He has a special connection with youth. When he married Irene, they each brought to the new family four children from a previous marriage. We had our own “four sets of twins,” Maggert said; Dan, Danielle, Kim, Jeff, Todd, Marty, Kristi and Jolene. The couple added a ninth child, Sarah.

It’s a close family. “My wife is just as much me as me,” Maggert said. When he thought about running for a seat on the North Itasca Electric Board of Directors, he asked what she thought about it first.

He did run, and was elected to the board last June. He had been interested in the cooperative for many years, but now, more than ever, he believes that member participation is important to face the new challenges he see in the future. Organizations are strengthened when members participate, he said, and new ideas brought in by wider participation can improve its ability to look at things in new ways.

When he joined the board, he was pleasantly surprised at how much discussion was part of the board meetings. Too often, he explained, decisions are dominated by who talks the loudest. On the North Itasca Electric board he found there was time for everyone to talk and to update the rest of the board on what is going on in different districts.

The challenges in the future will revolve around what he sees as the primary goals of the cooperative: providing affordable electric rates with good service. Electricity is a basic need that everyone uses, even the little guy. It’s important, he said, to keep an open mind and see what can be done differently in order to meet those goals.