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Randy Bush, WFEC Board of Trustee member from District 7 was recently appointed to represent West Florida Electric Cooperative on PowerSouth Energy Cooperative’s Board of Directors. As a member
of PowerSouth’s board, he serves on the Marketing & Economic Development Committee. PowerSouth,
headquartered in Andalusia, Alabama, is West Florida Electric’s generation and transmission cooperative.
They provide for the wholesale power needs of 20 distribution members – 16 electric cooperatives (including WFEC) and four municipal electric systems in Alabama and Northwest Florida.

Mr. Bush has been a member of WFEC since 1976 and was first elected to its board in October 1996. He currently serves as Vice-President of the Board of Trustees and is also Chairman of WFEC’s Engineering &
Operations Committee. He was previously Vice-President and Secretary-Treasurer of the board and has served as the co-op’s representative on the Florida Rural Electric Credit Union board and the Florida Rural Electric Self-Insurer’s Fund board. Mr. Bush has also served as the cooperative’s alternate member on the Florida Electric Cooperative’s Association Board.

He established his successful retail business, Bush Paint & Supply, in Graceville, nearly 31 years ago and he and his family have owned and operated it since its creation. His business has been awarded Graceville Area
Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year twice during this time. He has also served on the Holmes County Development Commission. He and his wife, Teresa, will be married for 42 years this year, and have raised two children, Brandy Leigh Bush and the late Randall Ashley Bush; they also have one grandchild, Randall Darien Bush. They live in the Poplar Springs community and are members of Bethel Baptist Church. 

During his tenure on the Board of Trustees, Mr. Bush has earned two levels of national accreditation from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) - a Credentialed Cooperative Director Certificate and a Board Leadership Certificate. 

The Credentialed Cooperative Director Certificate (CCD) is a set of five courses that focus on basic governance knowledge and the essential skills required of cooperative directors. The CCD prepares directors to fulfill their fiduciary duty as elected officials serving on behalf of their membership. Upon completion of all five CCD courses, directors are awarded the Credentialed Cooperative Director Certificate by NRECA.

The Board Leadership Certificate (BLC) is the second part of the director education program and consists of a series of courses focusing in greater depth on specific industry and governance issues. These include
issues such as risk management, power supply, parliamentary procedure, technology and policy development. A director can earn the BLC if they have 1) completed the CCD 2) Earned 10 credits from a choice of over 20 BLC courses. Directors may attend BLC courses at any time but the BLC will not be awarded until the CCD program requirements are completed.

The third certification offered by NRECA is the Director Gold, which recognizes directors committed to continuing their education beyond the CCD and BLC and who desire a tangible credential that demonstrates their ongoing commitment to advancing their knowledge and performing their fiduciary duty to the best of their ability. Mr. Bush plans to earn the Director Gold certification in the future. 

One of the key strengths of the rural electric program is its commitment to education and professional development. Of more than 7,200 active directors in the rural electric program today, nearly sixty-five percent have earned their Credentialed Cooperative Director certificate (CCD). Many of these directors are now focused on earning NRECA’s Board Leadership Certificate (BLC) in order to stay current on the Issues affecting the future of their co-ops. The purpose of all NRECA director level education is to prepare directors to make informed business decisions in the boardroom that benefit the cooperative and its members.