Perspectives Column

SMMPA welcomed three new team members this quarter and celebrated the retirement of another. We’re proud to have Jeremy Sutton, Eric Atkinson, and Shawn Timbers aboard as we also honor the career of Mark Mitchell. Adding new team members presents an opportunity to expand and innovate in new ways to help us best serve our members. At the same time, we’re thankful for the ongoing service of our long-time employees and for the contributions of our retiring employees.

Mark Mitchell, our Director of Operations and Chief Operating Officer, retired in March after 13 years at SMMPA. He came to the Agency as a seasoned industry professional familiar with Public Power and was responsible for overseeing power plants and transmission assets that supply energy to member communities. Mitchell was a self-starter, player-manager, and left big shoes to fill. Fortunately, we found these same qualities in Jeremy Sutton. Sutton comes to us from our largest member, Rochester Public Utilities (RPU). His management experience and time with Public Power has allowed him to thrive in this role right away.

Eric Atkinson, our new SCADA & Communications Associate Engineer, joined SMMPA in fall 2023. Atkinson takes the reins from the incumbent Rick Schacht, who retires at the end of June 2024 after a long career at SMMPA. Atkinson came to the Agency with vast technical knowledge and a willingness to learn the systems and equipment that Schacht helped set up, and the overlap in their employment will provide for a successful transition. Atkinson’s skill and experience has eased this transition greatly, as has Schacht’s service and guidance during this process.

Shawn Timbers is the new NERC Regulatory Compliance Project Manager. He is indirectly taking over for Rick Koch, who retired from SMMPA several years ago. Timbers came to SMMPA from RPU, where he held a similar position. He is currently in a six-month interim period, working three days a week at SMMPA and two days a week at RPU, to help RPU with their transition finding his replacement. We are glad to have Timbers’ expertise on the team and that he’s able to continue his work with RPU during the transition.

This arrival of new team members at SMMPA is a time to reflect on the great leadership and expertise we’ve enjoyed with our retiring team members and look forward to the future as we open the door to continued innovation and ongoing service to all of our members.