McMillan to lead Southern Rivers Energy

After an extensive search, Michael McMillan has been named president/CEO at Southern Rivers Energy. He is transferring to SRE from Irwin Electric Membership Cooperative in Ocilla, where he was the chief operating officer. He took the helm at SRE July 1, 2013.Former CEO Raleigh Henry retired at the end of January and vice president of finance and administration Charles Lowery has been serving in the interim.’We are confident that Michael will be an asset to Southern Rivers Energy and the communities it serves,’ SRE board chairman William H. Averett said. McMillan grew up in the small town of Nashville in Berrien County, Ga. He graduated from high school in 1977 and earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta. McMillan continued his education in business administration at the University of Tennessee and the University of Georgia. He began his career at Norfolk Southern in the signaling and electrical departments covering Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. After five years at Norfolk Southern he began work as a private electrical engineering consultant in Macon where he worked for another five years before being hired as the engineer at Irwin EMC where he spent the last 17 years. He and his wife, Stephanie, have been married for 36 years. The couple has three grown daughters and three grandchildren with another due to arrive in August. ’Southern Rivers Energy has a great team of employees and directors and I’m excited to be a part of the family atmosphere they’ve developed. I look forward to learning from the employees, getting to know the communities and contributing to an already top-notch cooperative,’ McMillan said.