As part of NRECA’s 2022 Annual Legislative Conference, Ohio’s cooperative leaders honored U.S. Senator Rob Portman with the Association’s Distinguished Service Award. “Senator Portman has been and continues to be a staunch supporter of the electric cooperatives, our business model and way of life,” wrote Patrick O’Loughlin, President and CEO of Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives, in a nomination letter to NRECA board members. “The senator has been a true friend to Ohio’s rural electric cooperatives.”
Portman has announced that he will retire in January 2023 after serving 12 years each in the Senate and House. Read more from NRECA.
Pictured L to R above: Paul Berridge, (OREC Board Chairman and Trustee with Buckeye REC), Ed VanHoose (General Manager of Lorain-Medina REC and North Central REC), Pat O’Loughlin (President and CEO, OEC), U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), Dennis Blakeman (Trustee, Buckeye REC), Wes Williams (Trustee, Buckeye REC), and Nick Wagner (Trustee, North Central REC).
