Basin Electric original incorporator Ralph A. Sapp
Ralph Sapp was a charter member of the board of Kingsbury Electric Cooperative Inc., DeSmet, SD.
Basin Electric Power Cooperative
- October 28, 2011
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| Ralph A. Sapp |
Ralph Sapp was born May 12, 1899, in Taylor County, KY, near Finley, and later moved to Indiana. In 1918, he moved to Iroquois, SD, and in 1936 to south of Lake Preston, SD. He and Ruth L. Sawvell married on May 4, 1923. They had 10 children, four boys and six girls.
Sapp was a charter member of the board of directors of Kingsbury Electric Cooperative Inc., DeSmet, SD. He was on the board from 1945 to 1965 and was president in 1956 and 1957. It was during his service to Kingsbury that he became a Basin Electric incorporator. He was given East River Electric Power Cooperative’s Eminent Service Award.
In addition to being on the Kingsbury Electric board, Sapp was on the Kingsbury County Farmers Union Educational Activities Committee for 12 years. He was also on the Agricultural Adjustment Administration board from 1943 through 1954 and on the Locker Plant Board from 1942 to 1946.
He was on the Whitewood Township Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service board of directors. He was also a donor for the auditorium, café renovation and the first apartment building, all in Oldham, SD.
Ralph died on Feb. 13, 1992, in Lake Preston, SD.
On May 5, 1961, 69 people from several states gathered at the Patterson Hotel in Bismarck, ND, to sign Articles of Incorporation for Basin Electric. Their names are on a brass plaque immediately outside of the main entrance to the Headquarters building. Kathi Risch, Basin Electric senior staff writer/editor, has been seeking information about the original incorporators and compiling these profiles.
In the next several months, prior to the cooperative’s 50th anniversary celebration to be held at the 2011 annual meeting on Nov. 9, Risch will share what she has uncovered. If you have information you would like to share about a Basin Electric original incorporator and you haven’t been contacted, please call Risch at 701-557-5606 or send information, photo scans, etc. to krisch@bepc.com.
See all the original incorporators profiled to date.
Headquarters
1717 East Interstate Avenue
Bismarck, ND 58503-0564 USA
Phone: 701.223.0441
Basin Electric Power Cooperative will provide cost-effective wholesale energy along with products and services that support and unite rural America.
