News & Press
For dedicated support and service to cooperatives and his unique business principles, long-time electric cooperative champion and Tri-County EMC CEO C. Hill Bentley has been named 2016 Distinguished Cooperator by the Georgia Cooperative Council.
“Hill has championed many causes in this region and across the country with the goal of doing what is best for cooperatives and the members they serve,” said Cindy Greene, Executive Director of the Georgia Cooperative Council. “His love of the electric utility industry, particularly the electric cooperative program, extends far beyond middle Georgia and the rest of the state.”
In fact, Bentley has served in a number of leadership roles with a variety of organizations dedicated to advancing the interests of electric cooperative consumers and additional businesses throughout Georgia.
He serves on the board of directors of Oglethorpe Power Corp., one of the nation's largest power supply cooperatives with more than $9 billion in assets serving 38 EMCs, where he is the manager director for the Southern Group and member of the Audit Committee. He is a member of the Georgia Rural Electric Managers Association; serves on the board of the Georgia Electric Membership Corp. where he is an important member of the Energy Efficiency Oversight committee, the Government Affairs Committee and the Territorial Integrity Committee.
Bentley also lends his time and expertise as a member of the Rural Electric Management Research Council, the Georgia Economic Developers Association, the Middle Georgia Regional Commission Council, and several chambers of commerce.
A native of Crawford County, Bentley began work in the utility industry in 1967 with Georgia Power. He graduated from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College with an associate’s degree in agricultural engineering and a bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering from the University of Georgia. Bentley will retire from Tri-County EMC on April 30, 2016.
Randy Crenshaw, Georgia Cooperative Council board member and President/CEO of Irwin EMC and Middle Georgia EMC, presented Bentley with the Distinguished Cooperator Award during the Council’s annual meeting in Macon.
Nominees for distinguished cooperator may be a director, agent, professional, public official, or other individual who deserves recognition for his or her commitment to cooperatives and efforts on behalf of a cooperative.
The Georgia Cooperative Council is a statewide, non-profit cooperative with members representing marketing, supply, financial, electric, telephone, cotton, poultry and service organizations. The Council promotes the cooperative movement through proactive programs in education, communications, and public relations and recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to cooperative businesses.