Planer Retires Effective Jan. 1; Newberry Promoted to CEO
Florida Keys Electric Cooperative's Board of Directors announces the
retirement of FKEC CEO Tim Planer and the promotion of Chief Financial
Officer and Assistant General Manager Scott Newberry to CEO effective
January 1, 2006. Planer is retiring from cooperative service to spend more
time with his wife and family.
Planer has more than four decades of electric cooperative experience in
Florida. He joined FKEC in 1988 as Superintendent of Transmission and became
Assistant General Manager in 2000. Planer was then promoted to lead the
company after the sudden loss of long-time CEO and General Manager Charles
Russell in early 2002.
"Tim stepped up during a very traumatic time for FKEC," said Board President
David Ritz. "Both the CEO and the Board President passed away within a
month of each other, and FKEC needed a leader. Tim took the helm and
steadied the ship, and he has done a wonderful job. We are grateful for his
dedication and his contributions to the future of FKEC."
For the past three and a half years, Planer has worked to reorganize and
modernize the company's management structure and update both equipment and
facilities. He has also dedicated resources to power system upgrades and
maintenance to limit the number of consumers affected by local power
outages. The effectiveness of this program has been illustrated during
recent tropical storms, where most of FKEC's service territory maintained
electric service despite high winds.
"Although I will miss the challenges and the daily pace of operations after
42 years in the industry and 18 at FKEC, I look forward to slowing down and
enjoying more time with Mary and our family," Planer said. "I am grateful to
our Board of Directors for the opportunity to serve as FKEC's CEO and am
pleased with the progress our cooperative has made under my watch."
Newberry joined FKEC in 1990 as Planning, Rate and Budget Analyst and was
promoted in 1996 to his current position. As CFO, he has overseen all of the
financial, accounting, billing and information system functions of the
cooperative for the past nine years. Scott is also an active member of our
community and is a past president, current director and president-elect of
the Rotary Club of Key Largo, is a director for the Key Largo Chamber of
Commerce and is co-founder and president of the Upper Keys Golf Association.
"The Board is pleased to be able to give Scott this opportunity, and we are
confident that we will have a smooth transition in leadership," Ritz said.
Newberry graduated from Arkansas State University with a degree in
Agriculture Business and Economics in 1986. In 1988, he began his career in
the electricity industry when he joined the Rural Electrification
Administration (REA) in Washington, D.C. With the REA, he worked first as a
Commercial Loan Specialist, evaluating the financial practices of electric
cooperative borrowers. He was later promoted to Power Requirements Officer
before moving to the Florida Keys to join FKEC in 1990. In 1994, he
completed the three-year national electrical course for apprentice linemen
to further his education in cooperative operations. He is a graduate of
Leadership Monroe County Class XI and completed the National Rural Electric
Cooperative Association's Management Internship Program in 2005.
"I am grateful to the Board for this opportunity, although I will miss
working with Tim after all these years," Newberry said. "We have made a lot
of positive changes, and I look forward to working with the Board and
employees as we strive to continue delivering reliable, high-quality
electric service to our members."
