The Board Members of the Tennessee Valley Authority

The nine-member TVA Board of Directors sets policy and strategy for TVA. The members are nominated by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve five-year terms.

Their next board meeting is February 12 in Bristol, TN.

Board Members
Chairman William B. Sansom of Knoxville, Tenn., is chairman and chief executive officer of The H.T. Hackney Co. and has held that position since 1983. Hackney is a diversified company involved in wholesale grocery, gas and oil, and furniture manufacturing. His term expires May 18, 2009.

Dennis Bottorff of Nashville, Tenn., serves as chairman and partner of Council Ventures, a venture capital firm. He was chairman of AmSouth Bancorporation in Nashville until his retirement in 2001 and previously was chief executive officer of First American Bank. His term expires May 18, 2011.

Don DePriest of Columbus, Miss., is chairman of a venture capital firm headquartered in Alexandria, Va. The firm has founded or invested in such companies as American Telecasting, now merged with Sprint; his Charisma Communications Corp. was a pioneer in the cellular phone business. He previously chaired the Columbus, Mississippi, Utilities Commission. His term expires May 18, 2009.

Mike Duncan of Inez, Ky., is chairman, chief executive officer, and director of Community Holding Co.; chairman, CEO, and director of Inez Deposit Bank; and Chairman of the Republican National Committee. He is a director of the regional Center for Rural Development. His term expires May 18, 2011.

Tom Gilliland, of Blairsville, Ga., recently retired as executive vice president, general counsel and secretary of United Community Banks Inc. He is a former chief of staff to Georgia Lt. Gov. Pierre Howard and served as chairman of the Stone Mountain Authority under Georgia Govs. Roy Barnes and Sonny Perdue. His term expires May 18, 2011.

William Graves of Memphis is presiding Bishop of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. He was previously pastor of the Phillips Temple CME Church of Los Angeles, Calif. He is the immediate Past President of the Board of the National Congress of Black Churches and a former member of the board of Memphis Light, Gas & Water. His term expires on May 18, 2012.

Howard Thrailkill of Huntsville, Ala., recently retired as president and chief operating officer of Adtran, Inc., in Huntsville, which supplies equipment for telecommunications service providers and corporate end-users. Previously, he was president and chief executive officer of the firm Floating Point Systems. His term expires May 18, 2010.

About Jamie Goodman

Jamie is an Appalachian local with a deep and unshakeable love of the mountains her family has called home since the mid-1700s. With a background in journalism and communications, she has been with Appalachian Voices since 2008 and currently serves as our Director of Digital Innovation and Technology.