EnergyUnited Board of Directors

Jerry Anderson has served on the EnergyUnited Board of Directors since its inception in 1998.

Prior to that, he had been a member of the Crescent EMC Board since 1984. During his tenure on the Crescent EMC Board, he served as both Secretary and Treasurer, and has also served as Treasurer on the EnergyUnited Board.

Jerry has earned the following credentials from the NRECA:
– CCD (Credentialed Cooperative Director) –  February 2015
– BLC (Board Leadership Certificate) – March 2022

Jerry has attended the following training in the past two years:
– Cybersecurity: The Board’s Oversight Role
– Developing Effective Boardroom Decision Making
– Increasing Influence and Building Board Consensus
– Boardroom Challenges: Connecting Theory to Action

In addition to his service to EnergyUnited, he is a partner in Anderson Aggregates, LLC. He is a member and past President of the North Davie Ruritan Club, is a former trustee of the Davie County Hospital Board of Directors and is a former Davie County Commissioner.

Jerry is a graduate of Harmony High School, is married to Dianne and is a member of the Sandy Springs Baptist Church, where he serves as a deacon and a Sunday school teacher. In his spare time, he enjoys classic cars.

Craig Black has served on the EnergyUnited Board of Directors since 2019, representing District 3.

Craig has earned the following credentials from the NRECA:
– CCD (Credentialed Cooperative Director) – February 2020
– BLC (Board Leadership certificate) – December 2021
– Director Gold Credential – December 2022

Craig has completed the following courses for director training in the past two years:
– Cooperative Communications and Public Opinion: The Director’s Perspective
– Cooperative Structure: A Strategic Advantage
– Risk Oversight: The Board’s Role in Risk Management
– Conversation Skills Outside the Boardroom
– Developing Effective Boardroom Decision Making
– Electric Vehicles: Strategy and Policy Considerations
– Crucial Conversations in the Boardroom
– Rate Strategies
– ESG and the Cooperative Difference

Craig and his family have been EnergyUnited members since 1997 and reside in Mooresville. He and his wife Kathy have been married 26 years and have two daughters, Abby and Maggie. He is an active member of Mooresville High Athletic Boosters and Top of the Lake Rotary Club.

Craig graduated from East Davidson High School and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Operations Management from UNC Charlotte. His 32-year career in the printing and packaging industry has focused on strategic planning, business development and marketing.

Craig served as a director during the cooperative’s recent governance review and helped develop and execute the cooperative’s strategic plan, which focuses on providing members with safe, reliable energy at competitive prices, while offering more information for members to better manage their energy spending. He also supported the Board of Directors in recent policy changes such as Director term limits that have given members more opportunity to serve the cooperative. He strongly supports EnergyUnited’s rural economic development initiatives as well as the EnergyUnited Foundation, which, through the members, has given millions to local charities.

Ed has served on the EnergyUnited Board of Directors since 1998, when EnergyUnited was formed as a result of a merger of Crescent EMC and Davidson EMC.

Ed has earned the following credentials from NRECA:
– Director’s Certificate – January 1991
– Board Leadership Certificate – September 1996
– Credentialed Cooperative Director Certificate – October 1998
– Director Gold Credential Certificate, Latest Renewal – April 2022

Ed has attended the following training:
– Appraising and Compensating the CEO
– Increasing Influence and Building Board Consensus
– Boardroom Challenges: Connecting Theory to Action
– Developing Effective Boardroom Decision Making
– Cybersecurity: The Board’s Oversight Role
– Electric Vehicles: Strategy and Policy Consideration

Ed was a member of the Crescent EMC Board beginning in 1987. He served as a member of the Board of Directors of the EnergyUnited Services Corporation until it was dissolved with the selling of EnergyUnited Propane in 2021. He served on the Search and Selection committee when EnergyUnited was faced with finding a new CEO, only the third since EnergyUnited was formed.

Ed is a retired business and sales professional with several years of customer service experience in our local communities. He served in the US Army during the Vietnam Era, after graduating from Cool Spring High School and studying Business Administration at Mitchell College. He is active in Ruritan National, having served as local Club President, Zone and District Governor, National Treasurer and National President in 1980. He is currently a member of the V-Point Ruritan Club. He and his wife, Sarah, are lifetime members of Salem Methodist Church in the Davie Academy community. They enjoy working on their farm and traveling when possible.

Ann Eller has served on the EnergyUnited Board of Directors since its inception in 1998.

