Bluestem Electric Cooperative Inc
Revenue
$20.8m
year to 31 December 2025
Expenses
$20.8m
year to 31 December 2025
Total assets
$66.4m
$39m liabilities
Net assets
$27.3m
assets less liabilities
Directors and trustees
11
6.4 years on average
Staff
33
employees, year to 31 December 2025
Left since last filing
0
no seats appear to have opened
Officers and senior staff
17
named in Part VII
Bluestem Electric Cooperative Inc's network
11 peoplei11 people on this map.The large node is the subject of this page. Solid lines are what the register itself records (11). Form 990 filings give names without a person identifier; SEC insider filings carry a CIK.The board
11 listediTime on the board is observed from the annual filings: the IRS files no appointment date, so the bar counts years from the first filing the person appears on - a lower bound, not a filed start date. Names are exactly as filed. The IRS publishes no person identifier, so this edition does not yet link a person across organisations.Time served and departures are observed across annual filings. Observed time served is a lower bound - a member may have joined before the first year on record. The organisation reported 11 voting members of its governing body on its latest Form 990 Part VI, which matches the board listed here.| Name | Role as filed | Since | On the board |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amanda Gnadt | Treasurer | 2021 | 5 yrs |
| Brent McKeeman | Trustee | 2025 | 1 yr |
| Bruce Meyer | Company secretary | 2018 | 8 yrs |
| Donald Classen | Vice President | 2018 | 8 yrs |
| Gary Buss | Trustee | 2018 | 8 yrs |
| Mark Diederich | President | 2019 | 7 yrs |
| Matthew Rezac | Trustee | 2023 | 3 yrs |
| Patricia Bloomdahl | Trustee | 2020 | 6 yrs |
| Richard Ridder | Trustee | 2018 | 8 yrs |
| Stephen O'Shea | Trustee | 2021 | 5 yrs |
| Steve Ohlde | Trustee | 2019 | 7 yrs |
Officers and senior leadership
17 listediNamed in Part VII as officers, key employees or highest-compensated staff - not board members, shown for completeness.| Name | Title as filed | On the filings |
|---|---|---|
| Aaron Massie | Operations Foreman | 2024 |
| Baylee Easterberg | Journeyman Lineman | since 2023 |
| Benjamin Matthews III | Operations Foreman | 2025 |
| Benjimin Easterberg | Manager of Ami & Mapping | 2025 |
| Jason Moore | Assistant Manager | since 2018 |
| Jerod Chaffee | Manager of Line Operations | since 2023 |
| John Bettencourt | Power Communication Technician | since 2020 |
| Kevin Heptig | Manager of Member Services | 2025 |
| Marla Marshall | Office Manager/Accountant | since 2018 |
| Marla Marshall-Until NOV 2020 | Office Manager/Accountant | 2020 |
| Michael Leitch | CEO | 2025 |
| Michael M Morton | General Manager As of 1/8/18 | since 2018 |
| Shelton Allen | Journeyman Lineman | 2024 |
| Thad Donnelly | Assistant Manager of Line Operations | since 2023 |
| TIM Diederich | Manager of Line Operations | since 2018 |
| TIM Wolf | Journeyman Lineman | 2024 |
| Trisha Bradley | Manager of Accounting & Finance | since 2022 |
Pay and hours
year to 31 December 2025iFrom Part VII of the Form 990: compensation reported for each officer, director, trustee, key employee and highest-paid staff member, and the average hours a week they report. Most board members are unpaid; a blank means nothing was reported. Pay from related organisations is shown separately.| Name | Title as filed | Hours a week | Pay from the organisation | Related organisations | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Leitch | CEO | 46.3 | $168k | $35k | |
| Trisha Bradley | Manager of Accounting & Finance | 43.4 | $134k | $43k | |
| Jerod Chaffee | Manager of Line Operations | 42 | $121k | $65k | |
| Kevin Heptig | Manager of Member Services | 45.5 | $114k | $100k | |
| Benjamin Matthews III | Operations Foreman | 43.4 | $112k | $62k | |
| Benjimin Easterberg | Manager of Ami & Mapping | 43.9 | $112k | $48k | |
| Thad Donnelly | Assistant Manager of Line Operations | 41.8 | $112k | $74k | |
| Michael M Morton | General Manager (Ret 1/3/25) | 24 | $48k | $4k | |
| Gary Buss | Trustee | 21.6 | $27k | ||
| Bruce Meyer | Secretary | 20.7 | $23k | ||
| Mark Diederich | President | 15.5 | $16k | ||
| Patricia Bloomdahl | Trustee | 12.5 | $13k | ||
| Richard Ridder | Trustee | 9.8 | $13k | ||
| Stephen O'shea | Trustee | 11.2 | $12k | ||
| Brent McKeeman | Trustee | 11.6 | $12k | ||
| Amanda Gnadt | Treasurer | 7.5 | $10k | ||
| Donald Classen | Vice President | 8 | $9k | ||
| Steve Ohlde | Trustee | 8.8 | $9k | ||
| Matthew Rezac | Trustee | 7.5 | $9k |
About
- Legal name
- Bluestem Electric Cooperative Inc
- EIN
- 481206132
- Address
- Po Box 5, Wamego, KS, 66547-0005
- State
- Kansas
- Mission
- Safe reliable energy (as filed on the Form 990)
- Activity (NTEE)
- Y22 Mutual and membership benefit
- IRS classification
- 501(c)12 (tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) where shown)
- Classified purpose
- Mutual & Membership Benefit
- Size band
- 9 (IRS master file code)
- Formed
- 1999
- Principal officer
- Michael Leitch (as named on the Form 990)
- IRS ruling date
- 1 July 2000
- Status
- Code 01 (unconditional exemption)
- Form 990 filings on record
- 8, latest 2025
Most connected
Longest observed on the filings
≥8years on the filingsBruce Meyer
≥8years on the filingsDonald Classen
≥8years on the filingsGary Buss
≥8years on the filingsRichard Ridder
Latest return
year to 31 December 2025iFigures from the newest Form 990 or 990-EZ in the IRS e-file releases of 2025 and 2026, for the year ending 31 December 2025. US dollars, as filed.- Total assets
- $66.4m
- Total liabilities
- $39m
- Net assets or fund balances
- $27.3m
- Contributions and grants received
- $0
- Program service revenue
- $20.2m
- Grants and similar paid out
- $24k
- Employees
- 33
Filed finances
1 yeariTotals as filed on the IRS Form 990 (revenue and expenses), by tax year.| Tax year | Total revenue | Total expenses | Surplus or deficit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $19m | $19m | $0 |
As filed on the IRS Form 990. US dollars.