Cullman Electric Staff Appointed to Vice-President Positions
Cullman Electric Cooperative has appointed seven employees to vice president positions. The announcement was made by CEO Tim Culpepper during a meeting with all employees earlier this month.
“I’ve been fortunate to have an outstanding senior-level management team since I started in this position five years ago,” Culpepper said. “We are moving some of those team members into new leadership positions. I’ve challenged this group to work alongside and support the rest of our senior managers and staff to put Cullman Electric in the best position to address the critical issues facing our industry. This new structure will help us communicate better and operate more efficiently within each department and across the company, which in turn will help the co-op do an even better job of serving its members.”
Employees named to the vice president group include:
Mark Freeman, Vice President of Network Operations
Sherri Hilliar, Vice President of Administrative Services
Brian Lacy, Vice President of Member Engagement & Communications
Justin Lee, Vice President of Engineering & Technical Services
Matt Schlosser, Vice President of Accounting & Finance
Danny Stricklin, Vice President of Information Services
Wade Yarbrough, Vice President of Operations & Field Services
In making the announcement, Culpepper noted some of the current and future challenges Cullman Electric is working on. The co-op is in a growth cycle that has seen more than 3,700 meters added to the system over the past four years while costs for materials and labor have soared. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is facing similar challenges related to growth, costs and power supply that have a direct impact on the co-op. At the same time, Cullman Electric has been investing in the successful launch of its Sprout Fiber Internet service to address the lack of high-speed broadband internet available to rural homes and businesses.
“For all the challenges we face today or will confront in the future, we have solutions,” Culpepper said. “It all starts with the people who work at Cullman Electric Cooperative. At every level of the co-op, we have employees who care about doing their best to serve our members.
“We have support from the board of trustees which has given us the tools to build and grow a state-of-the-art electric and fiber infrastructure. These technologies allow us to provide our members a level of service that is second to none, and ensures that the people and communities we serve have every opportunity to succeed.”
Cullman Electric Cooperative is a member-owned cooperative serving more than 48,000 member accounts in Cullman, Winston, Lawrence and Morgan counties.