At their July meeting, the Sam Houston Electric Cooperative Board of Directors surprised one of their own with a very special honor. Mr. R.C. Thomas Sr. was presented with a framed resolution from East Texas Electric Cooperative’s Board of Directors. It stated that the Lake Livingston hydroelectric project will be named the R.C. “Joe” Thomas Hydroelectric Project in recognition of his extraordinary commitment to the cooperative community.
Thomas was selected to serve on the Sam Houston EC Board of Directors in November 1972. With more than four decades of service, he is the most tenured member of the Board and has been through many changes with the Cooperative.
Thomas has held the office of secretary on the Sam Houston EC Board since September 1978. Because of his sound judgment and experience, Thomas was selected in 1979 to serve on the Board of Directors of Sam Rayburn G&T Electric Cooperative, of which Sam Houston EC is a member. In May 2009, he was granted the status of Director Emeritus.
According to the resolution, Thomas “serves as a model for all cooperative Directors and employees, and has been a champion for the interests of the East Texas cooperatives.”
The resolution also stated that Thomas “always went above and beyond the prescribed duties of a Director,” especially when it came to Nelson 6, a coal-fired plant located near Lake Charles, La. Nelson 6 is an Entergy facility, of which ETEC and SRG&T are partial owners and, though not required, Thomas attended evening meetings about Nelson 6 without compensation to ensure that the cooperatives were represented.
Thomas is retired from the building supply business, having owned and operated Thomas Building Supply during his career. Thomas resides in Livingston and represents Sam Houston EC members in Angelina, Polk and Trinity Counties.