Director, Former Pharmacist Named CFC Board President

Snapping Shoals Electric Membership Corporation Director and newly elected CFC Board President Anthony Norton fondly remembers attending crowded and hot electric cooperative annual membership meetings under the tabernacle with sawdust floors as a child with his mother while his father was at work. One memory stands out. When his mother won an electric grill and shortly after it was delivered how his family enjoyed grilled steaks. 

These positive childhood memories of community involvement drove Norton to begin his public service on a local hospital authority board in 1986. He quickly realized that he enjoyed the experience, people and making a difference in his community. By the end of his second three-year term, he became the board’s chair. This initial board experience whet his appetite to continue public service.

Shortly after he left the hospital board, Norton bumped into his neighbor who was on the Snapping Shoals Board of Directors. He asked him if there was an opening on the board, and if there was, he would like to be considered for it. At that time there were no open seats, but his neighbor looked into getting Norton onto the board’s nominating or credentials committees to get his foot in the door. 

Three months following their conversation, his neighbor was diagnosed with cancer and passed away shortly after. With knowledge of Norton’s tenure on the hospital board and community relationships, the Snapping Shoals board appointed him to fill the remainder of the open seat term in April 1993, and he has been elected to a new three-year term ever since. 

“I remember the first meeting I went to, and the first thing we did was we had a prayer,” Norton recalled. “When I got home that night, I told my wife I think I’m in the right place because we started the meeting with a prayer and the electric cooperative people are special.”

Being appointed to Snapping Shoals also brought the experience full-circle for Norton and his father. His father was asked to join the board, but at that time his manager at the local furniture store told him the board meetings would take too much time away from the store. 

“So, my dad turned down the opportunity to join the board,” Norton recalled. “Years later, my dad told me that God knew what he was doing because he wanted me to be on that board and if he was on it, I couldn’t have been.”

Norton’s time on the Snapping Shoals board led to state-level electric cooperative board opportunities. He is the current chair of the Georgia System Operations Corporation Board of Directors and former member and chair of the Georgia Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) Board of Directors. During his time on these state-level boards, Norton realized he could make a difference on the national level as well. 

“At the time, I was working 50 to 60 hours a week at the pharmacy, and I didn’t have time to expand what I was doing beyond the state level,” Norton explained. “Once I sold my pharmacy in 2018, it gave me the time to consider taking the next step to run for the CFC board. Thankfully, my wife pushed me to hold off running until I retired because I had no idea of the time commitment that I was biting off.”

Following the 55th CFC Annual Membership Meeting in Indianapolis, Norton was selected to be CFC’s next board president. “When I was named CFC board president, I was a little nervous, but a whole lot excited,” Norton said. “I’m thankful that CFC board members are super smart individuals and are so supportive of me. I look forward to this upcoming year working with them and CFC staff. I am honored and so lucky to be able to represent our membership in this role.”

As president of CFC’s board, Norton is looking to build off his experiences on Snapping Shoals and state-level boards as well as his pharmacy ownership. “I think the best aspect we have at Snapping Shoals is our culture, a culture of respect that supports different perspectives,” Norton said. “I told my pharmacy employees to treat customers like you would like to be treated. This philosophy has helped me in my relationships with board members, CFC members and employees. To let them know you appreciate them.”

When not fulfilling his board responsibilities, Norton continues his family’s tradition of making music. His father led their church’s music for 50 years and his mother played piano for almost 60 years. He grew up singing in church, joined his college choir and has been a member of a gospel quartet since the mid-1980s. The group sang the national anthem at a Braves baseball game and continues to sing the anthem at Georgia EMC meetings. 

He has a Bachelor of Science in pharmacy from Mercer University and served as a member of the Georgia Pharmaceutical Association and Compliant Pharmacy Alliance.