Mark Landa has been notified by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) that he and the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives (IAEC) have been selected to jointly receive the NRECA’s President Award.

The President’s Award recognizes individuals who have made an outstanding one-time or continuing leadership contribution to rural electrification, the nation or communities on the occasion of a special celebration, action or event.

The NRECA notified Mr. Landa that his representation of the IAEC’s member cooperatives since 1992 and, particularly, his successful appeal of a determination by FEMA Region 7 initially finding three of the IAEC’s member cooperatives and one municipal utility ineligible to receive Public Assistance funding to rebuild their electric distribution systems damaged during an April 2013 winter storm.  FEMA headquarters ultimately determined that these utilities are eligible to receive more than $11.3 million in federal aid to restore their facilities.  The State of Iowa will receive an additional $2.26 million in hazard mitigation funds to be distributed to schools, municipalities and electric cooperatives.

More than 8,000 representatives from electric cooperative across the nation are expected to attend the NRECA’s Annual Meeting in February 2017 during which Mr. Landa and Chuck Soderberg, General Manager of the IAEC, will be presented their awards.

The NRECA is the national service organization that represents the nation’s more than 900 private, not-for-profit, consumer-owned electric cooperatives, which provide service to 42 million people in 47 states.