A New Role for a Veteran Co-op hand: Wolfe assumes presidency of NRECA board

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) Board of Directors has elected Jack F. Wolfe president for a two-year term. Wolfe is President and CEO of Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative in Lexington.

NRECA is the national service organization that represents the nation's more than 900 consumer-owned electric cooperatives, which provide electric service to more than 40 million people in 47 states.

Wolfe entered the co-op community in 1972, when he joined Mid-Carolina Electric as manager of office services. Three years later he became CEO and has presided over the co-op's growth from 13,000 members to almost 50,000 members.

Wolfe has served on the NRECA Board of Directors since 1999 as secretary-treasurer and vice president and on the boards and numerous committees of The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina and Central Electric Power Co-op in Columbia.

"He truly believes in the cooperative model for all the right reasons, in that it empowers members to achieve things they could not do individually, but collectively, they can achieve," said Michael Couick, president and chief executive officer of the Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina. "He lives that within his own co-op and he's done that within our statewide organization."

"He's done a great job of managing our assets, of keeping ahead of the growth and still maintaining the cooperative principles," said Kenneth V. Frick, board chairman at Mid-Carolina Electric and a director there for almost all of Wolfe's 32 years as CEO. "He still has his enthusiasm for the co-op."

As president, Wolfe said he'll put his people skills to use in dealing with pressing issues such as climate change. "We should be sure our membership is protected and we should be sure Congress understands the cooperatives' point of view," he said.

For Wolfe, the board presidency represents the culmination of more than 30 years of commitment to the cooperative model. In his acceptance speech, Wolfe said, "You'll hear me say this a lot. We get things right as cooperatives when we understand that the only reason we exist is to serve our membership. Service is the key."

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