Board of Directors
Charles Key - (Chairman)
Director of Construction - SW Area
Comcast
Charles "Chuck" Key Jr. has been in the telecommunications industry for 14 years.
He began his career in New Orleans after hurricane Katrina in 2005. After the cleanup effort had concluded, Chuck began his career with Comcast in 2007. He has held several key positions with the Construction Dept. Currently he is the Senior Manager of Construction and covers the Middle Tennessee/West Tennessee, Arkansas, Mobile, and Jackson MS, markets.
Chuck is knowledgeable in all aspects of telecommunication construction including multi-state fiber builds.
James Robbins - (Vice Chairman)
Operations Supervisor
Atmos Energy
James has over 38 years in the Natural Gas & Construction Industry with 28 of those years with Atmos Energy Corporation.
Relocating to Murfreesboro from Kentucky in 2006, James is responsible for all aspects of the Murfreesboro Operation
Meter Reading, Service, Construction, Compliance, Customer Service and Public Relations.
The Murfreesboro Operation including Nolensville and Southeast Brentwood is Atmos Energy's largest operation in TN. with over 32,400 customers.
Ryan Williams - (Treasurer)
Vice President of Operations and Customer Service and Company Operating Officer
Middle Tennessee Natural Gas
Ryan graduated from Tennessee tech with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management.
He has been with MTNG since 1995. He has served as Superintendent of Operations for Middle Tennessee Natural Gas for 18 years.
Middle Tennessee Natural Gas serves over 65,000 customers in 23 counties and has over 3000 miles of mainline piping in the Middle TN area
Vaughn Charles - (Secretary)
Vice President - T & D Operations
Nashville Electric Service
Vaughn has over 25 years of professional experience in the electric utility industry.
He has held a variety of positions within the NES engineering dept., serving as Supervisor & Manager in Customer Engineering sections & Civil & Environmental Engineering sections.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Tennessee State Univ. and a Master of Science in Engineering Management from the Univ. of Tennessee.
He is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Tennessee and has his certification as a Project Management Professional through the Project Management Institute.
NES serves over 370,000 customers and is the 12th largest public electric utility in the nation.
Dewey Branstetter
Attorney
Sherrard, Roe, Voigt & Harbison
Dewey Branstetter is a partner at the Nashville law firm of Sherrard, Roe, Voight & Harbinson.
A graduate of Vanderbilt Law School, he has practiced law for over 37 years and has represented TN 811 since it ceased to be a vendor run organization.
In addition to his representation of TN 811, Dewey represents a number of utility entities across Tennessee., as well as, a number of other governmental and non-profit entities.
He has also served on several governmental board and commissions and has been a board member of numerous non-profit entities.
For many years he has been recognized in the publication "Best Lawyers in America" in the field of utility and employment law.
Donnie Coward
Damage Prevention Supervisor
Kinder -Morgan
Donnie Coward has responsibilities in damage prevention, public awareness, and one-call representation as the Damage Prevention Supervisor for Kinder-Morgan, Inc.
His coverage area includes northern Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, southeast Arkansas, and southern Kentucky.
He has worked in the pipeline industry since 1989 for Kinder-Morgan (formerly El Paso Corporation) and its subsidiaries.
Donnie is a graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering.
He is also certified with the State of Tennessee Board of Architectural and Engineering Examiners as Engineer Intern with a career history of seven years in pipeline construction engineering, and fifteen years in DOT compliance services.
Thomas McCutcheon
Natural Gas Compliance and Maintenance Programs Team Lead
Knoxville Utilities Board
Thomas has been in the Natural Gas Industry for over 12 years.
Currently working for Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB), he is the Team Lead of Natural Gas Compliance and Maintenance Programs. Thomas’ group is responsible for the regulatory oversight for the following programs: Operations and Maintenance (O&M), Emergency Response, Control Room Management, Public Awareness Program, Distribution Integrity Management Program (DIMP), and the OQ Program.
Prior to joining KUB in 2021, Thomas spent 10+ years with Southern Company Gas (previously AGL Resources). During this time, he held multiple positions, each increasing in responsibility, within Virginia Natural Gas (VNG) and Chattanooga Gas (CGC). His most recent position was serving as Operations Supervisor with CGC.
He received his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Syracuse University and his Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from The College of William and Mary.
Thomas also serves on the TN PERI (Pipeline Emergency Responders Initiative) Board of Directors.
KUB provides Electric, Natural Gas, Water, Wastewater and Fiber utility services to Knox County and surrounding areas.
Matt Mingus
Director of Safety
Team Construction LLC
Matt Mingus is the Director of Safety at Team Construction, an underground utility contractor that specializes in renewal, relocation, and new main and service installations of natural gas utilities.
