ORLANDO, Fla. — Curtis Wynn, CEO of Roanoke Electric Cooperative in North Carolina, began his two-year term today as president of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). Wynn took the reins from Tri-County (IL) Electric Cooperative Director Phil Carson, who closed out his term as president. Carson passed the gavel to Wynn during NRECA’s annual meeting.
“I want to thank Phil Carson for his service as president and express my gratitude to the board for this tremendous opportunity,” said Wynn. “This is a time of rapid change and transformation within our industry. Now more than ever before, electricity is a beneficial choice for consumers, and one that is filled with new possibilities for the next generation. I look forward to working with Jim Matheson and the NRECA board as America’s electric cooperatives work together to meet our future energy challenges.”
“It has been a privilege to serve as NRECA’s president for the past two years,” said Carson. “I was fortunate to work with such a capable board of directors, and I look forward to continuing to serve on the board under Curtis’ leadership.”
“Strong leadership is essential to helping NRECA and the entire cooperative family navigate the many opportunities and challenges facing our industry,” said NRECA CEO Jim Matheson. “Like Phil, Curtis is an extremely thoughtful and capable leader, and I’m looking forward to his continued leadership as president.”
Rounding out the NRECA board officers are Chris Christensen, a director of NorVal Electric Cooperative in Montana, who was elected vice president, and Tony Anderson, general manager of Cherryland Electric Cooperative in Michigan, who was elected to serve as secretary-treasurer.
Wynn was elected NRECA president by the association’s board of directors. He is the immediate past vice president and served as secretary-treasurer prior to that. He has served on the NRECA board since 2007. Wynn has served as president and CEO of Roanoke Electric Cooperative since 1997.
Serving its members in an economically distressed region of North Carolina, Roanoke Electric Co-op provides a co-op financed energy efficiency program to reduce consumer electricity costs and is adding renewable energy and broadband service for its members. The cooperative is committed to the communities it serves through scholarship programs and other classroom initiatives, leadership programs, internships and as a partner in sustainable forestry and land retention.
More than 6,000 representatives from electric co-ops across the nation are attending NRECA’s annual meeting. The meeting runs from March 7-13 in Orlando and sets NRECA’s legislative and organizational agenda for 2019. Co-op representatives also hear from NRECA officials, key public figures and business experts about issues affecting electric cooperatives and their consumer-members. The annual meeting is held in conjunction with TechAdvantage, a technology learning event and expo that features more than 300 exhibitors showcasing their state-of-the-art technologies, equipment and services.
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is the national trade association representing more than 900 local electric cooperatives. From growing suburbs to remote farming communities, electric co-ops serve as engines of economic development for 42 million Americans across 56 percent of the nation’s landscape. As local businesses built by the consumers they serve, electric cooperatives have meaningful ties to rural America and invest $12 billion annually in their communities.
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