MEA Energy Association (MEA) announced today the appointment of Barry J. Bentley (Joe) as chair and welcomes the full slate of officers and directors for the 2019 MEA Board of Directors.
Patrick Van Beek, president of MEA, said, “MEA had a strong year under the leadership of outgoing chair Bobbi L. Shroeppel of NorthWestern Energy and we thank her for her service. We anticipate continued growth under Joe’s leadership. I look forward to working with Joe and the entire board as we empower the energy industry through education, leadership development, and industry connections.”
Bentley is the senior vice president, U.S. utility operations for Indianapolis Power & Light Company (IPL) and Dayton Power & Light Company. He is responsible for Transmission and Distribution, Customer Service and Asset Management. Joe has been with IPL since 1988 and previously was the Vice President of Fuel and Energy Supply. Joe was also a Senior Investment Associate with IPALCO Enterprises and Principal with EnerTech Capital Partners, a venture capital firm in Wayne, Pa. focused on early stage venture investments in energy and telecommunications.
“These are exciting times in the energy industry and I am honored and delighted to be assuming the chair role and helping lead MEA over the next year,” said Bentley. “I am looking forward to the opportunity to lead the MEA board as the organization continues to help empower the success of the energy industry through education and leadership development.”
The slate of board members elected in 2019 follows:
Officers:
Chair, Barry J. Bentley, senior vice president, customer operations of Indianapolis Power & Light (Ind.)
1st Chair, Vernon J. Peterson, vice president, Wisconsin field operations of WEC Energy Group (Wis.)
2nd Vice Chair, John C. Webster, director natural gas division of Hutchinson Utilities Commission (Minn.)
Treasurer, Tom J. Henkels, chief operating officer of PLH Group, Inc. (Texas)
Secretary, Patrick D. Van Beek, president of MEA Energy Association (Minn.)
Past Chair, Bobbi L. Schroeppel, vice president of customer care, communications, and human resources of NorthWestern Energy (S.D.)
Executive Committee Delegate, Charles C. Crews, vice president gas operations of Consumers Energy (Mich.)
Executive Committee Delegate, Benjamin F. Felton, senior vice president electric operations of NiSource (Ind.)
Directors:
Tamara A. Bewley, natural gas market manager of Border States (Mich.)
Michael D. Beatty, vice president, gas operations of Liberty Utilities (Mo.)
W. Noble Billingsley III, director, gas operations – GRMI of DTE Energy (Mich.)
Benjamin F. Felton, senior vice president, electric operations of NiSource, Inc. (Ind.)
Gary L. Gibson, associate GM, customer ops and communications of City Utilities of Springfield (Mo.)
Dean A. Headlee, manager, pipeline safety and compliance of CenterPoint Energy (Minn.)
Kevin P. Joyce, director of gas emergency response of Xcel Energy (Minn.)
Jamie S. Kiely, senior director, distribution operations of Evergy (Mo.)
Keith E. Moyle, chief operations officer of Upper Peninsula Power Company (Mich.)
Keith E. Napier, director of gas operations of Duke Energy (N.C.)
For more information about MEA visit MEAenergy.org.
About MEA:
MEA serves the people that deliver electricity and natural gas to homes and businesses. We were founded as a trade association over 110 years ago by distribution utilities whose vision was to improve safety and efficiency. Today, we fulfill the same purpose through education, leadership development, and industry connections. Energy delivery companies, contractors, and suppliers around the country benefit from our 55 summits, roundtables, and webinars, 400+ online technical courses, safety assessments, evaluator training, operator qualification compliance tools, and leadership courses for field personnel.