I am a lifelong resident of Hardin County. I graduated from West Hardin High School and received an Associate Degree in Business from Elizabethtown Community College. I am also a graduate of the Philip Morris Agricultural Leadership Development Program at the University of Kentucky and the Kentucky Cattlemen’s Association Leadership Development Program.
During school, college, and the first fifteen years of my career, I worked in the family trucking business, Thomas Poultry and Egg Company, while farming part time. My wife, Donna, was raised on a dairy farm and after college worked as a registered pediatric nurse for 15 years. We married in 1977. We purchased the Bethlehem Academy Farm in 1988 and farmed full time, until semi-retiring in 2020. Our diversified farming operation has consisted of registered Angus cattle, grain crops, tobacco, along with a tobacco float system operation which included a wholesale/retail business, sheep, corn and soybean seed sales, alfalfa hay, and a fall mum and pumpkin agri-tourism business.
Donna and I are members of St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Cecilia, where I serve on the parish council as vice-chairman and the building maintenance supervisor.
I am proud to have been a long-time resident of Nolin’s District 3 service area and have served as the District 3 Director since December 2004, when I was appointed to replace retiring board member, Bob Wade, Sr. In 2020, I was selected by the Nolin Board to replace retiring East Kentucky Director Board Member, Buddy Rosenberger, on East Kentucky Power Cooperative’s Board.
District 3 is one of the largest of Nolin’s 6 districts and includes the second highest number (7010) of Nolin’s approximately 36,000 meters. District 3 includes a triangle portion of Elizabethtown, 31W North at the hospital to 31W Bypass South to I-65. The district continues south following I-65 to Old Sonora Road and to Siberia Road, which completes the eastern portion of the district. Going west, District 3 crosses the Western Kentucky Parkway at Spurrier Road and Morrison Road continuing past Salt River Rd and reaches Hudson Road at a southwest corner point. Heading north on the district’s far western boundary, you will pass Mt. Olive Road, Constantine Road, State Hwy 86 and the northwest corner is near the end of St John Road. Back toward Elizabethtown through the district’s eastern portion, you will cross Longhollow Road, Martin Road, Rineyville School Road, St. John Church Road, Thomas Road, Patriot Parkway and then back to 31W. The far eastern corner in Elizabethtown includes parts of Diecks Drive, West Poplar Street, North Mantle Avenue, Monin Road, Joan Avenue, Henry Street, Mulberry Street and Park Avenue.
District 3 is a diverse area of farms, businesses and residential neighborhoods. It has been exciting to watch the growth of my district just as Nolin has continued to grow as a cooperative through the years. Two areas of recent growth for the Cooperative include the expansion of the pole yard behind Nolin’s Elizabethtown office and the establishment of Nolin’s wholly-owned subsidiary “Wide Open Utility Service.” Though not specific to only District 3, these developments benefit all Nolin members.
The dirt work at the Elizabethtown office gives Nolin a larger storage area for equipment and materials as well as room for future development. The project is a collaboration between Hardin County Water District #2, the City of Elizabethtown and Nolin and serves the needs of each, including an expansion of the detention basin at the back of the property.
Wide Open Utility Service is a new company that was created for the purpose of vegetation management for Nolin’s transmission lines. You’ll be seeing the name “Wide Open” on trucks and equipment around town and working on projects that help Nolin maintain safe distances for vegetation from our lines so that the lights will stay on during ice and wind events. The staff and board felt it would be advantageous for Nolin to have the capacity to meet our needs in this area – it is also a financial savings for Nolin. As a board member, I would like to thank our CEO, Greg Lee, for taking on this project. We expect this to be a positive move for our membership and help to “keep the lights on.”