Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I want to thank you for this opportunity to appear before you. It is indeed an honor for me to be considered by you for an appointment to the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

I also want to express my appreciation to President Bush for nominating me and to my fellow Tennesseans, the Majority Leader, Senator Bill Frist and Senator Lamar Alexander for their support and confidence.

I have spent most of my adult working life in the private sector. Thirty two years of which have been as a commercial banker and the five years after my retirement from banking as a venture capitalist.

My banking career also afforded me many opportunities for community service through membership on numerous not-for-profit boards. But time constraints have not allowed me to enter public service. That is changing and I was recently appointed to the inaugural chairmanship of an instrumentality of the State of Tennessee; the Tennessee Educational Lottery Corporation. I have found that position both challenging and very rewarding. With the highly successful launch of the lottery, we have been able to fund scholarships for all of the qualifying high school graduates; thereby, improving the affordability of and accessibility to higher education for Tennessee children.

I welcome the opportunity to become even more engaged in public service as a member of the TVA Board of Directors.

In studying TVA’s basic mission, I am enthused about the impact fulfilling that mission can have on the economic development and quality of life of the region. These have been two areas of interest in my other positions of community and public service. Areas for which I have a great passion.

As I begin to understand the strategic challenges facing TVA, I recognize the importance that effectively transitioning from an operating board to a policy board will have on addressing those challenges. I believe my experience as both an operating executive and as a member of numerous boards; private, not-for-profit and quasi-public, will be helpful to the team as we successfully navigate the journey.

Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, and members of the Senate, I am willing to serve as a member of the TVA Board. If confirmed, I assure you I will do so with energy, dedication and sound stewardship.