Markus Bryant to retire after 21 years with cooperative 

After 21 years at the helm, General Manager Markus Bryant will address the membership of North Central Electric Cooperative (NCE) for the final time at the June 12 annual meeting, as he has announced his plan to retire in the coming months. 
North Central Electric Cooperative Board of Trustees President Duane Frankart said a national search to find his replacement will begin this summer. Frankart said they hope to have the process completed in October. 
The search will be conducted by the Federated Energy Services Cooperative (FESCO) board members, consisting of three board members representing NCE and four board members from Lorain-Medina Rural Electric Cooperative (LMRE) of Wellington in Lorain County. A consultant with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association will assist the FESCO board with the search process.
FESCO, a shared services and management cooperative, was formed in 1998 to share cooperative management staff, accounting, billing, engineering, communications, community and member relations, and marketing departments with LMRE.
Since its formation in 1998, Bryant has served as the FESCO president. As FESCO president, he also serves as general manager of both cooperatives. Bryant, who joined LMRE in 1995 as general manager, will be completing a 40-year career with electric cooperatives.
“We’ve accomplished a great deal under Markus’ leadership. Our distribution system is in excellent shape with about 60 percent of our lines having been replaced since 2000,” Frankart said. “The board is committed to finding a hard-working visionary with a passion for delivering high-quality service to our members. Finding our next president is the most important task a board member can undertake. Our joint FESCO board is committed to this challenge.”
The cooperatives are seeking a candidate with seven years of experience at the general management level. Rural electric cooperative experience is preferred. A bachelor’s degree in an appropriate field is required; a master’s degree is preferred. Knowledge in the areas of legislation affecting electric utilities, fiscal management, electric distribution operations, strategic planning, risk management, safety, power supply, key accounts, renewables, board, member and public relations is required. 
North Central serves 9,658 consumers with nearly 1,800 miles of line and 12 substations in Seneca, Crawford, Wyandot, Hancock, Wood, Sandusky, Huron, and Richland counties.  Lorain-Medina serves 16,380 consumers with 1,536 miles of line in Lorain, Medina, Ashland, Huron, and Wayne counties. North Central employs 34 and LMRE has 35 employees. While about 20 employees are shared between the two cooperatives, the line crews are not shared. 
The official advertisement can be found on the cooperative’s website at www.ncelec.org. Click on the employment tab at the top.