BECi Directors Elected at annual meeting

DeRidder—The results of the Beauregard Electric Cooperative, Inc. (BECi) director elections were announced Saturday during the BECi Annual Meeting at co-op headquarters in DeRidder.

Donald Bush, District One Incumbent Director, was re-elected without opposition. Bush, a school administrator at Evans High School, has represented his district members for the past 19 years. He attends Cooper Baptist Church, is a member of Pickering Lodge #477, serves on the board of directors for the West Louisiana Forestry Festival and is a 32nd Degree Scottish Rite Freemason. Bush holds a master of education and a bachelor of science degree from McNeese State University. Bush resides in Pickering with his wife, Nelwyn, and they have four children, 12 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Incumbent director, J.R. Hickman, was re-elected without opposition to represent District Three for a sixth term. Hickman, a retired educator from the Beauregard Parish School System, is a member of Grace Church, past president and current member of the Association of Louisiana Electric Cooperatives Board of Directors and serves as secretary/treasurer of the Beauregard Parish Covered Arena Board of Directors. Hickman is a member of the Merryville and DeRidder Lodge and is a 32nd Degree Scottish Rite Freemason, attended Northwestern State University and holds a master plus 30 degree in education from McNeese State University and a bachelor of science degree from the University of Louisiana in Lafayette. He and his wife, Mary, reside in DeRidder and have three children and 10 grandchildren.

District Nine incumbent director, Peto Sellers, was re-elected for a second term. Sellers, receiving 578 votes, defeated fellow candidate Dwayne Chatoney of Moss Bluff who received 332 votes, to represent his district for a second term. A real estate developer, Sellers is a member of the Moss Bluff United Methodist Church, Moss Bluff Civic Club, Moss Bluff Merchants Association, and the Moss Bluff Optimist Club. He is also a former member of the Moss Bluff Economic Board and past president of the Moss Bluff Gravity Drainage Board. Sellers and his wife, Tina, reside in Moss Bluff. They have three children and one grandchild.

The three directors officially began serving a three-year term at Saturday’s annual meeting.