Matt oversees and directs all safety protocols and programs and manages equipment maintenance.
Though Matt officially joined the company in 2006, he has been around since its opening in 2003. To him, going to work for the family business was a dream come true. As a child, there was nothing Matt wanted more than to work for his dad, Donnie Mingus (founder of Team Construction).
Matt is dedicated to safety and serves as Chair on the Team Safety Council.
Robert Mullins
Vice President of Operations
Jackson Energy Authority
Robert Mullins is the Vice President of Operations at the Jackson Energy Authority in Jackson, TN. Robert began his career at Jackson Energy Authority in 1997 and has served in multiple roles within JEA since that time. Robert is a licensed professional engineer in the State of Tennessee. Robert obtained his engineering degree from Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, TN in 1994 and obtained his MBA in 2004 from Union University.
He began his career working as an engineer at JEA and has moved within the company to fill multiple roles within the engineering department and the operations side of the company. Robert was Manager of Operations from 2011 until April 2022, in which he managed daily operations of the electric, gas, water and wastewater systems for JEA. Robert’s current role as Vice President of Operations includes managing daily operations of all utility systems along with managing Purchasing and Fleet, Field Services, AMI/Meter Reading and Facilities Maintenance. With a broad range of experience in multiple areas and multiple utility systems of Jackson Energy Authority, Robert offers a skillset that is unique within the utility industry.
Nick Newman
Vice President of Engineering and
Operations
Memphis Light, Gas & Water
Nick Newman, Vice President of Engineering and
Operations, is responsible for managing and coordinating all
engineering and operational divisions for Memphis Light, Gas
and Water.
Newman joined MLGW in 1988 as a Service Engineer in the
Customer Engineering Department. He served in several
positions in the Customer Engineering area as well as several
rotations to other operational areas at MLGW. He was
promoted to Assistant Manager of the South Service Center in
2000 and Manager of the same area in 2005. Nick was
promoted to Vice President of Construction in 2007 and was
reassigned to Vice President of Engineering and Operations in
2018. Additionally, he served as the Project Manager for the
Energy Conservation Project at NSA Mid-South.
Newman is a native Memphian and graduate of Frayser High
School. He earned his B.S. in Electrical Engineering and an
MBA from the University of Memphis. He holds a Grade 2
Water Distribution License from the State of Tennessee.
Newman is active in the American Water Works Association
(AWWA), Tennessee Association of Utility Districts (TAUD)
and several other associations. He is on the board of TAUD
where he serves as President and is the Chairperson for the legislative team. He also serves on the Tennessee
Water/Wastewater Financing Board.
Don Scholes
General Counsel
Tennessee Assoc. of Utility Districts
Before coming to TAUD in 2017, Don was a partner in the firm of Branstetter, Stranch & Jennings, PLLC, where he practiced utility law for 30 years.
Before joining that firm, he was Assistant General Counsel of the Tennessee Public Service Commission (now Tennessee Public Utility Commission).
Don has represented utility districts and municipal and county utilities across the state of Tennessee for many years.
He has been a frequent presenter at TAUD seminars and conferences, and has written numerous articles over the years on legal issues affecting utilities.
Scott Shepard
Manager of Gas Customer Field Operations
Piedmont Natural Gas Company
Scott Shepard, P.E. is the Manager of Gas Customer Field Operations for Piedmont Natural Gas Company and serves as the site manager for Piedmont’s operations center in Nashville, Tennessee. He is a graduate of Vanderbilt University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and is a registered professional engineer in the State of Tennessee. He is a past president of the Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers Middle Tennessee Chapter and the Engineers’ Association of Nashville. He has served on the Gas Mechanical Board of Metro Nashville Davidson County and as a State Director on the board of the Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers. He currently serves on the board of the Century City Office Association. Scott and his wife Jennifer are recent empty nesters and reside in Brentwood, Tennessee.
Christopher "Lance" Sledge
Sr Admin Environmental Health & Safety
AT&T Field Operations
Lance has been employed with ATT since 1998, beginning as a technician with what was then BellSouth, in Bowling Green, KY.
In 2000, he moved to a management position in network operations. In that position, he oversaw the roll out of high-speed internet in the southcentral KY area along with the installation & maintenance of all high-speed data services for various customers.
Over the years, Lance has assumed various roles within network operations. Some of those highlights include overseeing multiple 911 installation and upgrade projects, managing ATT's 911 interest in central and western KY, managing our pressurized cable facilities, and working as a management & special projects trainer.
He took the role as the damage prevention manager for TN in March, and is excited to learn some of the processes behind the marks he has been seeing on the ground over the last 23 years.