Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives
05/04/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/04/2026 12:47
Remembering Ken Macken
Electric cooperative colleagues are remembering NRECA Director of Safety Programs Ken Macken, formerly manager of safety and loss control for 12 years at the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives.
He passed away Saturday, April 18, 2026, after suffering a heart attack. Macken had just wrapped up NRECA's Safety Leadership Summit two days earlier in St. Louis, Mo. He was 64.
Macken joined NRECA in 2024 after spending nine years at KAMO Power as safety director for the Vinita, Oklahoma, transmission cooperative. He was also a safety manager at Barton County Electric Cooperative in Lamar, Mo.
He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in education at John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Ark., and Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo. He spent his free time ranching, chainsaw carving and serving churches across Oklahoma as a minister.
Mackin leaves behind his wife Malia and a son, Sam.
-NRECA
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