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On January 30th, Governor Ralph Northam appointed Halifax County Board of Supervisors Chairman, the Honorable Hubert Pannell to the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center’s Board of Trustees. The governor also reappointed Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative and EMPOWER Broadband, Inc., CEO Mr. John Lee to the Board of Trustees.
Pannell and Lee have been appointed to serve four-year terms.
“The SVHEC has been blessed with a long history of solid board leadership. Chairman Pannell’s appointment to the SVHEC Board of Trustees follows in this tradition. His extensive record of community service, including his recent and impeccable leadership of the Halifax County Board of Supervisors during the pandemic, will serve us well,” said Dr. Betty Adams, SVHEC Executive Director.
Mr. Pannell was elected to the Halifax County Board of Supervisors in 2014, and selected as board chairman in 2020, and again in 2021. In addition to his commitments as an elected official, Pannell is involved with a number of community organizations and is pastor of the Hackberry Missionary Baptist Church in Sutherlin, VA.
Mr. Lee was initially appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2018 to fulfil the unexpired term of Dr. John Charles Lee. He currently serves as the president and CEO of Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative (MEC) and its subsidiary EMPOWER Broadband, Inc. Mr. Lee serves on numerous boards including Southern Virginia Higher Education Center Foundation board (director), Old Dominion Electric Cooperative board (chairman), and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (director).
“We are pleased to have John Lee re-appointed to another term on the board. No one has been a more passionate champion for the SVHEC, and his support is needed more than ever during these trying times,” Adams stated.
The SVHEC Board of Trustees meets quarterly. Due to COVID-19, meetings are being held virtually and livestreamed on the SVHEC’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/svhed).
To learn more about the SVHEC and its board visit www.svhec.org.