Cooperative Living May 2021 - 6

Women in Power
PowerfulCareers | by Jim Robertson, Staff Writer
T
hings have changed since Brenda Mansfield joined
her Community Electric Cooperative family in 1979,
including more women in leadership roles. She
followed the lead of her mother, who previously worked for
the co-op. Her mother's dedication and love for the co-op
family attracted Mansfield to the business.
" I did find out when I got here that I didn't know as much
about the co-op as I thought I did, " Mansfield admits. " It's so
much bigger than just this building here at 52 West Windsor
Boulevard. It's working cooperatively with local, national,
regional ... so that we can do more for our members. We're
much bigger and better collectively. "
Mansfield's first role was secretary to the general manager
of the co-op. Her hard work and dependability paid off.
She was later promoted to member services supervisor and
continues to serve in that role today.
The office environment has evolved over the years. Early
Brenda Mansfield
Member Services Supervisor
Community Electric Cooperative
in her career, Mansfield recalls recording meeting minutes
and being one of only two women in the board room.
" Currently, one-third of our board [including the chair]
is made up of very engaged women, " she says. " And that's
indicative of the entire co-op world. " Women now serve
in roles of line technicians, engineers, department heads,
general managers and CEOs.
A typical day for Mansfield includes assisting members
with items from understanding a bill to finding creative
ways to help them better manage their accounts. " They're
our members; they own this co-op, " she says. " We want
to provide them the service they deserve. "
Mansfield points out how technology has also evolved
throughout her co-op career. She jokes about some of the
older electronic typewriters even having a memory function
when she first started. " Today, technology is something
you hold in the palm of your hand and has much more
information and can do many more things than that
typewriter with memory could do, " she says.
Mansfield encourages young people entering the workforce
From left, Kendall Pulley, Rachel Butler, Brenda Mansfield and
Ethan Willette during the 2019 Electric Cooperative Youth Tour.
Recognizing
Women in Energy
G
enevie Boarman
of Northern
Neck Electric
Cooperative, the first
female lineworker at
a Virginia co-op,
recently showed a
television audience exactly what her
career is about.
Boarman was the subject of a feature
story on WTVR-TV in Richmond, Va.,
that ran several times in April. Veteran
journalist Greg McQuade traveled
to Northern Neck for a feature in
conjunction with the Women in Power
initiative of the National Rural Electric
Cooperative Association.
4 | Cooperative Living | May 2021
or others looking to make a change in their careers to consider
the wide variety of opportunities available at a member-owned
electric cooperative. 
" Boarman is proving in a field
long dominated by men, there is room
at the top, " McQuade says. Females
account for only about 2% of U.S.
lineworkers.
McQuade also interviewed Brad
Hicks, president and CEO of NNEC,
and lineworker Craig Loving, while
the news team shot footage explaining
how lineworkers train.
" To me, I believe she is a modernday
trailblazer, " says Loving, foreman
of a crew that includes Boarman.
" Even my daughter said she'd like
to be like Gena and not like her dad.
She is making her own way and doing
a great job. She is hardworking and
a great addition to my crew. "
A graduate of Northumberland
High School, Boarman joined NNEC
in 2020 after training at the Power
A Virginia TV station interviews
Genevie Boarman at NNEC.
Line Worker Program operated by
Southside Virginia Community College
in Blackstone.
She followed in the footsteps of her
late father, Joseph Boarman, who was
an electric co-op lineworker in Virginia
and Maryland.
" I can't see myself doing anything
else. Because I enjoy helping people, "
she says. 
The interview is posted at facebook.com/
GregMcQuadeCBS6.
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Cooperative Living May 2021

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