New Position for REC’s Leader to ‘Pay Dividends for Member-Owners’
Fredericksburg, Va. – Kent Farmer, president and CEO of Rappahannock Electric Cooperative (REC), has been selected to serve as president of the Board of Directors of a primary financing arm of electric cooperatives.
Farmer noted the position with the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (CFC) will allow him to better serve not only member-owners at REC, but also electric cooperatives across the country.
“In serving both as the CEO at REC and also on the board at CFC, I've had the opportunity to interact with cooperative people all over the country,” Farmer said. “Learning from them - whether it's from a regulatory perspective or a legislative perspective or even an operational perspective. Having an opportunity to share information with cooperative leaders from across the country provides us a tremendous benefit.”
Formed in 1969 as a bank for cooperative utilities, CFC is a nonprofit with approximately $27 billion in assets. It provides unparalleled industry expertise, flexibility and responsiveness to serve the needs of its member-owners. Through CFC, financing is provided to member organizations and affiliates in 49 states, the District of Columbia and two U.S. territories.
The expertise at CFC helps REC make more efficient decisions, Farmer said.
“Programs that CFC sponsors give REC an opportunity to listen to other cooperatives across the country,” he said. “All of that just pays dividends to our member-owners We all have the best interests of our member-owners and our communities that we live in first and foremost in what we are trying to improve. It's a win‑win for both organizations and I could not be more proud to be affiliated with both.”
REC provides electric service to over 169,000 connections in parts of 22 Virginia counties. With its general office in Fredericksburg, Va., the Cooperative operates and maintains more than 17,000 miles of power lines through its service area, which ranges from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the tidal waters of the Chesapeake Bay.