(HILLSBORO, OR) -- Ruralite Services Inc.
has named Michael Shepard as its incoming CEO. Earlier this year Russell Green,
Ruralite Services CEO since 2005, announced he had accepted a new position with
National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation as a regional vice
president.
Mr. Shepard is currently regional publisher for
Wick Communications, a privately owned media company based in southeastern
Arizona. Before taking the position at Wick, he was Senior Vice President –
Business Operations for the Seattle Times. He has a degree in communications
with a journalism emphasis from Washington State University (WSU), Pullman,
Washington.
Mr. Shepard began his career as a courthouse
reporter for the Moscow/Pullman Daily News, on the Idaho/Washington border. He
has served as president of both the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association
and Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington and was a longtime member and chair
of the professional advisory board for the Edward R. Murrow College of
Communication at WSU. His publications career has taken him to jobs based in
Walla Walla, Yakima and Washington state’s Olympic Peninsula giving him an
appreciation for rural communities.
“In Mike, we have found a candidate with the
skill set to take us into the future,” said Brad Reeve, Ruralite Services Board
Chair and CEO of Kotzebue Electric Cooperative, Kotzebue, Alaska. “He has been
both on the editorial and the management side of the organizations with which
he has been affiliated. And, he has experience in multiple location
publications, management and operations. We are pleased to have him join us at
Ruralite.”
“I am delighted and honored to be named the next CEO of Ruralite Services,” said Mr. Shepard, who will begin working March 14. He and his wife, Rhonda, live in North Plains, Oregon. “I appreciate this opportunity to lead Ruralite toward the Board’s vision of the future. Ruralite has great opportunities to grow and even better serve its customers and I look forward to working with the fine Ruralite Services staff to address them.”
“I am delighted and honored to be named the next CEO of Ruralite Services,” said Mr. Shepard, who will begin working March 14. He and his wife, Rhonda, live in North Plains, Oregon. “I appreciate this opportunity to lead Ruralite toward the Board’s vision of the future. Ruralite has great opportunities to grow and even better serve its customers and I look forward to working with the fine Ruralite Services staff to address them.”
