(NASHVILLE, Tenn.), December 2, 2016 — State Senator Ken Yager (R-Kingston) has been recognized for his leadership in the Tennessee General Assembly by the state’s electric cooperatives and the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association (TECA). Yager received the Dr. K. T. Hutchinson Award in honor of his courageous support of electric cooperatives and rural Tennessee.
Dr. Hutchinson was instrumental in the formation of electric co-ops in Tennessee in the 1940s and served as the first president of the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association.
The Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association represents 23 electric cooperatives who provide energy for 2.5 million Tennesseans across 71 percent of the state’s land mass. This includes the Plateau, Volunteer Energy and Upper Cumberland Electric Coops which serve the citizens of the 12th senatorial district which Yager represents.
“Tennessee’s electric cooperatives have no better friend than Sen. Yager,” says Mike Knotts, Vice President of Government Affairs for the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association. “He is an enthusiastic supporter of rural Tennessee.”  “I am honored to receive the first Hutchinson Award for leadership and commitment to Tennessee’s electric cooperatives,” said Sen. Yager. “Over half my district is served by electric cooperatives. These co-ops provide affordable, reliable electricity to their rural members and play an important role in economic development and job creation. I will continue to support their work in the legislature to provide affordable electricity and economic development.”