Meet Your Newly Elected Board Members
Area 1: Ed Crowell (ELECTED on 11/12/11)
Bio: Ed is a 25-year resident of Cobb County and have lived in Smyrna, Marietta and currently reside in Powder Springs. He has been married to Cynthia Crowell for 22 years and they have two children. One daughter is a senior at North Cobb Christian and a son who is a freshman at Dominion Christian.
Occupation: For over 20 years Ed has been CEO of the Georgia Motor Trucking Association and have served on several national member-based organizations. His experience includes utility issues, contracts, legislative issues, and environemntal and other regulatory matters.
Affiliations: Ed has two degrees in Political Science from Liberty University and Georgia State University. He is an active volunteer in the community and was appointed Cobb Neighborhood Safety Commission by Sam Olens. He has been a volunteer youth soccer coach and Sunday school teacher.
Why I'm running: Ed has always believed someone who ran for a position should do a few simple things: explain why they are qualified; explain what they hope to accomplish; and ask clearly and directly for support. He supports a forensic audit of the EMC but does not think it should happen until all three rounds of elections occur. HIs goal is straightforward: do the work that needs to be done to ensure Cobb EMC's future success for members' benefit. The understandable focus on past misdeeds must be properly closed out and redirected to the mission of the EMC.
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Area 6: David Tennant (ELECTED 11/12/11)
David is an acknowledged expert in the areas of energy production, company turnarounds and rescue of high-visbility business intiatives. His past experience includes Executive Management, Engineering, Consulting, Project Management, and Operations. He has held P/L responsibility and also served as COO of a publically held company.
Mr. Tennant's energy experience spans over 25 years and includes both traditional (fossil and nuclear) and alternative energy production (biomass power); alternative fuels development and demand side energy conservation programs. He lilved for two years in the Caribbean to improve the operations and efficiency of a major utility which saved the company over $140 million in yearly operating costs. He has successfully directed over $3.5 billion in projects and programs of which $2 billion was in the energy sector. Most recently, he directed two alternative energy projects ($200 million) in Canada and the northeast U.S.
His educational background includes:
- BS in Mechanical Engineering - Florida Atlantic University
- MS in Technology and Science Policy - Georgia Tech
- Executive MBA - Kennesaw State University
He has had business engagements in Finland, Germany, New Zealand, the Caribbean basin, Canada, Czech Republic, and the United Arab Emirates.
David lives in Kennesaw with his wife and two grown children. He is also an accomplished singer-songwriter-musician with copyrighted musical compositions.
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Area 7: Charles Malcolm Swanson (ELECTED on 11/12/11)
Malcolm "Cooter" Swanson is a life-long resident of Cobb County. Mr. Swanson is a graduate of Troy University where he received a degree in Mathematics. For the last 27 years, Mr. Swanson has owned a screen-printing and embrodiary business in Cobb County. He served on the Cobb County Parks and Recreation Commission for over 15 years and as Chairman for two terms. Mr. Swanson also serves on the Board of Directors of the North Georgia State Fair and has served as President.
An active member of First Baptist Church of Marietta, Mr. Swanson is on the Board of Trustees and also participates as a Deacon. He has served in several additional capacities at his church, including teaching Sunday school and serving on two pastor search committees.
He has mentored youth as a coach in baseball and basketball, as well as coaching Kennesaw State University's inaugural season of intercollegiate baseball.
Mr. Swanson is married to Nancy Dansby Swanson and has three children. His oldest son, Chase, attended Mercer University where he received his undergraduate and graduate dregrees. His daughter, Lindsey, is pursuing an advanced degree in psychology, and his youngest son, Dansby, has committed to play baseball at Vanderbilt University next year.
Mr. Swanson is interested in restoring and reforming our EMC. He is not affiliated with any member of the past or current management at Cobb EMC, nor is he affiliated with Georgia Power, any other power company or any enviromental organizations. His goals are honest and plainspoken - he is interested in bringing about a higher level of integrity, transparency and dedication to the EMC and its members.