Prior to that, Ann had been a member of the Crescent EMC Board since 1988. She was recognized by NRECA for her continued commitment as a Director over the past 35 years and has been on numerous committees and held many positions, including Secretary of EnergyUnited’s Board of Directors.

Ann has earned the following credentials from the NRECA:
– CCD (Credentialed Cooperative Director) – July 1999

Owner of a poultry and beef cattle farm located in Moravian Falls, Ann is active in Breast Cancer Awareness and the March of Dimes.

Ann is a graduate of George Washington High School in Danville, VA. She enjoys reading, interior design, spending time with her sons and grandchildren and being out on the farm.

Ronnie Harrison currently serves as Treasurer of the EnergyUnited Board of Directors.

Ronnie has earned the following credentials from NRECA:
– Credentialed Cooperative Director (CCD) – October 1998
– Board Leadership Certificate – November 2000
– Director Gold – January 2022

Ronnie has attended the following training:
– Cooperative Structure: A Strategic Advantage
– Boardroom Challenges: Connecting Theory to Action
– Ethics and Governance
– Increasing Influence and Building Board Consensus

Ronnie and his wife, Virginia, were married in 1979 and have been members of the cooperative since then. They have four children and seven grandchildren.

Ronnie is a graduate of Denton High School and Davidson Community College. He is a sixth-generation owner/operator of a corn and soybean farm in southern Davidson County. He serves as chairman of finance at Lineberry Church and is active in the men’s group. He is President of the south Davidson Family Resource Center Board, past President and current member of Denton’s Lion’s Club and is on the board of Mountain Vista Health Park. He is a former chairman of Handy Sanitary District and has served as President of South Davidson Fire Department, Denton Area Chamber of Commerce, and the South Davidson Jaycees. He is most proud of the consolidation of Davidson EMC and Crescent EMC that formed EnergyUnited.

Zolee Riggs has served on the EnergyUnited Board of Directors since August 2022.

Zolee has earned the following credentials from the NRECA:
– CCD (Credentialed Cooperative Director) – November 2022

Zolee has attended the following training in the past year:
– Applying Emotional Intelligence in the Boardroom

Zolee represents EnergyUnited District 2. Zolee and her family have been members of EnergyUnited since 2017. They reside in Kernersville, North Carolina. Zolee has been married to her husband, Lonnie, since 2005 and they have 3 boys: Laurence, Zachary and Landon.

Zolee, a native of Walnut Cove, North Carolina, first attended schools in Stokes County before attending UNC-Greensboro, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in 2004. From that point on, Zolee started a successful career in marketing, working for companies including Sara Lee Corporation/Hanesbrands, Liberty Hardware and most recently Lixil Americas. She is a goal-driven, people-focused leader with exceptional expertise in product management, sales performance and developing go-to-market strategies that boost revenue, increase market share, and solidify the customer’s supremacy in the marketplace.

In order to provide governance and supervision–and to promote our members’ interests in obtaining safe, dependable and affordable energy rates–Zolee takes satisfaction in her work as a Board member for EnergyUnited.

Brian currently serves as executive committee chair and Vice President of the Energy United Board of Directors.

Brian has earned the following credentials from the NRECA:
– BLC (board leadership certificate) Sep 2016
– CCD (Credentialed Cooperative Director) Sep 2014
– Director Gold – Jan 2018

Brian has attended the following training in the past two years:
– Cybersecurity – The Boards oversight role
– Applying Emotional Intelligence in the Board room
– Strategic Technologies and their impact on the cooperative
– Appraising and compensating the CEO
– Coop Bylaws – Guiding Principles and current issues

Brian has served on the EnergyUnited Board of Directors since 2013, representing District 3. Brian and his family have been members of EnergyUnited since 1996 and reside in The Lake Norman area of Mecklenburg County. Brian has been married to his wife Tricia since 1991 and they have two children in the Charlotte area.

Brian earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (1990) and a Master’s degree from Kennedy Western University (2003). He is the Chief Operating Officer of The Range Companies, which encompasses The Range at Lake Norman, The Range at Ballantyne, and The Pineville Gun Shop. Sisson is also a member of St. Mark Catholic Church in Huntersville, serving on the Usher Commission and the Crisis Abatement team.

Brian is a former Huntersville, N.C. Town Commissioner (2001-2009) and also served as the town’s Mayor Pro-Tem for four years (2005-2009). Brian served on the Mecklenburg Union Metropolitan Planning Organization from (2002–2009), serving as Vice Chair from 2006–2008. He was on the board of directors for the Lake Norman Chamber from 2002–2007 and returned in 2019 where he currently serves. He has also served on the North Mecklenburg Crime Stoppers since 2020.

