Alan W. Wattles has served as president and CEO of Monroe County Electric Cooperative, based in Waterloo, Illinois, since 2002. He serves on several cooperative boards, including those for Southern Illinois Power Cooperative (G&T), ACES and United Utility Supply, where he is the vice chair. He previously served as chair of the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives' Managers Association. Prior to joining his current cooperative, Wattles held the post of general manager and executive vice president of Clay Electric Co-operative in Illinois.

Bruce Vitosh serves as general manager and CEO of Norris Public Power District in Beatrice, Nebraska. He also chairs the Nebraska Rural Electric Association Legislative Committee. Prior to joining Norris PPD, Vitosh held leadership positions at Neapco and American MicroTrace Corporation. A Certified Public Accountant, he also was a senior auditor with Deloitte & Touche. He serves as co-chair of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln School of Accountancy Advisory Board and is a former member of the Nebraska Society of Certified Public Accountants Governmental Accounting and Audit Committee.

David Felkel has served as president and CEO of Edisto Electric Cooperative in Bamberg, South Carolina, since 1997. Previously, he had held various posts with the cooperative since 1981. He is a member of the Central Electric Power Cooperative (G&T) Board of Trustees; past chair of the Cooperative Electric Energy Utility Supply Board of Trustees; member and past chair of The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina (statewide) Board of Trustees; a member of the Line Equipment Sales Company, Inc. Board of Trustees; and past president of the South Carolina Electric Cooperatives Managers Association.

Barbara Hampton is the chief executive officer of Georgia Transmission Corporation in Tucker, Georgia. Previously, she was the financing officer, vice president and chief information officer of Oglethorpe Power Corporation in Georgia and is a current member and past president of the National G&T Accounting and Finance Association. She has a B.B.A. in accounting from the University of Louisiana-Monroe and an M.B.A. from the University of Georgia and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Tony Anderson has been general manager of Cherryland Electric Cooperative since 2003. The cooperative serves 36,000 homes and businesses across six counties in northwest Michigan’s Grand Traverse Region. Anderson has been in the electric cooperative business for more than 35 years and previously managed cooperatives in Wisconsin and Wyoming. He has served on the NRECA Board of Directors since 2008 and is currently vice president. He is also vice president of the Michigan Electric Cooperative Association board.

Thomas Bailey serves as a director of Vermont Electric Cooperative in Johnson, Vermont. He has previously worked as a consultant for cooperatives and as the vice president and general manager of Citizens Utilities, Vermont Division. He also served as a director of Passumpsic Bank of Vermont and New Hampshire and is a past president and director of the North County High School Board. He is a self-directed portfolio manager and owner and landlord of rental properties. He has a B.S.I.D. from Clarkson University and an M.B.A. from Eastern New Mexico University.

Kevin Bender is the board president of Carroll White Rural Electric Membership Corporation in Delphi, Indiana, and has served on the board since 2008. He is the president and CEO of the Bank of Wolcott and the owner-operator of a family beef and crop farm. Bender has a B.S. in agriculture education and agricultural economics from Purdue University and attended the graduate school of banking at the University of Wisconsin.

Robert J. Brockman has served as board president of Wheatland Rural Electric Association in Wheatland, Wyoming, since first being elected in 2006. Brockman also is a member of the Wyoming State Appraiser Board of Directors, and a member and past chairman of the Diversified Services, Inc. Board of Directors. A former mayor and councilman of Hanna, Wyoming, he currently works as a broker with and president of Keyhole Land Company, a real estate brokerage firm, and has earned Accredited Rural Appraiser status.

Chris Christensen is a director of NorVal Electric Cooperative in Glasgow, Montana. He serves as the NRECA board president. He is a former agricultural education instructor, Future Farmers of America adviser, and member of the Agricultural Education Advisory Committee for Montana State University. He has an associate’s degree in farm/ranch business management from the University of North Dakota-Williston, and a bachelor’s in agricultural education from Montana State University. He is an NRECA Credentialed Cooperative Director and also Board Leadership Certified by the association. 

Jared Echternach is the president and CEO of Beltrami Electric Cooperative in Bemidji, Minnesota. Prior to joining Beltrami Electric, he served as CEO of North Itasca Electric Cooperative and member services manager at Itasca-Mantrap Cooperative. Echternach serves on the boards of directors of Cooperative Development, LLC; Greater Bemidji Economic Development Corporation; and Security Bank USA. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, and an MBA from the University of Phoenix. He also is a graduate of NRECA’s Robert I. Kabat Management Internship Program.

Timothy S. Eldridge is a director of Fleming-Mason Energy Cooperative in Flemingsburg, Kentucky. He is a partner member of Baldwin CPAs, PLLC, and is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the Kentucky Society of CPAs. Eldridge serves on the board of Citizens Bank and also is a director of East Kentucky Power Cooperative. He has a B.S. from Morehead State University and is a certified public accountant.

Dennis Fulk serves as a director with Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative in Kearney, Missouri, as well as the vice president of the NW Electric Power Cooperative (G&T) Board of Directors. He is a former president of the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives’ (Statewide) Board of Directors, past president of the Missouri Soybean Association Board of Directors, a former chair of USDA’s Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service Platte County Committee. He owns Fulk Farms, and has a B.A. in political science from the University of Missouri.