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Area 10: Cheryl Grubbs Meadows (ELECTED on 11/12/11)
Cheryl's father, James Grubbs, dedicated 30 years of his life as a member of the Pataula EMC and served as its secretary for 25 years. He was also a director of Oglethorpe Power Corporation for 22 years, and served on the OPC Employee Relations Committee from 1988 to 1994, the OPC Finance Committee from 1985 to 1994, and the OPC Transmissions Committee from 1995 to 1996. He passed away in 2005.
Like her father, Cheryl believes in the Electric Membership Corporation and the good that it can do for its customers/owners. She saw first hand the dedication that is required to serve on a board of this nature. The responsbility for being on the Board of Directors cannot be taken lightly.
Area 10, where she calls home, is in Southwest Georgia, consisting of approximately 3200 customers/owners and who may or many not be knowledgeable of the issues that Cobb EMC has been involved with over the past several years.
With the population growth and the ever growing dependency of farmers on irrigation to produce crops, not only in Area 10, but throughout the state, every avenue to provide this power in the safest, cleanest and most affordable means should be explored.
Cheryl wishes to ensure that the members of Area 10 and all other Areas of Cobb EMC are provided with the best possible representation. She is retired and can dedicate the time that is needed to move Cobb EMC ahead and help bring better leadership to the cooperative and its members.
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Complete Candidate Information
Candidates in Areas 2, 3 and 9, elections that were to have occurred in 2009, have also announced their intentions to run for office.
2009 Candidates-Elections scheduled for 3/31/12
Area 2: Charlie Jones; David Herndon (incumbent)*
Area 3: Kelly Bodner; Bill Hutson; David McGinnis (incumbent)*
Area 9: Eric Broadwell; Gregory Haines; Larry Chadwick (incumbent)*
Areas 4, 5 and 8 will be up for vote in the 2010 elections. Candidates have announced their intentions to run in Areas 4 and 5.
2010 Candidates-Elections scheduled for 3/31/12
Area 4: David Lombrozo; Johnny Gresham (incumbent)
Area 5: Lonnie Ayers; John Berry; Scott Chadwick; Tripper Sharp; John Wallace; Kay Anderson (incumbent)
Area 8: Bryan Boyd; Bill Clements; Tom Schroeder; Sarah Brown (resigned, Dec. 2011)*
Cobb EMC board elections are open to all Cobb EMC members. For more information on the election process, how to vote, the candidates and more, please check back to this page for regular updates.
*Has indicated they will not seek re-election to the board
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Additional Candidates Profiles**
Eric is a husband and a proud father of 3. He received his Bachelor's in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech. He worked at Lockheed on the P-3 and C-130; later, he started an internet company, then joined IBM and managed the launch of the first online banking websites for Bank of America and Bank One. He traveled the world as a transactional internet consultant for fortune 500 companies, joined EDS as a Sales Director, started his own consulting firm, and consulted at GA Power. He is president of Bike Roswell and on the state level board of GA Bikes, where he deals with lobbyists and state legislation. Eric has been recommended and endorsed by Roswell Mayor Jere Wood.
David Lombrozo is an IT/Telecom Manager and a 15-year member of Cobb EMC. His work involved negotiating with strategic vendors and pushing them to achieve world-class performance. His strength in working with companies and people are integrity and frankness. He also ran a critical data centers and designed critical networks. He is a methodical problem solver and natural 'go to' person. He understands that the main purpose of the Board is to protect the members' interest and investment in the Cooperative. He aims to bring integrity and honesty back to the Board, open the meetings and decision making of the Board to the members, and bring democracy back into the Board elections. His vision is that homes served by Cobb EMC will command a premium price because of the co-op’s reputation.
Tom Schroeder-Area 8
How do I serve on the Cobb EMC board?
To serve on the Cobb EMC board of directors, you must go through a nominating process and are then voted on by the membership as a whole at the annual members’ meeting.
For current information on candidates running for theNovember 12 elections, please check out the MDJ candidate profiles here and here
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**All candidates mentioned on this page, including those with pictures and bios have not been officially endorsed by Take Back Cobb EMC. We are committed to providing information on all candidates for the board until the Cobb EMC Owners Association makes formal endorsements.