Brian has been instrumental on the EnergyUnited Board of Directors in influencing policy change that has made EnergyUnited more efficient. He has also worked with the board to influence instituting Director term limits and making it easier for members who wish to serve in their co-op to run for seats on the Board of Directors. Brian also served on the CEO evaluation committee, selecting the first replacement CEO in the History of EnergyUnited.

Max Walser currently serves as President of the EnergyUnited Board of Directors.

Max has earned the following credentials from the NRECA:
– BLC (Board Leadership Certificate) – December 1999
– CCD (Credentialed Cooperative Director) – December 1999
– Director Gold – March 2021

Max has attended the following training in the past two years:
– The Role of the Board Chair in Conducting Effective Meetings

Max has served on the EnergyUnited Board of Directors since its inception in 1998. He currently serves as President. Prior to that, he had been a member of the Davidson EMC board since 1975. He also served as Director on the EnergyUnited Services Board. Walser was instrumental in prioritizing board diversity as a guiding principle in recent years as the cooperative recruited and appointed new board members.

Max is a retired superintendent of Davidson County Schools who spent 37 years in education. He currently serves on the North Carolina Electric Membership Cooperative Board and the North Carolina Association of Electric Cooperatives Board. He is a past Chairman of the Davidson County Board of Commissioners and was appointed by former Governor Purdue to the North Carolina Economic Development Committee in February 2012. He has served on a variety of boards, including the Lexington Chamber of Commerce, Piedmont Triad Partnership, Hospice House Building Fundraising Committee, Davidson County Arts Council, Board of Trustees for Davidson County Community College and Trading Path Association. He is also a past member of several civic organizations and received The Order of the Long Leaf Pine Award from Governor Easley in 2000.

Max received his bachelor’s degree from Pfeiffer University, two master’s degrees from the University of North Carolina and his doctorate degree from Duke University. He and his wife, Peggy, are members of Grace Episcopal Church in Lexington, NC. In his spare time, he enjoys reading and farm work.

Cheryl Wright is currently serving as Secretary of the EnergyUnited Board of Directors.

She was selected to serve a two-year term on NRECA’s Director Advisory Group (DAG) in January 2023. Cheryl is representing EnergyUnited and all North Carolina co-ops on this volunteer committee. She previously served on the Member Advisory Committee (MAC) and was President of the Lake Norman MAC her 2nd year.

Cheryl has earned the following credentials from NRECA:
– CCD (Credentialed Cooperative Director) – August 2021
– BLC (Board Leadership Certificate) – February 2023

Cheryl has attended the following training in the past three years:
– Director Duties and Liabilities
– Understanding the Electric Business
– Board Roles and Relationships
– Strategic Planning
– Financial Decision Making
– Co-Op By-laws: Guiding Principles and Current Issues
– Improving Board Decision-Making Quality
– Your Board’s Culture and Its Impact on Effectiveness
– Assessing Governance: Taking a Continuous Improvement Approach to Governing
– Rate Strategies
– Cybersecurity: The Board’s Oversight Role
– How to Evaluate and Improve Board Performance
– Ethics and Governance
– Applying Emotional Intelligence in the Boardroom
– Succession Planning: Developing the Purpose-Driven Organization
– Equity Management and Boardroom Decision Making

Additionally, Cheryl is finalizing the Director Gold Credential, the highest level of certification for directors.

Cheryl has served on the EnergyUnited Board of Directors since 2021. She and her husband Joe, have two daughters and have been EnergyUnited members since 2006.

Cheryl earned a bachelor’s degree in Urban and Public Policy from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Her 29-year career in the textile industry has included extensive experience and achievements in sales management and training. Cheryl is co-owner of Rightrock Sportswear. She is currently serving as the secretary of the East Lincoln High School PTSO. Cheryl has been a member of the North Mecklenburg’s Woman’s club since 2020. She previously served on her neighborhood’s HOA board for five-and-a-half years.

Cheryl has been a guiding voice on the EnergyUnited Board of Directors in influencing policy change that has made EnergyUnited more efficient and reliable. She has also worked with the Board to influence instituting Director term limits and making it easier for members who wish to serve their co-op to run for seats on the Board of Directors. Cheryl also served on the CEO Evaluation Committee, selecting the first replacement CEO in the history of EnergyUnited.