North Central Electric and Lorain-Media Rural Electric cooperatives (together as Federated Energy Services Cooperative, Inc.) announces the hire of Bret Surdock, the new Manager of Information Services, a newly created position, that will serve both cooperatives.

“In the past, our IT Services were managed through contractual relationships with outside organizations,” said Ed VanHoose, President of Federated Energy Cooperatives Inc. “However, due to our growing technology needs and advancements technology, it was time to create this position and bring it in-house. Bret brings a wealth of technology knowledge with him that will be instrumental in the areas of automation, telecommunications, networking, and more. I’m excited to work with a professional of his caliber,” said VanHoose.

Surdock has experience in many areas, including server administration, networking, security, and endpoint protection. Most recently, Bret was a System Administrator at a financial institution where he worked to ensure all systems complied with many regulations and audits. He holds a bachelor's degree in Computer Information Systems from the University of Akron.

"I am very excited to become a member of the team at the Lorain-Medina Rural Electric and North Central Electric cooperatives. After spending most of my IT career working in the Cleveland metropolitan area, I am looking forward to bringing my skills back to the rural communities where I live and grew up. I hope to assist both cooperatives with their IT needs and to help design and maintain secure and reliable systems and applications."

In his spare time, Bret enjoys spending time with his wife, Elizabeth and their dog, Beau, traveling, riding ATVs in West Virginia, and doing DIY projects around the house.

Surdock will begin his cooperative career on August 12, 2019.