Brent R. McRae serves as a director of McCone Electric Cooperative in Circle, Montana, and is the board president of Montana Electric Cooperatives’ Association. A self-employed rancher, he has previously served on the boards of Select Sires Mid-America, the National Beef Sire Committee and the Montana Angus Association. He is active in local community development boards and is a volunteer for Garfield County EMS and the Rural Fire Department. McRae attended Montana State University. He is an NRECA Credentialed Cooperative Director and also holds the Director Gold Board Leadership Certificate from the association.

Keith Hayward has been general manager and CEO of North East Mississippi Electric Power Association in Oxford, Mississippi, since 2014 and has been employed with the cooperative since 1988. He serves on the board of Electric Cooperatives of Mississippi (statewide) and South Eastern Data Cooperative in Georgia. Hayward has a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Mississippi and is a graduate of NRECA’s Robert I. Kabat Management Internship Program.

Michael J. Heinen is the general manager of Jefferson Davis Electric Cooperative in Jennings, Louisiana. He serves on the board of the Association of Louisiana Electric Cooperatives and also the Jefferson Davis Parish Economic Development board. Heinen has a master’s degree in business administration from McNeese State University and also holds various lineman apprentice program certificates.

Bradley Janorschke is the general manager of Homer Electric Association and Alaska Electric and Energy Cooperative in Homer, Alaska. Prior to working in Alaska, he was the CEO of Arrowhead Electric Cooperative and the assistant general manager of Cooperative Light & Power Association, both in Minnesota. He has a B.S. in engineering technology and an M.B.A., both from St. Cloud State University and is a graduate of NRECA’s Robert I. Kabat Management Internship Program.

Anthony Larson is the board secretary of Slope Electric Cooperative in New England, North Dakota. He is the fourth-generation owner and operator of 1910 Larson Ranch. He has worked in bank management and lending at Dacotah Bank and is a former board member of the Rural Development Finance Corporation. Larson has a B.S. in agricultural economics from North Dakota State University, studied at the Colorado Graduate School of Banking and has an NRECA Gold Director Certificate.

John Metcalf has served as president and CEO of Mid-Ohio Energy, based in Kenton, Ohio, since 2003. He began his career at the cooperative in the operations and engineering department performing various duties before becoming the director of operations and engineering and eventually CEO. Over his career Metcalf has been active on several boards, committees and service organizations, including Buckeye Power Board of Directors, United Utility Supply Board of Directors, LaRue Board of Public Affairs, Elgin Board of Education and Rotary International in Kenton. Metcalf holds a degree in electrical engineering from Marion Technical College and DeVry Institute of Technology. He is also a graduate of the Merchant Power Lineman Program.

Kendall J. Montgomery is the general manager and CEO of Fort Belknap Electric Cooperative in Olney, Texas. He is also the CEO of Fort Belknap Services Corporation and Link Field Services, Inc. Montgomery joined the cooperative in 1996, serving in various positions including CFO before taking the helm of the organization. He is an alternate director for Brazos Electric Power Cooperative (G&T). He has a B.B.A. in accounting from Angelo State University and is a Certified Public Accountant and Chartered Global Management Accountant. 

G. Anthony Norton serves as a director of Snapping Shoals Electric Membership Corporation in Covington, Georgia, and as the current chair of the Georgia System Operations Corporation Board of Directors. He is a current member and the former chair of the Georgia Electric Membership Corporation (statewide) Board of Directors. He is also the former president and owner of Conyers Pharmacy. Norton has served as a director of the Rockdale County Hospital Authority Board, and is a member of Georgia Pharmaceutical Association and Compliant Pharmacy Alliance. He has a B.S. in pharmacy from Mercer University.

Jeff Rehder is the board president of North West Rural Electric Cooperative in Orange City, Iowa. He was elected to the board in 2005 and has served as president since 2012. A fourth-generation farmer, he is president of Rehder Farms Inc., which raises hogs, cattle, corn, soybeans and alfalfa. Rehder also has served on the board of Rivers Edge Bank since 2007. As well, he is the clerk of Garfield Township. He has a bachelor of science degree in agronomy from South Dakota State University. 

Mark Suggs has served as the executive vice president and general manager of Pitt & Greene Electric Membership Corporation in Farmville, North Carolina, since 1984. He is a former board president and current director of North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation (G&T) and serves as a director for the North Carolina Association of Electric Cooperatives (statewide). Suggs also is the co-founder of Carolina’s Whitetail Journal and the owner and operator of Ghost Hollow Farms. He has an NRECA Cooperative Management Certificate.

Marsha L. Thompson serves as a director of Trico Electric Cooperative (TEC) in Marana, Arizona. She also has served in governance positions, including board president, for the Grand Canyon State Electric Cooperative Association (statewide). She holds the post of TEC board vice president and was a member and former chair of TEC’s Audit and Finance Committee. Thompson has achieved NRECA Credentialed Cooperative Director, Board Leadership Certificate and Director Gold Certificate status. Additionally, she is active in leadership roles for various civic and service organizations.