Donald Hawk, CCD, BLC, DGC
District 1 Director
Donald is a self-employed farmer who owns and has operated Skyline Turkey Farm, Inc. for the past forty years. Donald has served as a Township Trustee, Soil and Water Supervisor, a Member of the Ohio Poultry Marketing Board, the Knox County Farm Bureau and is a member of the St. Luke Catholic Church. Through extensive training, he has received the Credentialed Cooperative Director (CCD), Board Leadership certificate (BLC), and Director Gold certificates (DGC) from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Donald is married to Janet and they have four children; Daniel, Delbert, Joseph and Shannon. District Map
Nelson Smith, CCD, BLC, DGC
District 2 Director
Smith was elected to the board in 2003 and is presently the Chairman of the Board. Through extensive training, he has received the Credentialed Cooperative Director (CCD), Board Leadership certificate (BLC), and Director Gold certificates (DGC) from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Smith represents cooperatives from OH, IN, WV, and MI on the board of Federated Insurance, a national cooperative that insures about 90% of electric cooperatives across the country. He serves as a Washington Township Trustee and volunteers on the board responsible for restoring the Historic Licking County Jail. Smith is a 1966 graduate of Newark HS, attended OSU and served 4 years in the Navy. He is the retired publisher of the Utica Herald, The Heath News, the Pataskala Post and On Target. Smith is former part-owner of Chapel Hill Golf Course in Mount Vernon. He is married to Kim and between them have four children and seven grandchildren. District Map
Brad Patton
District 3 Director
Brad has been married to Allyson for 14 years, and they have two children, Nick and Kaylee. They are proud Vikings, as Allyson teaches at Northridge Elementary School. Brad is a Northridge Local Schools alumni, and the tradition continues with his children, who also attend school there. Mr. Patton is a 5th generation farmer in the Utica area working with his brother, Jeff, two nephews, and one other full-time employee. Together they farm 2,800 acres of corn, soybeans, and wheat. We also contract feed hogs for Heimerl Farms. Brad was a 28-year member of the Homer Volunteer Fire Department, where he served 6 years as treasurer and 6 years as chief. He has served as a board member of The Licking County Farm Bureau for the past 4 years. Brad has also been a member of Highwater Church for 10 years. Brad was elected to the board in 2022. District Map
Mike Pettit
District 4 Director
Mike Pettit has over 40 years of experience in the energy industry. He is retired from Lancaster Municipal Gas after almost 20 years as General Manager. Mr. Pettit has experience as Director of Marketing and Manager of Gas Supply for National Gas & Oil Corporation (now part of the Energy Cooperative family). He has also managed the City of Lancaster Economic Development efforts since 2002. He has been the Executive Director of the Lancaster Port Authority since December 2005. Mr. Pettit has served on many boards, including Northern Local Schools, Lancaster Community Improvement Corporation, Tour de cause, Ohio Gas Association, and the Lancaster Festival. Mike has been a youth coach and a financial mentor with young couples at The Tree Church, where he and his wife Cheryl are CORE members. Pettit is a graduate of Ohio University in Manufacturing Engineering and Otterbein University in Business Management and Leadership, where he graduated Magna cum laude with honors. Mike was elected to the board in 2022. District Map
Wayne Zollars
District 5 Director
Zollars is the CEO and president of Smithhisler Meats, Inc., a retail, and wholesale company located in Knox County that has served residents, businesses, and organizations for the past 40 years. He is a member of the Knox County Farm Bureau, Ohio Grocers Association, Knox County Cattlemen’s Association, and is a Monroe Township Trustee. Zollars is also involved with the Blue-Ribbon Livestock 4-H Club. He is married to Kim and they have two boys, Justin, and Ryan. District Map
John Klauder, CCD, BLC, DGC
District 6 Director
John was born and raised in Licking County. He received a finance degree from Miami University in Ohio and continued with a Masters in International Management from American Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, Arizona. Upon graduation he worked for three years in international banking. He later pursued a Masters in Landscape Design and started his own business – John Klauder Assoc. Landscape and Design. John has been a board member for the Licking Land Trust, Granville Chamber of Commerce and the Granville Rotary. He is married to Anne and has two children. John was elected to the Board in 2005. Through extensive training, Through extensive training, he has received the Credentialed Cooperative Director (CCD), Board Leadership certificate (BLC), and Director Gold certificate (DGC) from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. He is currently the Secretary/ Treasurer for the Board. District Map
Dustin Buckingham, CCD, BLC, DGC
District 7 Director
Dustin is the owner of Buckingham Electric, a contracting company operating in Knox and surrounding counties since 2003. In addition, Buckingham Electric is now a licensed training agency for the Ohio Construction Industry Licensing Board. Dustin graduated from Ohio Northern University in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Through extensive training, he has received the Credentialed Cooperative Director (CCD), Board Leadership Certificate (BLC), and Director Gold Certificate (DGS) from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Dustin also serves on the board of The Peoples Bank of Gambier and was the past President of the East School Board. He is active as a teacher and deacon at the Millwood Church of Christ. Dustin is married to Amy and has three children and two grandchildren. District Map
Joanne Little, CCD, BL, DGC
District 8 Director
Joanne is a graduate of Utica High School, Columbus Business University and Central Ohio Technical College. She was the Treasurer of Johnstown-Monroe, Newark City and Olentangy Schools. Joanne also worked at C-TEC and Licking County Education Service Center. She served as President of Ohio Association of School Business Officials, her State professional organization. After retiring, Joanne has served as Interim Treasurer and Financial Consultant for many Central Ohio school districts. Through extensive training, she has received the Credentialed Cooperative Director (CCD), Board Leadership certificate (BLC), and Director Gold certificate (DGC) from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Joanne has been married to her husband, Harry, since 1969. They have three children and nine grandchildren. District Map
Tom Graham, CCD, BLC, DGC
District 9 Director
Graham was elected to the board in 2009. He currently serves as Vice Chair of the NGO Cooperative and NGO Transmission Boards. Through extensive training, he has received the Credentialed Cooperative Director (CCD) , Board Leadership certificate (BLC), and Director Gold Certificate (DGC) from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Graham lives in Jackson Twp, Muskingum County, where he farms corn, soybean, wheat, hay and raises cattle and hogs in partnership with his family. He is the past director of the Ohio Federation of Soil & Water Districts and served on the Ohio Farm Bureau State Young Farmers Committee. Graham has an Associate Degree in construction from Texas State Technical College. He is married to Sue, they have three children and four grandchildren and attend More Life Church in Newark. District Map
* The designation of CCD (Credentialed Cooperative Director) , BL (Board Leadership Certification) and DGC (Director Gold Certificate) is given to a Board Director after completing a series of certification classes provided by NRECA (National Rural Electric Cooperative Association).