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→ MEAG – We are members of the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia. Bob Johnson, president, has resigned effective January 1, 2016. The Board has just named a new president.
JAMES E. FULLER NAMED PRESIDENT AND CEO OF MEAG POWER
ATLANTA, GA (November 10, 2015) – The new President and Chief Executive Officer will assume his duties on January 1, 2016 when Robert P. Johnston, the current President and Chief Executive Officer of the Municipal Electric Power Authority of Georgia (MEAG Power) retires.
Fuller, who currently serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for MEAG Power, has been with the Authority since l997 and has more than 30 years of experience in the public power arena specializing in strategic and financial initiatives. Jim holds a Certified Public Accountant certification and received his undergraduate degree from Western New England College. Additionally, he holds a Master’s degree in Taxation from Bentley College.
In 2008, Fuller led the MEAG Power team in the design, structuring and sale of power for MEAG Power’s participation in the expansion at nuclear Plant Vogtle and later, in 2010, led the team which successfully garnered the largest new money financing in the history of public power. The transaction was recognized as Deal of the Year for all categories of municipal debt issued during 2010 by U.S. institutional investors as compiled by SMITH’s Research & Gradings.
Fuller was selected by the MEAG Power Board of Directors after an extensive national search process. “Our Board unanimously supported the selection of Jim Fuller,” noted Steve Rentfrow, MEAG Power Chairman of the Board. “His experience and credentials are outstanding.”
“I couldn’t be more pleased with the Board’s choice,” said Johnston. “He has been a remarkable Chief Financial Officer and an invaluable, dedicated member of the MEAG Power staff.”
“Following in Bob’s footsteps is an enormous honor,” said Fuller. “Under his leadership we have made a number of outstanding accomplishments. He has always had our 49 Participant communities as his top priority and has continually worked to ensure they receive competitive and reliable wholesale electric power from us.”
Bob Johnston has been President and Chief Executive Officer of MEAG Power for 17 years. During his tenure he was instrumental in leading MEAG Power to its position as one of the most professionally managed and admired public power entities in the country. He was also instrumental in building a diversified fuel portfolio that provides wholesale electric power that is over 50 percent emissions-free.
→ Celebration of Chaplains at Oxford College – from the Oxford College website:
 Celebration marks 30 years of chaplaincy
On a recent Sunday afternoon, a crowd of more than 120 came to Candler Hall to celebrate an important milestone in the life of Oxford College. It has been 30 years since full-time chaplaincy was established at Oxford, and the alumni, faculty, staff, and friends who gathered were there to honor the chaplains who have served since 1985 as well as the programs supported by the chaplain’s Office of Religious and Spiritual Life.
The event was sponsored by the Office of Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) in concert with current Oxford Chaplain Lyn Pace 02T. Says Pace, “The chaplaincy is responsible for some of the most influential programs in the life of Oxford College. We thought this milestone anniversary an appropriate time to celebrate those traditions as well as the people who have made them possible.”
Three of the four serving chaplains were present at the celebration: Pace, along with Sammy Clark 54C of Rabun Gap, Georgia, who was the first full-time chaplain, and Judy Shema, now a United Methodist minister in Ruidoso, New Mexico, who served just prior to Pace. Darryl Barrow, who followed Clark as chaplain and now serves as a United Methodist minister in Amherst, New York, was unable to attend but sent greetings.
The changing chaplaincy
Founded by Methodists in 1836, Emory has maintained its connection to the United Methodist Church, and for many years the duties of office for the pastor of nearby Allen Memorial United Methodist Church included serving as part-time chaplain to the students of Oxford. When Clark was appointed pastor at Allen Memorial in 1982, he found that the needs of the Oxford students demanded more and more of his time and attention. With the blessing of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church and then Oxford Dean William Moncrief, he changed the position of chaplain to a full-time role.
This speaks to the changing role of chaplaincy within colleges and universities. In his opening remarks, Pace noted how it has changed over the years in both breadth and depth, with chaplains serving students, faculty, staff on a personal level as listener/advisor while also facilitating and representing the spiritual in public forums and stages. “Sometimes,” he added, “we are called upon to engage even with those who don’t really want it.”
At the same time, the spectrum of religious traditions represented at Oxford, as with most U.S. colleges and universities, has greatly widened over the past decades. In his remarks, Dean Stephen Bowen noted that it is now imperative that colleges and universities embrace human differences and help students develop empathy for others. Oxford College, he said, has done an exceptional job with these efforts, and the chaplaincy has played a large role.
Student involvement and leadership initiatives
Sammy Clark reminisced with the audience about his time at Oxford, from his 1982 arrival to his retirement in 1998. During those years his vision and creativity led to the founding of programs and events that are among the most treasured Oxford traditions. These include Fall Retreat, the annual weekend in which faculty, staff, and students commune with one another and the outdoors; Leadership Oxford, an intense training experience for sophomore organizational leaders; and his service trips with students to several countries, which eventually led to Emory’s Journeys of Reconciliation program.
Judy Shema spoke of early life experiences which led her to embrace diversity of every kind and how this was only enhanced in her years at Oxford. Shema, Oxford’s first female chaplain, was the founder of Global Connections, a travel program designed to help students connect their personal convictions with issues of social justice.
Besides the day’s being a time of reunion and reminiscence, it was also a time that DAR encouraged alumni and friends of Oxford to contribute to the Sammy Clark Scholarship, established in his honor upon his retirement from Oxford. The two most recent student recipients were on hand for the event, as were some previous recipients.
The event was streamed live for those who could not attend but wanted to watch from home, and the video will soon be available for viewing online. Also available is a gallery of photos, providing the record of a special day in the life of Oxford.
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