Cambridge Springs, PA:  At a special meeting held on April 13, 2022, the board of Northwestern Rural Electric Cooperative Assoc., Inc. regretfully accepted the resignation of Bill Buchanan as President and CEO. His last day at Northwestern REC will be May 6.

Buchanan was hired by Northwestern’s board in late 2018 with an official start date of Feb. 2, 2019. In his short time at Northwestern REC, Buchanan focused his efforts on streamlining management and realigning business functions at the co-op.

Board Chair, Kathryn Cooper-Winters announced the resignation to the employees shortly after the board’s special meeting. During her announcement, Cooper-Winters wished Buchanan all the best in his future endeavors.

Cooper-Winters also indicated that the board unanimously appointed the co-op’s current Chief Operating Officer, Ryan Meller, as interim President and CEO. The board has the utmost confidence in Meller’s abilities to lead the cooperative.

Meller was first hired at the co-op in 2011 as an engineering intern. During his internship, Meller and his team were instrumental in administering the co-op’s distributions system upgrades that allow for automated power monitoring and switching.

Today, Meller is an electrical engineer, having earned a master’s degree in Power Transmission and Distribution from Gonzaga University and his Ph.D. in Systems Engineering from Colorado State University. Dr. Meller and his wife, Elana, live on co-op lines in Cambridge Springs.

Cooper-Winters stated about Meller and the rest of co-op staff, “the co-op is in very good hands.” Over the next eight months, Northwestern’s board will explore their options for a permanent replacement as President and CEO.

Northwestern REC is a not-for-profit rural electric distribution cooperative that serves 20,000 members in Crawford, Erie, Warren, Mercer, and Venango Counties.