SOMERSET —  In a move that stunned the staff of South Kentucky RECC, Board Chairman Richard G. “Rick” Stephens of McCreary County; along with fellow Board Members John Pruitt, Jr. of Somerset, William Shearer of Clinton County, and Vice-Chairman Charles Gore of Russell County; as well as Board Attorney Darrell Saunders of Corbin, all retired from their positions during a board meeting Thursday afternoon.

    “It was like a row of dominoes,” said RECC CEO Allen Anderson who acknowledged that the resignations were a total surprise to him and other RECC staffers. “This is something we never expected.”

    Anderson noted that the resignations came about 5 p.m. at the end of a two-hour board meeting. Stephens was the only board member not in attendance.

    The resignations leave the three most recently elected board members — Rick Halloran, secretary-treasurer of Somerset; Lee Coffee of northern Pulaski County; and Billy Gene Hurd, of Monticello, as the only remaining board members.

    Shearer served on the board for 36 years; Gore for 31; and Pruitt for 10.

    Stephens, who was on the RECC board 36 years and who chaired it for the last 12, had been the target of a recent campaign to remove him from the board. The campaign was spearheaded by businessmen H.E. Corder II of Science Hill; Frankie L. Nelson and John W. Tuttle, both of Somerset; and William Singleton of Stearns. They had launched a web site called “Save SKRECC” at www.saveskrecc.com detailing several allegations against Stephens including sweetheart land deals and possible conflicts of interest.

    They were also circulating a petition calling for the removal of Stephens. But that’s now moot.

    “In my opinion the resignations were due to public pressure,” Tuttle told the Commonwealth Journal.

    To local media, including The McCreary County Voice — which is owned by the Stephens family and ironically hit newsstands just hours before the RECC board meeting, Stephens refuted the charges against him.

    The Whitley City businessman maintained that the charges involved matters dating back at least seven years which had been approved by the entire board, supported by management, and vetted by Kentucky’s Public Service Commission as well as the Attorney General’s Office.

    The four board members issued a statement through Saunders, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader, saying that the board tried to make conservative financial decisions, acted in the customers’ best interests, and did nothing improper.

    The statement noted that the board has not given employees annual salary increases in recent years because of the economic downturn which “apparently created significant strife within the organization.”

    The outgoing directors also said that employees improperly took part in election activities on company time. An incumbent director was defeated by Coffee this past June.

    Anderson has acknowledged that board members were upset about the election but maintained that since many employees are also co-op members, they had the right to be involved in board elections as long as it was not on company time.

    Tuttle and Singleton both indicated that their actions grew out of a concern that the board was going to fire Anderson, who has served as CEO for 10 years.

    In mid-August an impromptu rally was held in support of Anderson at South Kentucky RECC headquarters in Somerset, where a meeting of the board of directors was being held, after it appeared his job was in jeopardy over the election issue.

    In retrospect, that rally in support of Anderson and the subsequent petition against Stephens marked the turning point that climaxed in Thursday’s events.

    Directors faced considerable pressure in recent weeks, the statement noted, also the retiring board members denied that any intent to fire Anderson. The statement added they felt they could no longer be effective.

    The remaining board members accepted the written retirement announcements of the four directors as well as Saunders’ verbal resignation.

    In an SKRECC release, Anderson said the co-op and its members appreciate the years of service given by the board members and that the co-op will now begin the task of moving forward:

    “According to South Kentucky RECC by-laws, vacancies to the board need to be filled within a reasonable time, and the remaining directors will begin the process, following board policy, to find the best people possible for the positions. In the past, in similar situations, community leaders have been engaged in this process, and I feel that they will be again. The new board members that are seated at the end of this process will fulfill the term of the member they are replacing.

    “In addition to filling the remainder of the terms of the seats vacated, we have heard a great number of concerns from our members, and we are going to begin the process of addressing these concerns. Steps have already been taken to meet with representatives from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, as well as to glean information from cooperatives across the state.  We want to do everything we can to make South Kentucky RECC the best possible co-op it can be for our members.”

     Anderson said change will not happen overnight, but he feels confident that change will be positive and the co-op will be able to get back to its true focus of providing reliable, competitively-priced electricity, and more importantly, improving the quality of life in the communities that SKRECC serves.

     Anderson assured South Kentucky RECC members that business will continue as seamlessly as possible during this transition period. He added that the process of filling the vacancies on the board will be the first order of business.

     “Our goal, as always, is to put our members first,” he stated. “This is their cooperative – they own it. We want to do what is best for them, while continuing to provide the greatest service we can.”