Mike Partin, President/CEO of Sequachee Valley Electric Cooperative was recently elected to serve as the secretary-treasurer of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) Board of Directors, the first NRECA board officer from Tennessee in more than 25 years. The election took place during the organization’s Annual Meeting in Nashville with nearly 10,000 delegates in attendance. NRECA represents over 900 co-ops across the country serving over 42 million consumers.

Partin has served on the NRECA board since being elected Tennessee’s representative to the National Board during the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association (TECA) meeting in 2019. During his time on the board he has served as the voice of the people of Tennessee at the National level, taking his passion for public power and rural America to Washington, D.C.

He has supported the organization’s efforts to strengthen the U.S. power grid, expand rural broadband access and efforts to develop a responsible energy transition plan by creating and maintaining a diversified fuel portfolio that includes a mix of coal, nuclear and natural gas as well as a renewables. Partin has been a vocal advocate in making sure reliability and affordability are at the forefront of the electrification discussions in Washington.

“As our nation moves toward electrification in more and more sectors of the economy it is vital that electric cooperatives have a seat at the table where policy is being made” stated Partin. “I look forward to standing shoulder to shoulder with our national leadership team as we advance the cause of rural America to ensure that our voices continue to be heard loud and clear.”