Schwentker to retire after 40 years of service to electric cooperatives

Raleigh, NC — North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives announces the retirement of Bob Schwentker, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the family of organizations formed to support North Carolina’s 26 local electric cooperatives. Schwentker, who has served the electric cooperative community for nearly 40 years, will be succeeded by Rick Feathers effective April 6. Feathers has been an integral part of North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives legal team since 2003.

“Bob’s dedication to the mission of the electric co-ops will have long-lasting impact on the community and our members for generations to come,” said Joe Brannan, Executive Vice President and CEO of North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives. “He has been instrumental in shaping policy and advocating for the needs of electric cooperatives across the state and country.”

Schwentker, who earned a law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, began his initial service to electric cooperatives at the law firm of Crisp, Davis, Schwentker, Page, & Currin in Raleigh. He then joined North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives in 1992 and has served as a key resource for legal, legislative, finance and compliance initiatives.

“I am grateful to have had many opportunities to work with electric cooperatives and their leaders in my professional career,” said Schwentker. He will continue his service to electric cooperatives this year as the chairman of a Governance Task Force, jointly sponsored by America’s Electric Cooperatives and the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation. “I am particularly pleased to continue to serve as a member of the Governance Task Force as I conclude my service in North Carolina.” The task force takes an in-depth look at best practices in the area of electric cooperative governance.

Schwentker serves on a number of other boards and committees, including the Electric Cooperative Bar Association Advisory board, of which he is the chair; the American Bar Association’s Infrastructure and Regulated Industries Section Council Group; and as a member of the North Carolina Chamber board of directors, where he served for several years as a member of the executive committee.

Feathers was selected for the role of Senior Vice President and General Counsel to ensure continuity on national and statewide strategies and a smooth transition within the network of North Carolina’s electric cooperatives. “Bob Schwentker and Rick Feathers have worked together for nearly 15 years as a part of our legal department, and we are confident that Rick will move our organization forward with the same level of dedication as his predecessor,” said Brannan.

North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives includes the family of organizations formed to support the state’s 26 electric cooperatives, including: North Carolina Electric Membership corporation, the power supplier to many of the electric cooperatives; North Carolina Association of Electric Cooperative, the cooperatives’ trade association; Tarheel Electric Membership Association, Inc. (TEMA), a central purchasing and materials-supply cooperative; and GreenCo Solutions, Inc., an organization formed to help member cooperatives comply with renewable energy portfolio standard requirements.

Together, these organizations support 26 local, independent and not-for-profit electric cooperatives across the state provide a collective 2.5 million cooperative members with reliable, safe and affordable electricity.

BACK TO ALL NEWS