U.S. President Joe Biden has announced two nominees for the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Board of Directors.
One of Biden’s two selections includes current Lyon County Judge-Executive Wade White, who announced last September he’s not running for re-election after 12 years in the position.
A Lyon County native, White has been the recipient of multiple awards, such as the Kentucky Elected Officials Ripple Effect issued by Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful Group. Inducted into the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame in both 2016 and 2018, White initiated what many have termed the “War on Carp,” as Asian carp have long posed a threat on both Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley.
White Graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1995, and currently lives in Lyon County with his wife.
U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell praised Biden’s decision, and noted White is the first Kentuckian nominated for the TVA Board under this administration.
As such, McConnell said he believes White will bring a “unique” Bluegrass perspective to the job.
McConnell wrote that the two have worked “closely together” for years on issues like Barkley Dam, Land Between the Lakes and Asian carp, and that White has experience and expertise to provide affordable, reliable energy to the more than 10 million customers TVA serves.
It is McConnell who recommended White to Biden for this position, which must then be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Once confirmed, each person serves a term of five years. Proceedings of meetings are open to the public, and when their terms expire, directors may remain on the board until the end of a current congressional session, or until successors take office. Whichever comes first.
A five-person board, the terms for A.D. Frazier and Jeff Smith expired on May 18. Frazier, of Mineral Bluff, Georgia, spent his entire 35-year career as an executive manager principally in the financial services industry, and was the chief operating officer of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games. Smith, meanwhile, is of Knoxville, Tennessee, and has spent his career in the Department of Energy’s national laboratory system — most recently the last 21 years at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory until his 2021 retirement. Smith also assisted with the creation of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
