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O’Dell Retires, Spencer Announced as New Senior Vice President/Chief Administrative Officer
O'Dell retiring as Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, Blue Ridge Energy
Spencer Named as Blue Ridge Energy's New Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer
Blue Ridge Energy announces the retirement of Julie O’Dell, Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, and the promotion of Crystal Spencer to now serve in these roles.
O’Dell, who is currently serving in a consulting capacity to the cooperative, is retiring after 23 years with Blue Ridge Energy. During that time, her responsibilities included overseeing human resources, strategy development, Board governance, safety, training, and organizational development. She is a certified graduate of Palladium Kaplan-Norton Balanced Scorecard strategy execution process and served as a master trainer for Touchstone Energy’s strategy execution curriculum.
Prior to joining Blue Ridge, O’Dell worked in human resources for Sara Lee Corporation, Kayser-Roth Corporation, and Kimberly-Clark.
A resident of Blowing Rock, O’Dell holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee and has served on the local boards for Habitat for Humanity and the Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce.
Promoted to Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer is Ashe County native Crystal Spencer.
She joined Blue Ridge Energy in 2018 and led marketing and economic development efforts, with a focus on improving member and customer satisfaction across the cooperative and its subsidiaries. Prior to joining Blue Ridge Energy, Spencer led the marketing efforts at SkyLine/SkyBest for 12 years.
Spencer is a certified professional through the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and a graduate of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s Robert I. Kabat Management Internship Program and the E4 Carolinas Emerging Energy Leaders Program. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Gardner-Webb University and a master’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was a Park Fellow.
Spencer resides in Lenoir with her husband, Greg, also an Ashe County native. She most recently served on the board of directors for the Wig Bank of Caldwell County.
Blue Ridge Energy is a member-owned electric cooperative, serving some 80,000 members in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, Alexander, Avery, and Wilkes counties. The cooperative’s subsidiary, Blue Ridge Energy Propane and Fuels, provides residential and commercial services in the cooperative’s service area and beyond, with showrooms in each of the Cooperative’s district offices. The cooperative’s telecommunications subsidiary, RidgeLink, provides broadband and telecommunications services to businesses providing end-use internet access services. Learn more at BlueRidgeEnergy.com.
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