(NEW ORLEANS, La.) — Paul Wood, former president and chief executive officer of Georgia Electric Membership Corporation (GEMC), has won the Clyde T. Ellis Award from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA).
Wood, who recently announced plans to retire as president and chief executive officer of GEMC, based in Tucker, Georgia, has been a leader in the cooperative community, capping a 50-year career with electric cooperatives in Oklahoma, Louisiana and Georgia.
Wood will continue to serve as an advisor and consultant to the Georgia EMC Executive Committee until his retirement on April 26, 2016.
“For nearly 50 years, 19 of which have been in Georgia, Paul Wood advocated tirelessly for policies that would ensure co-ops could provide safe, affordable and reliable electric service to co-op members. As CEO of Georgia EMC, he demonstrated strong leadership and championed the cooperative cause. I am proud to bestow on him the prestigious Clyde T. Ellis award,” said Jeffrey Connor, NRECA’s interim CEO.
Wood has been a significant contributor to cooperatives on a national scale, serving as president of the Rural Electric Statewide Managers Association (RESMA), as a member of the NRECA Management Advisory Committee, NRECA Procedures Committee, the NRECA Unity Task Force, the NRECA Health Care Task Force and the Touchstone Energy board of directors.
The Clyde T. Ellis Award memorializes NRECA’s first general manager (CEO). NRECA Board of Directors confers the award to honor individuals for exemplary contributions that promote the principles and progress of rural electrification and the development and use of national resources.
More than 6,000 representatives from electric co-ops across the nation are attending NRECA’s Annual Meeting, Feb. 14-17. They will set NRECA’s legislative and organizational agenda for 2016. Delegates will also hear from NRECA officials, key public figures and business experts about issues affecting electric cooperatives and their consumer members.
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association 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.