A Letter from Chairman Bill Sansom
Last March, six new Board members, including myself, joined Directors Skila Harris and Bill Baxter to form TVA’s newly expanded Board. In October, we were joined by the ninth member, Bishop William Graves of Memphis.
We are all proud to be a part of this historic change in TVA’s governance.
We are enthusiastic in accepting the challenge of providing TVA with strategic guidance and policy direction in all its work, notably in the areas of energy, environment, and economic development, and we support the vision of President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Kilgore as he leads all the people at TVA.
For 73 years, TVA’s mission has helped improve the quality of life and provided opportunities for the people of the Valley. Today, that mission is as vital as ever as TVA fuels our region’s thriving economy, manages the Tennessee River system, serves as a catalyst for economic development, and works to protect the environment.
We are already learning that TVA people are experienced, dedicated, and productive, and we look forward to our new relationships with them. We all want to be proud to wear our TVA badges.
Building on the great tradition of accomplishment, the new TVA Board accepts the challenge of guiding TVA as it meets the challenges of the 21st Century.
I proudly accept.
William B. Sansom
Chairman
TVA Board of Directors
Chairman William B. Sansom of Knoxville is chairman and chief executive officer of The H.T. Hackney Co. and has held that position since 1983. Hackney is a diversified company involved in wholesale grocery, gas and oil, and furniture manufacturing. His term expires May 18, 2009. Committees: Finance, Strategy & Rates; Operations, Environment & Safety
Bill Baxter of Knoxville is chairman of Holston Gases, Inc., a distributor of industrial, medical, and laboratory gases. He was named to the TVA Board as a full-time Director in 2001 and served as TVA Chairman from June 2005 through March 2006. His term expires May 18, 2011. Committees: Corporate Governance; Finance, Strategy & Rates
Dennis Bottorff of Nashville serves as chairman and partner of Council Ventures, a venture capital firm. He was chairman of AmSouth Bancorporation until his retirement in 2001 and previously was chief executive officer of First American Bank. His term expires May 18, 2011. Committees: Corporate Governance; Finance, Strategy & Rates*; Human Resources
Don DePriest of Columbus, Miss., is chairman of a venture capital firm headquartered in Alexandria, Va. The firm has founded or invested in such companies as American Telecasting, now merged with Sprint, and his Charisma Communications Corp. was a pioneer in the cellular phone business. He previously chaired the Columbus, Mississippi, Utilities Commission. His term expires May 18, 2009. Committees: Corporate Governance*; Audit & Ethics; Community Relations
Mike Duncan of Inez, Ky., is chairman, chief executive officer, and director of Community Holding Co.; chairman, CEO, and director of Inez Deposit Bank; and general counsel of the Republican National Committee. He is a director of the regional Center for Rural Development. His term expires May 18, 2011. Committees: Audit & Ethics*; Community Relations
William Graves of Memphis is presiding bishop of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. He was previously pastor of the Phillips Temple CME Church in Los Angeles. He is immediate past president of the Board of the National Congress of Black Churches and a former member of the Board of Memphis Light, Gas & Water. His term expires May 18, 2007. Committees: to be determined
Skila Harris, a native of Bowling Green, Ky., served as a full-time TVA Director from November 1999 through March 2006. She previously held positions in the U.S. Department of Energy, the White House, and energy-management and engineering-consulting firms. Her term expires May 18, 2008. Committees: Operations, Environment & Safety; Human Resources*; Community Relations
Howard Thrailkill of Huntsville, Ala., recently retired as president and chief operating officer of Adtran, Inc., in Huntsville, which supplies equipment for telecommunications service providers and corporate end-users. Previously, he was president and chief executive officer of the firm Floating Point Systems. His term expires May 18, 2010. Committees: Operations, Environment & Safety*; Human Resources
Susan Richardson Williams of Knoxville provides public relations consulting services through SRW & Associates for clients that range from major corporations to high-tech companies. She has served in the cabinets of two Tennessee governors, on the staff of a third, and on the staff of a U.S. senator. Her term expires May 18, 2007. Committees: Audit & Ethics; Human Resources; Community Relations*
*Indicates committee chairperson