Keith Schnarre

Boone Electric Cooperative and MFA Incorporated - Inducted in 2013

Keith Schnarre goes the extra mile to help those in need and to advance the interest of farmers. He gives generously of time and talents to numerous cooperative boards and community projects. According to a fellow board member, “Keith has always been one to vote his conscience, putting cooperative ideals ahead of his own.” Keith is above all a strategic thinker, a decision maker, a leader, and a man of action.

Keith takes his board role very seriously. He is an active participant, a proponent of strong leadership and an advocate for board education. Inside the boardroom Keith has a commanding presence, but is warm and approachable. Keith keeps what is best for the members in the forefront of each decision. “On a lighter note, his hearty laughter booming through the walls, easily and quickly tells the employees when Keith Schnarre is in attendance at the board meeting”.

Keith has been a member of the Boone Electric Cooperative Board since 1990, serving as treasurer since 1994.  During his tenure on the Boone Electric Board, the membership has increased by 50% and assets have tripled. Keith also served on the MFA Incorporated Board from 1982 to 1993 and from 1997 to 2003, serving as chair from 2000 to 2002, when he term limited off the board.

Keith first joined the MFA Board during the agricultural depression of the 1980s. He pushed the board to embrace an intensive strategic planning process, to focus on short and long-range financial goals. He can bring consensus to differing groups in order to advance the best interests of the cooperative. No matter where anyone stood on a subject, there was always trust in Keith’s leadership and integrity to arrive at an equitable decision. Keith understands the board’s role is to set the direction for the cooperative, not day-to-day activities. He knows when to lead and when to sit back. Keith was highly involved in setting the direction for the cooperative that still paves the way to profitability today.

Respect for Keith’s ability to be impartial extended beyond the cooperative. Both sides of the partisan divide, Republicans and Democrats, selected Keith to lead a committee to draft a constitution for Boone County in 1995. Although the constitution failed to pass popular vote, Keith’s efforts were highly praised by elected officials of both parties and by the media. 

In addition to cooperative boards Keith has served in many other leadership roles including as Boone County Presiding Commissioner; Boone County Fire Protection District Board of Directors, and Boone County Planning and Zoning Commission.

Keith Schnarre is a strong leader, an effective director, and a loyal cooperative member.  His belief in the cooperative form of business is steadfast. Keith Schnarre is a board member to emulate.

strategic thinker; exemplary core vales; community service; fair minded; a man of action and integrity; unwavering loyalty and belief in the power of cooperation; and 30 years of leadership