|
The
board of directors of the Association of Illinois Electric
Cooperatives (AIEC),
Springfield, Ill., has selected N. Duane Noland to replace
retiring President/CEO Earl Struck. Noland will begin serving as
President/CEO in January.
Before accepting the position, Noland served as vice president
of Hickory Point Bank and Trust. From 1990 to 2003, he was a
member of the Illinois General Assembly, serving two terms in
the Illinois Senate and four terms in the Illinois House of
Representatives. As a state senator, Noland served as assistant
majority leader, and vice chair of the Agriculture and
Conservation Committee. One of the many leadership awards Noland
received was the Illinois Electric Cooperative Public Service
Award.
Noland is also vice president of Noland Farms and the seventh
generation to operate the 2,500-acre centennial family farm in
Macon and Christian counties. Noland and his wife Tina have
three children and reside in rural Blue Mound, Ill.
An active civic and agricultural leader, Noland has served on
the board of directors of organizations such as Millikin
University, Decatur Memorial Hospital, the Grain & Feed
Association of Illinois, Macon County Farm Bureau Foundation,
the American Red Cross and the Illinois Corn Growers
Association.
Struck, of Springfield, has served as AIEC President/CEO since
February 1994. He has been with the association for 27 years,
serving earlier as director of legal and government relations.
Struck said, “With rising energy costs, deregulation uncertainty
and many other challenges, I know Duane will work with our co-op
leaders to meet these challenges and continue our history of
improving the quality of life for rural Illinois co-op members.
Duane has a proven track record of service to rural Illinois,
and I congratulate our board of directors on the wise decision
they’ve made.”
The
AIEC represents 24 electric distribution cooperatives, two
generation and transmission cooperatives and six telephone
cooperatives. In addition to the core business of electricity
and communication, these cooperatives are providing new
services, such as broadband Internet, through subsidiary
organizations. Several of these subsidiary organizations are
AIEC affiliate members.
Based in Springfield, the AIEC provides legal, engineering,
communications, safety training, legislative representation and
other services. AIEC member cooperatives serve more than 239,000
farms, homes and business in 83 counties, with 54,117 miles of
line. The AIEC is a member of Touchstone Energy — an alliance of
more than 625 local, consumer-owned electric utilities around
the country.
|
|
