North Little Rock’s Today’s Power, Inc. (TPI) recently elected two new directors, Mel Coleman and Diana Holmes, to serve on its board of directors. Like other TPI board members, both new directors are a part of the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas. Mel Coleman is the Chief Executive Officer of North Arkansas Electric Cooperative and a current director for Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation and Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. as well as, a former President of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and director of the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation. Diana Holmes currently serves as the Secretary-Treasurer on the board of directors of Mississippi County Electric Cooperative, a current director for Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. as well as, has served on the board of Federated Rural Electric Insurance Exchange the predominant insurer of rural electric cooperatives.
Under the leadership of Mark Cayce, TPI’s board chairman, the ten-member board of directors named new directors following Leon Philpot ‘s retirement from Rich Mountain Electric Cooperative, who has served on the TPI board since 2014, and the completion of the term of previous director, Sean Holland, a director at Arkansas Valley Electric Cooperative. Holland served on the TPI board since the year 2016.
“It’s stressful losing experienced directors but the appointment of Mel and Diana who have provided valuable leadership at the local, state and national levels helps alleviate the stress of director turnover”, said Michael W Henderson, President of TPI. We are excited with the addition of Mel and Diana to the TPI Board and look forward to their leadership and insights as TPI continues its growth.
Mel Coleman
Mel Coleman joined North Arkansas Electric Cooperative in 1988 as the manager of member services. After ten years, he was promoted to serve as the cooperative’s assistant general manager. In January 2001, he was promoted to his current position as CEO of North Arkansas Electric Cooperative.
Mel is a board member for both Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. (AECC) and Arkansas Electric Cooperatives Inc. (AECI), which are both based in Little Rock. He previously served as chairman of both boards. He currently serves as the national director for ACRE.
In 2003, Mel was elected to represent Arkansas’s seventeen electric distribution cooperatives on the Board of Directors of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. In 2011, he was elected secretary-treasurer of the NRECA board, and in 2013, he was elected vice-president. Mel was elected as the thirty-seventh president of the NRECA Board of Directors in February 2015. He also serves on the Board of Directors of National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation.
A native of Pocahontas, Mel settled in Salem after completing his studies at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. His early career from 1976 through 1987 was in the field of radio and television and was followed by a brief tenure with Bank of Salem before assuming his duties at North Arkansas Electric Cooperative.
He is a past president and past board member of the Salem Chamber of Commerce, and he served on the Fulton County Quorum Court for eighteen years. Mel currently serves on the development council of Arkansas State University–Mountain Home, and he was one of six Arkansas delegates to the 1995 White House Conference on Small Business. Mel has served on numerous NRECA national panels as a planning committee member and as a conference speaker. He has also served on the ERMCO board.
Mel and his wife, Debbie, have two sons and four grandchildren.
For thirty-two years, Mel has served the members of North Arkansas Electric Cooperative, which provides power to more than 36,000 meters and 5,000 miles of line. The cooperative was incorporated March 21, 1939.
Diana Holmes
Diana attended North Little Rock High School and received a BS and MS in mathematics from the University of Arkansas. She completed the CFP Professional Education Program from the College for Financial Planning in Denver, Colorado. Diana is a Certified Financial Planner Licensee with Holmes Financial Services, Inc. in Blytheville. She has worked in computer consulting, programming, and data processing.
Diana is active in Rotary where she served as the District Governor for Arkansas District 6150 during the 2002-03 Rotary year. She has received several recognitions for her service since joining the organization in 1988. (Multiple Paul Harris Recognition, The Rotary Foundation Benefactor, Paul Harris Society, Club Rotarian of the year 2006-07)
Diana is active in her community where she has been a Director of Mississippi County Electric Cooperative Inc. since 1996 and a Director of Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc. since August 2019. She served on the Board of Directors of Federated Rural Electric Insurance Exchange for nine years, which is the company providing insurance to electric cooperatives across the United States. Twice she has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Blytheville Area Chamber of Commerce and has served as its Treasurer. She is treasurer of the First United Methodist Church of Blytheville and is serving as President of the Mississippi County Library Systems Board. Diana currently serves as the treasurer for the Blytheville Ritz Foundation and the Blytheville chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Diana has two sons and three grandsons.