in Lycoming County; Liberty, Morris and Union in Tioga County.
Lowell W. Geiser of Galeton was appointed to the Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative board of directors in August 2007. He served as the cooperative's chairman of the board from 2012-2016. He has had opportunities to serve as a director on the boards of Wellsboro Electric and C&T Enterprises, subsidiary companies of Tri-County REC & Claverack REC.
A lifelong resident of Potter County, Geiser and his wife, Virginia, own and operate Forest View Evergreen Tree Farms, a business started by Lowell's grandfather in 1925 on the family's Century Farm established in 1887, located in Germania.
A graduate of Galeton Area High School, Geiser was a volunteer with the Germania Fire Co. as a fireman/EMT and served as an Abbott Township supervisor in past years. Geiser is a member of the First Baptist Church of Galeton. He has been a member of Tri-County since 1985.
Since becoming a director, he has completed all three levels of National Rural Electric Cooperative Association leadership training courses focusing on, among other things, cooperative electric distribution and Broadband implementation. These courses help directors in their governance and oversight duties.
District 9 includes the townships of Abbot, Stewardson and West Branch in Potter County; East Keating and Leidy in Clinton County; Elk in Tioga County.
