Trinity Valley Electric Cooperative board member David Lang, who represented board District 7, has retired from the position.
“Mr. Lang’s contributions to the Cooperative, and his presence in the board room will truly be missed,” said General Manager/CEO Jeff Lane. “His sage and direct advice have been valuable to me, and his experience and character have been indispensable during a very critical period of the co-op’s growth and development.”
Lang was first elected to the seat in 2010, representing co-op members in rural Anderson County, which was also his boyhood home.
“I remember, as a kid when I was 9 years old, that the Rural Electrification Administration was coming through to get electricity to our farm,” Lang said. “There was a five-dollar initiation fee, and you had to have a certain number of families joining to get the line built. My daddy paid for families who couldn’t afford the $5 to make sure that line got to us. Before that I remember my mother taking us to our beds with a kerosene lamp because that was all there was.”
The Anderson County upbringing—with many hours spent working on the family farm planting, harvesting, cutting timber and saw milling—set Lang up with a work ethic that would carry him through life, first in the United States Air Force, then as a businessman operating several successful ventures making equipment for West Texas oil fields.
“My daddy had 1,300 acres, and my brother and I had about 15 minutes after school to change clothes and grab a snack, then get in the truck to get out and work,” he said. “And now I still work every day, but I am 82 years old, so it isn’t the same. You get my age and if you get up in the morning you better have something to do every day or retirement can kill you.”
While his work ethic remains strong, Lang felt the time had come to end his time serving on the board.
“The board is doing a great job, but it is time for me to hand over the reins on some things,” he said. “I retired from my company when I was 62. I’m 82 now and the last 20 years feels like it was just two years. No matter how much you want it or don’t, things change, and you just have to adjust as you go.”
With more than a decade of co-op leadership on the board, Lang noted that the exponential growth in TVEC’s service territory will come with challenges and opportunities.
“We have had almost fifty 50% growth in number of meters just since I got on the board,” he said. “It will be a positive, because the more members and revenue you have, the better you can provide the infrastructure and service that we need to have. Down here in Anderson County, it may not be growing as fast, but we have to rise to the challenge because we will keep growing and growing.”
At the December board meeting, Lang was presented with a proclamation in appreciation of his board service. His retirement was effective December 31, 2021.
