For the first time in more than four decades, Clinton County’s District Five representative on the South Kentucky Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation (SKRECC) will not be a Clinton County resident.

The board member seat election that was just concluded for District Five, which includes Clinton County as well as small portions of southern Wayne County, Russell County Kentucky and Pickett County, Tennessee, saw Tommy Nelson, Jr., of Wayne County declared the winner.

Nelson defeated incumbent board member Greg Beard, whose two terms on the board will come to an end when Nelson is seated in June.

According to a press release sent to the Clinton County News from SKRECC Communications Coordinator Joy Bullock, Ms. Cathy Crew Epperson will retain her board seat in District One, as she was uncontested in the election.

Bullock told the Clinton County News in a separate email that although she did not have available to her the exact vote totals, only 14 percent of the voters eligible to vote in the board seat election, being those members with SKRECC service from District five, voted in the election that concluded earlier this month.

She added that Nelson won the board seat with a bout a 10 percent vote margin, estimating that the returns were about 55 percent for Nelson to 45 percent for Beard.

Beard, a Clinton County farmer, was elected to the board seat in 2013, following the resignation in 2012 of long-time board member William “Bill” Shearer.

At the time of his resignation, Shearer, who passed away in December, 2019, had held the position on the SKRECC Board for 36 years at the time of his resignation.

“It has been my pleasure to serve the members of District five and am proud of the work and accomplishments we have made as a Board during my tenure. I look forward to working with Mr. Nelson during this transition period,” Beard said in last week’s SKRECC press release.

“South Kentucky RECC is fortunate to have been served the past eight years by Greg Beard. Mr. Beard has worked diligently to learn the Cooperative business model, keep members needs at the forefront, and do all he could to assist and act as their voice,” South Kentucky RECC President & CEO, Ken Simmons, said.

South Kentucky RECC President and CEO, Ken Simmons, said the co-op congratulates and welcomes Mr. Nelson and stated that the election process gives members the opportunity to exercise their right to select the director to represent their district on the board.

“Holding a director election is a very large undertaking, and we make every effort to ensure the process is impartial and thorough,” Simmons said. “All members have the opportunity to vote electronically or by paper ballot, making the process as simple and convenient as possible.”

According to last week’s press release, Nelson is a Wayne county native and a graduate of Wayne County High School. He served on the board of directors of the Kentucky Center for Cooperative Development, working with cooperatives in seven states.

For twenty-two years he worked directly with members, staff, and their board of directors, also helping them with market development. He recently retired from Monticello Banking Company after eighteen years of service.