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SDREA Needs New Manager; Former Daugaard/Keystone XL Guy Didn’t Work Out

Last year the South Dakota Rural Electric Association thought a Daugaard lackey and Keystone XL propagandist with a criminal justice degree would make a great general manager of a utilities cooperative association:

“Our board members have devoted a considerable amount of time and effort to formulate a roadmap that will help us successfully navigate a dynamic industry and market environment that continues to change and evolve,” Heeren said. “We’re very confident that Trevor’s extensive background in organizational leadership, his broad-based legislative experience and his work with safety programs will be instrumental in allowing us to accomplish our goals for the future. We’re very fortunate and very excited to have a professional of Trevor’s caliber join our team.”

Jones, a native of Aberdeen who holds a criminal justice degree from the University of South Dakota, most recently served as Government and Public Relations Advisor for TC Energy in Carpenter where he supported the company’s Keystone XL pipeline. Prior to his role at TC Energy, Jones worked with Dakota State University as Director of Digital Forensic Services and was Cabinet Secretary for the state’s Dept. of Public Safety in Gov. Daugaard’s administration. In that role, he had responsibility over the 11 agencies and more than 400 employees within the department [SDREA, press release, 2021.06.01].

SDREA may have thought wrong:

Trevor Jones no longer is general manager for the South Dakota Rural Electric Association.

There’s no official word yet on the reason for his departure.

Jones succeeded Ed Anderson, who was retiring.

Anderson now has returned and is listed on the the SDREA staff website as interim general manager [Bob Mercer, “Jones Out at SDREA,” KELO-TV, 2022.07.22].

While reciting his first and only report to an SDREA Annual Meeting five months ago, Jones said, “…Change is indeed constant in our industry, and it’s coming at breakneck speed.” He also noted wryly at the beginning of his addresses that Governor Kristi Noem’s gracing the SDREA Annual Meeting with a speech had put a kink in the program schedule.

SDREA is advertising the GM position. The association would prefer education or experience in accounting and finance, business administration, or marketing and member services. CEO experience is preferred but not required. The office is located in Pierre, “a picturesque city with tree-lined streets, parks, and a historic downtown” and “one of South Dakota’s premier outdoor activity destinations for both hunting and fishing.”

8 Comments

  1. Ed 2022-07-22 12:08

    He’s now employed by Summit Carbon Solutions trying to ram the boondoggle carbon dioxide pipeline through the state. I wonder if the Saudi Arabia Crown Prince is paying his salary like they are Dan Lederman’s.

  2. Arlo Blundt 2022-07-22 13:59

    Well…if you’re an up and coming young man on the make, like Trevor, the Energy business is where you want to be. As James Brown soul shouted in “I Go Crazy”, “You gotta live for yourself, your self and nobody else”. (A hit in 1964, though first recorded with the Famous Flames in the 50’s)

  3. Mark Anderson 2022-07-22 16:59

    Oh Arlo, there’s a great future in plastics. Will you think about that?

  4. mike from iowa 2022-07-22 19:26

    There is a magat running for Wisconsin guv ma,ed Tom Michels whose construction company had contracts to build 7-8 pump stations and the Canadian leg of KXL. He still whines that Biden cancelled the pipeline while his outfit was working on it. FYI

  5. mike from iowa 2022-07-22 19:28

    Bad spelling again. Time to quit, I guess.

  6. All Mammal 2022-07-22 21:55

    You keep going, mfi. Please. We totally get everything you are meaning to say. Really, your voice comes through fluently.

  7. mike from iowa 2022-07-23 08:56

    Very kind iof you, All Mammal. I really appreciate it.

  8. scott 2022-07-24 11:55

    The SDREA needs to hire someone who will protect the integrity of our elections.

Comments are closed.