Gene Herritt

Gene Herritt of Shippensburg has been an Adams Electric member since 1976 and joined the board in 1985.

He plays an active role in statewide and national cooperative organizations.

At the national level, he represents Pennsylvania on the NRECA Board of Directors and contributes to multiple committees.

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About Gene Herritt

S. Eugene Herritt of Shippensburg has been a member of Adams Electric since 1976 and a member of the Adams board since 1985. He served as board president from 1993 to 2007. He served on the board executive committee from 1993 to 2011.

Herritt is currently a member of and treasurer of the Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association Board of Directors (our statewide trade association) and a past chairman of that body. He is a member of, and served as chairman for over 20 years of, the Adams Utility Services Cooperative or AUSCO, (Adams’ for-profit subsidiary) and as such serves on the Mid-Atlantic Cooperative Services Co. (MACS), a partnership between Adams Electric and Choptank Electric Cooperative, owning Aero Energy.

He is a member of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) Board of Directors representing Pennsylvania cooperatives and serves on multiple committees of that organization. He is a Certified Cooperative Director and holds Board Leadership and Director Gold certificates. He has served as a panelist for NRECA on various occasions.

While having served in a leadership capacity on several local boards, Herritt’s current responsibilities and time commitments to the cooperative programs have limited his involvement in community beyond Adams Electric currently.

He is married to Sally Herritt, has one daughter, Andrea, and a grandson, Lyric.

Gene Herritt Candidate Questions

Beyond my ongoing concern for members and their problems I bring a wealth of experience serving within the cooperative program. While tenure and experience are not necessarily the same things, I have been continually active in my service to the Adams members and the cooperative program. That has afforded me the opportunity to continue to learn the needs of the members and to put that knowledge to work for their benefit. I have a demonstrated leadership ability coupled with a willingness to voluntarily give up leadership positions so others can develop their own skills in those positions. I have recognition on the state and national level of the program which has been beneficial in improving Adams’ position on those levels and consequence benefits.

Rates and reliability will always be the biggest challenges. The changing world in the electric utility industry makes overcoming those challenges increasingly difficult. All the other benefits Adams offers its members are predicated on our keeping our rates competitive and the power on. Adams is currently positioned to meet those challenges, but diligence on the part of the board and management is necessary now more than ever in our cooperative history. This involves interaction with our statewide organization, a strong understanding of fiscal responsibilities the board must address to best serve the cooperative’s members and the challenges we all face on a state and national level. The ever-changing landscape of power production, political priorities and personal preference are intertwined as we seek to serve both our members’ needs and to acknowledge our “green” responsibility to preserve the environment for future generations.

Serving my neighbors is a big part of my motivation to serve as a director. Having served on numerous boards within my community, the Adams board has given me the best opportunity to directly affect the lives of our members in a positive manner. There is great satisfaction in knowing your decisions improve the lives of your neighbors by coupling vision and fiscal responsibility. Beyond that, my service has been an opportunity to learn the intricacies of providing electricity to consumers and to further develop leadership skills that have benefited Adams members. As long as I can be afforded the opportunity to utilize what I have learned while on the board I feel I am repaying the members for the opportunity they have afforded me to serve them in this capacity.

“My service on the Adams board has been a labor of love. It takes a lot of time and effort to be a productive member of the board. The opportunity to serve your neighbors in this capacity is an expressed trust by them that you will do the best for them. I take that trust very seriously. I have done my best to learn the business on a financial and practical level. I have involved myself in the political aspects of what is needed for us to stay in business and continue to provide reasonable rates and reliability of power. The board takes very seriously the responsibility of keeping the members’ homes and businesses safe and productive by keeping the power flowing. This is not a typical investor-owned business. The members own Adams, and to have their indication that you are being a good steward on their behalf is a most rewarding feeling.”

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Gene Herritt

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Provide safe, reliable power, at competitive rates, deliver exceptional service to our membership, and help to improve the quality of life in the communities we serve.