(Jefferson, Ga., March 12, 2014) The Board of Directors of Jackson Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) announced today the selection of Ernest A. “Chip” Jakins III as the cooperative’s new President/CEO. He succeeds Randall Pugh, who announced his retirement last October.

“Our board is fortunate to have someone like Mr. Jakins who has the background and experience as a CEO in the rural electric industry to lead Jackson EMC into the future,” said board Chairman Otis Jones.

Jones said Jakins would assume his duties on or before May 1, 2014.

An 18-year veteran of the power industry, Jakins began his career in 1996 as a local manager of electric distribution services with SCANA Corporation’s South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G) Company, and was named district manager of electric distribution operations - customer service and retail in 1999. In 2002, he was named president/CEO of Carroll Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) in Carrollton, Georgia.

Jakins holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master’s degree in Business Administration. He is a member of the board of directors of the University of West Georgia Foundation, West Georgia Technical College, and Carroll County Sertoma Club; and is a member of the Carrollton Rotary Club, Carroll County Chamber of Commerce and Georgia Chamber of Commerce. He serves on Georgia EMC’s Executive Committee, Economic Development Committee and Workers Compensation Fund Executive Committee, and as a director/alternate director of Oglethorpe Power Corporation, Georgia Transmission Corporation, Georgia System Operations Corporation, Georgia EMC and Green Power EMC. In 2013, he was named the Cooperative Communications Association’s CEO of the Year, and 2012 was named Sertoman of the Year. Carroll EMC has been ranked by Georgia Trend magazine as among the “Best Places to Work in Georgia” for the last four years.

Pugh has spent 45 years in the power industry, nearly 30 as the President/CEO of Jackson EMC. He presently serves on the board of directors of Oglethorpe Power Corporation (OPC), Georgia Systems Operations Corporation (GSOC), and Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD).

Jackson Electric Membership Corporation (EMC), the second largest electric cooperative in the nation, is headquartered 50 miles northeast of Atlanta in Jefferson, Georgia. The cooperative serves more than 212,500 meters and more than 199,500 individual accounts, with 406 employees, 80 metering points and more than 13,500 miles of energized wire. This year, Jackson Electric Membership Corporation was recognized by J.D. Power and Associates as a 2014 Customer Service Champion—one of only 50 companies to have earned this distinction.