October 09, 2008
Bill Schmidt will be Polk-Burnett's new general manager the first of the year.
CENTURIA – After months of conducting a nationwide search to fill the top post for Polk-Burnett Electric Cooperative, the board of directors has named William G. “Bill” Schmidt as the new general manager to replace Steve Glaim who will be retiring at the end of 2008. Schmidt was unanimously selected after two days of interviews with seven highly qualified finalists. He will assume his duties by the first of the year.
Schmidt, 48, is currently employed as the chief executive officer/general manager for Beauregard Electric Cooperative in DeRidder, Louisiana. Beauregard Electric Cooperative serves 38,000 members and has a staff of 130 employees. Prior to serving as the CEO at Beauregard, Schmidt served as chief financial officer for Kauai Island Utility Cooperative in Hawaii which was a start-up public utility. Prior to that position, he served as the chief financial officer for Volunteer Electric Cooperative in Tennessee. He has been a certified public accountant since 1988 and served as an audit manager for a public accounting firm in Tennessee for nine years. Schmidt has a strong financial and administrative background with significant experience in electric utility and cooperative finance, engineering and operations, member service, legal, legislative, operational and strategic business planning.
A native of Wisconsin, Schmidt has a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in accounting from the University of Wisconsin at Madison; and also attended the University of Tennessee working on a master’s in business administration.
Schmidt grew up in the Madison area and has a brother in Appleton, two brothers and a sister near Madison and a sister in the UP of Michigan. Schmidt and his wife, Lisa, a native of Knoxville, Tennessee, recently adopted an 18-month-old daughter, named Coral, from China.
“We are extremely pleased with the field of well-qualified candidates that we interviewed. As the representatives for our consumer members, we have the important fiduciary responsibility to select the best qualified manager for our cooperative, and we take that job quite seriously,” said Ed Weber, board president. “Bill possesses the attributes we were looking for in dedication to the cooperative principles and sound management practices.”
Schmidt added, “Lisa and I are very excited about coming home to Wisconsin and coming to Polk-Burnett and getting to know the employees, board members, consumer members and local community. Together, we will work hard to insure that Polk-Burnett continues to be the employer of choice and a vital link in the community. I enjoy and encourage member involvement in all aspects of the cooperative, including customer service, community responsibility and the cooperative vision. I will make myself available to the employees, the board, the community and the cooperative members we serve.”