Central Alabama Electric Cooperative (CAEC) announces the retirement of Ruby Neeley from her position on CAEC’s Board of Trustees after serving 35 years.
Neeley was appointed to serve as a member of the Board of Trustees for the cooperative in August 1979, representing District 9 (a portion of Chilton County) in their service area. In April 1994, she was elected to function in the position of Secretary/Treasurer, which she held until her retirement. Neeley held the distinction of being the second longest serving trustee; second longest secretary/treasurer; second female to serve on the board and the longest serving woman on the board.
During her tenure, CAEC’s Board of Trustees planned for and approved numerous facility upgrades, including: opening the service center in Clanton in 2005; the construction of the West Operations Center in 2011; and the implementation of self-service kiosks at the Clanton service center in 2014.
She earned her Credentialed Cooperative Director and Board Leadership certificates from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA).
In conjunction with her responsibilities on CAEC’s board, Neeley also represented CAEC for 22 years on the Board of Directors of PowerSouth Energy Cooperative, Andalusia, Ala. She was elected to that board in 1993 and during her term, served on five committees: Nominating; Member Relations and External Affairs; Marketing and Industrial Development; Engineering and Operations; and Finance and Audit. Additionally, she served as PowerSouth’s delegate to the Alabama Rural Electric Association (AREA) Board.
Neeley and her late husband, Eugene, have one daughter, Gwen (Garry) Vines, two grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
“We were blessed to have had Mrs. Neeley as a Trustee, mentor and friend of the cooperative for so many years,” said Tom Stackhouse, CAEC President/CEO.