By MARK MCGEE
mmcgee@bedfordcountypost.com
Submitted photo
Like David Crockett of Alamo fame, Scott Spence has said good-bye to Tennessee and moved to Texas.
Spence is the new President and Chief Executive Officer for the Tri-County Cooperative based in Aledo, Texas, located 20 miles from Fort Worth, Texas. Spence started in his new role on April 1.
“I am honored to be selected to join the talented Tri-County Electric Cooperative team,” Spence said in a press release. “I look forward to the co-op’s bright future and to being a part of this growing, thriving community.”
Spence had served as Duck River Electric Membership Cooperative (DREMC) as President and CEO since July 2019. He was hired to replace Charles McDonald who has served in an interim position after the retirement of Michael Watson in January of 2019.
“We are grateful to Scott for his leadership during what has been both an exciting and challenging period for DREMC and its 84,000 members,” said Board Chairman Anthony Kimbrough in a prepared statement. “As a service provider, whose primary job is keeping the lights on safely and offering affordable electricity across 18 counties in southern Middle Tennessee, DREMC has benefited from Scott’s experience. We are supportive of Scott as he leaves to pursue other opportunities.”
The DREMC board has started a nationwide search to fill the position of President and CEO. An employee leadership team, made up of Executive Director of Cooperative Operations Troy Crowell, Vice-President of Engineering Scott Dahlstrom, and Senior Manager of Administrative Services Kayla Young, are serving in the interim.
Crowell has worked at DREMC for 34 years and is leading the team.
“We appreciate the willingness of this team to step up during this critical time of transition, and we have complete confidence that they are ready for the job,” Kimbrough said. “DREMC has a long and celebrated history of meeting the needs of our membership, and this has been accomplished only because of the hard work and commitment of the employees.”
Spence has approximately 30 years of experience working in the energy industry. Some of his previous stops have been Arab Electric Cooperative in Alabama, Cooperative Energy in Mississippi, and the Tennessee Valley Authority.
“I will leave knowing the DREMC team has made a real difference, taking an already strong electric cooperative and improving upon the ability to fulfill its mission,” Spence said. “Improvements in financial strength and reliability are evident among their results. I sincerely appreciate and value their support of, most importantly, the DREMC membership, but also for their support of me.”
