Jackson EMC President & CEO Randall Pugh (left) with Georgia Governor Nathan Deal.

(JEFFERSON, GA., January 9, 2013)—Randall Pugh, President/CEO of Jackson Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) has been appointed by Governor Nathan Deal to the Board of Directors of the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD).

GDEcD is the state's sales and marketing arm. As the lead agency for attracting new business investment, it encourages the expansion of existing industry and small businesses, develops new domestic and international markets, attracts tourists to Georgia, and promotes the state as a location for film, video, music and digital entertainment projects, as well as plans and mobilizes state resources for economic development. The board of directors meets quarterly.

Pugh began his career in the power industry at Walton Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) in Monroe, Ga., in 1968, where he held various management positions and served as General Manager from 1977-1984. He became head of Jackson EMC in August 1984. Pugh earned a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree, with a Major in Accounting, from the University of Georgia.

He also serves on the boards of directors of the Oglethorpe Power Corporation (OPC), the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, and the Georgia System Operations Corporation (GSOC), and is a member of the Northeast Georgia Council Boy Scouts of America’s executive council, member and past president of Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce, and member and past president of the Jefferson Rotary Club.

Jackson (EMC), the second largest electric cooperative in the nation, is headquartered 50 miles northeast of Atlanta in Jefferson, Georgia. The cooperative serves nearly 207,900 meters and more than 195,400 individual accounts in 10 northeast Georgia counties, with 86 substations and more than 13,500 miles of energized wire.

###