Taking the Lead

When friends encouraged Scott Coe to apply for the open Lane Electric Cooperative general manager position, he gave it a little thought, but no more.

Then he happened to bump into Marc Farmer, Clatskanie People’s Utility District’s general manager, at Los Angeles International Airport and received more encouragement to apply.

“Marc told me I would be great here,” Scott says. “He reminded me why I like this job so much, because you can effect change and make things happen, which can be hugely rewarding. So at that point, I was all in.”

Ultimately, Scott’s power industry friends inspired him to apply and go through the interview process. Those friends told him his 24 years working as an account executive and manager for Bonneville Power Administration and 9 years as general manager of Emerald People’s Utility District (EPUD) would make him a good fit for Lane Electric.

Scott was selected from 5 finalists. He stepped into the general manager position to lead the co-op’s 45 employees on March 26.

At EPUD, Scott learned how to manage operations and an 80-person utility staff.

“I learned how to effectively and efficiently manage a retail utility across all aspects,” Scott says.

The Lane Electric position became open when Debi Wilson retired in January after 26 years at the co-op, the last 5 as the general manager.

After 3 months on the job, Scott is excited for the future.

“I love it,” he says. “I think the foundation is here with a really great management team and a really great work group. There’s a solid foundation with a lot of exciting opportunities to build on.”

Dean Livelybrooks, chair of the Lane Electric board, says Scott’s experience in the industry was a key in selecting him. Dean says that experience will be useful in the upcoming decision-making regarding the co-op’s contract to purchase power from Bonneville Power Administration.

Dean also says he was impressed with the EPUD employee surveys that were taken when Scott was the general manager there.

“Scott is very energetic,” Dean says. “He brings energy to the workplace.”

Chris Seubert, a 22-year Lane Electric board member, describes Scott as “seasoned.”

“He’s such an anomaly in this business,” Chris says. “He’s able to understand contracts, he knows the infrastructure, and he works with people. He is such a collaborator and implementer. He knows how to get things started, and he’s willing to work with everybody.”

An Oregonian since the age of 9, Scott earned a degree in business administration from Eastern Oregon University in La Grande and then earned a master’s degree from the Atkinson Graduate School of Management at Willamette University in Salem. Scott worked for the Fred Meyer and Tradewell stores during his high school and college years, but an internship at Bonneville Power during his graduate work set his career path.

“It was pretty unique—a switch from grocery to power,” he says.

His internship transitioned into a full-time career at BPA. During his 24 years there, he worked with cooperative utilities.

“I loved my time there, but then it was time for a change in order to grow myself and my career,” Scott says.

He spent the next 9 years as the general manager at EPUD before deciding to retire. He admits he got bored. So, when his friends suggested the Lane Electric position, he listened and then decided to pursue the job.

Scott and his management staff are now following up on a commitment for multimillion-dollar Federal Emergency Management Agency funds Debi secured in recent years. The money is to be used for fire prevention projects in Lane Electric’s service territory.

“Scott wants to honor the commitment that Debi worked so hard for,” Chris says. “That’s been a priority for him. He’s been able to deliver on some things that have been in a holding pattern.”

Another project that is in its early stages is changing out meters and installing advanced metering infrastructure. The AMI system has energy-efficiency technology that will provide members with better energy use data and provide the co-op with more information on outages, resulting in a quicker response time.

During Scott’s career in the power industry, he found 2 stress relief activities: running and backpacking. He ran his first marathon in Portland in 2003.

“I never thought I’d do another one,” he says. “It was awful.” But after improved training, he ran the Portland Marathon again in 2007 and loved it.

Long-distance running became a passion. Scott completed his 234th race at the Eugene Marathon in late April. He’s run at least 2 marathons in each of the 50 states, and he’s run 2 marathons on each of the 7 continents, including Antarctica.

Scott has run the Boston Marathon 5 times, including in 2013 when a bomb exploded and ended the race. Scott was less than a mile from the finish when the bomb exploded and wasn’t around the devastation.

When not running, Scott slows down and hikes. He has backpacked the Pacific Crest Trail in Oregon, except for 40 miles. He plans to walk the remaining distance North from Crater Lake this summer.

“Running and hiking are great for stress relief and good ways to stay physically fit,” he says.

He’ll mix those activities in with the decision-making that comes along with guiding Lane Electric, its board, and its employees on behalf of its members.