Boutwell Retires from Blue Ridge Electric
For Immediate Release
Contact: Renee R. Whitener, Director of Public Relations, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, (828) 758-2383, Ext. 3213 (work) or Pager: 1-800-471-1323; rwhitener@blueridgeemc.com
Lenoir, North Carolina (April 25, 2005) – Mary Sue Boutwell recently retired after a long career as executive assistant to the chief executive officer at Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation.
Blue Ridge Electric is a member-owned electric cooperative serving some 68,000 members in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, Wilkes and Alexander counties.
Boutwell worked her latter years at Blue Ridge Electric for Chief Executive Officer Doug Johnson. “I can’t imagine a better support person than Mary Sue,” Johnson said. “She is very loyal to this cooperative and always wanted to make sure everything was ‘just right’.
“She is incredibly well organized and literally does the work of two people,” Johnson added. “It’s been very hectic at times and she’s had a lot on her but somehow she always got the work done. Mary Sue is one of the most honest people I know, and is the ultimate professional. I have to attribute some of the personal success I have had to Mary Sue and I have appreciated her role in supporting me as well as her friendship.”
Boutwell, 62, came to Blue Ridge Electric in 1975 as a data entry clerk and had a well-rounded career before beginning her role as executive assistant. Through the years, she worked in positions including cashier, computer operator, operations clerk for Caldwell district, administrative secretary for corporate services, and then for the executive staff where she spent the last 15 years.
Highlights Boutwell recalls include Blue Ridge Electric helping her get her college degree from Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute when she was 50 years old. “Getting my degree later in life was hard work but fun,” Boutwell says. “I would compliment Blue Ridge Electric and their program for helping pay for college expenses when it relates to your job,” she added. “You have exposure to professors and other people as well as to ideas that you’d never have had otherwise. Education broadens you and it helped me at Blue Ridge.”
Boutwell also says another highlight was working for the board members who are elected to represent the membership of the cooperative. “Seeing how the board members work for Blue Ridge and how dedicated they are to our members was rewarding,” she said.
“In the last 10 years, we have changed more than we ever have in the history of Blue Ridge Electric,” she added. “There are many good things going on and I have had a happy and productive career here.”
Boutwell says she looks forward to traveling as well as visiting with her family in Caldwell County and Georgia. She is especially excited about spending more time with her grandson Nicholas, her son Georgie and daughter-in-law Robin. Boutwell lives in Lenoir with her husband, George.
