Pamela Decker Appointed As New District 4 Director for WRECC

Says Main Concerns Are Rising Power Costs, Fiber/Wireless Connections

WRECC newly appointed District 4 Director Pamela Decker (photo WRECC).

Darren Doyle, story:
Pamela Decker, an Edmonson County resident, was recently appointed as the District 4 Director of the WRECC Board, a position that was vacant due to the passing of former director N.E. Reed.

The decision came during the recent WRECC September meeting. With a total of seven districts in the WRECC area, District 4 covers all of Edmonson County (minus the National Park) and a small portion of Barren County.

Many would agree that Edmonson County lost an advocate with WRECC with the loss of Reed, so having county representation in the co-op is important to many local customers. Mrs. Decker, who has a long career in the banking and education fields, said she wanted to be that local representation.

"I had great respect for N.E. Reed and his commitment to our county," she said. "After his passing, I had some family members approach me about applying for the vacancy on WRECC's board.  Like the other applicants that applied for the position, I care deeply about our county and the region.  I am at a point in my life where I want to give back to my community.  I believe in servant leadership, and this is one way that I can serve the area where I have lived my entire life."

Mrs. Decker said that while she is eager to learn about electric co-ops, she understands the value and demand that we all have for those services everyday. She said that while being interviewed for the position, she was asked what she saw as the biggest challenge facing rural electric co-ops in the future.

"My response included more than one concern," she said. "Among these were the rising costs of electricity and the ever-changing regulatory and technological landscape, especially in regard to new green initiatives.  I also discussed the need for rural areas to have better access and affordability to fiber/wireless connections.  While this has been a concern for some time, it became even more prevalent after the Covid lockdown when we were all working and studying at home.  This is one area that I would like to focus on as a board member."

Mrs. Decker's long and impressive career began here locally at Bank of Edmonson County, where she served for 15 years. She was able to be part of a management team that started American Bank & Trust in Bowling Green, where she served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for another 15 years. She then retired from banking in 2015 and joined a financial technology company (CSI) out of Paducah, where she served as Vice President of Customer Experience, overseeing their customer support center and education/training department.  While working at CSI, she finished her doctorate in organizational leadership and decided to leave the corporate world and move into higher education.  She is now an Assistant Professor of Business at Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, Kentucky teaching courses in management, ethics, finance, and international business.

Her notable resume was unlikely to harm her chances in being named the new director; however, most people on the local level still know her as "Pam." Her husband is longtime school bus driver and all-around student friend, Hoppy Decker and they have been married for 41 years. They currently live in the Pig community and have two grown children, Nadina and Jacob. 

"Nadina lives in Big Reedy and is married to Kevin Alexander, and they have blessed us with three grandsons, Gavin, Nolan, and Canon," she said. "Our son Jacob lives in Bowling Green."

Mrs. Decker said that she is truly honored and humbled to have been chosen for this position. 

"All the candidates who applied for the vacancy were more than qualified, and I told the nominating committee and full board during my interview that they couldn't go wrong with whomever they selected.  We have some wonderful people here in our county, and I have been and will always be proud to say that I'm from Edmonson County.  I consider it a privilege to represent WRECC's District 4 which includes Edmonson County and the Park City area of Barren County."