Chilton County resident James Robert Parnell was appointed to the Board of Trustees for Central Alabama Electric Cooperative (CAEC) to fill the unexpired term for District 6, a position formerly held by Jimmie Harrison, Jr. for 23 years. Parnell began his term of service on May 24, 2022, and was elected to another term at the 2023 Annual Meeting of the Members. Parnell has since earned the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) Credentialed Cooperative Director and Board Leadership certificates as well as maintains the Director Gold certificate.   Parnell and spouse (Jami), along with the other CAEC Trustees, serves on the only Board in the nation to be 100 percent Board member commitment at the Leadership Circle level and at the President’s Club level to the nonpartisan Political Action Committee (PAC).

He currently serves on the Board of Central Access, Inc., the broadband subsidiary of CAEC.

Parnell manages the cattle business of his family’s  company, Parnell Inc., in Maplesville. He is a graduate of Auburn University with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Business and Economics. During his career, he has served on numerous committees including the USDA Farm Service Agency and the American Shorthorn Association and held positions in both the Chilton County Young Farmers (Chairman) and the Alabama Farmers Federation (Young Farmers Committee South at Large Director). Currently he serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors at the YMCA of Chilton County as well as the Secretary/treasurer of the Chilton County Cattleman’s Association.

Parnell and his wife Jami have two daughters, Charli Bay and Merit James; and a son, Lou. They are members of Hillcrest Baptist Church in Maplesville.