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East River Electric General Manager Jeff Nelson Awarded “Distinguished Engineer Award” from SDSU

BROOKINGS, SD -- East River Electric Power Cooperative General Manager Jeff Nelson has been awarded the “Distinguished Engineer Award” from South Dakota State University. He was honored Friday, April 3, 2009 on the campus of SDSU.

“This award reflects the contributions Jeff has made to South Dakota in economic development and moving the state forward in particular as it relates to value-added agriculture,” said Scott Parsley, East River Electric assistant general manager-member services.

As one of the creators of the Rural Electric Economic Development, Inc., (REED), which today is a collaboration of East River and its member owners providing over $25 million of rural development loans throughout East River’s service area, Nelson has experienced entrepreneurial success in several other areas as well.

“With Jeff’s vision, many innovative programs were developed to assist South Dakotans in being able to invest in value-added agricultural opportunities,” Parsley added.

Nelson contributed to promoting and launching South Dakota’s ethanol industry through a mechanism to use patronage capital as security for cooperative patrons to invest in ethanol development.

Having been instrumental in the formation of the South Dakota Wind Energy Association (SDWEA), Nelson was elected board president earlier this year.

Nelson graduated from SDSU in 1971 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. After serving as an officer in the U.S. Army, he began his career at East River Electric in 1974 and has served as the organization’s general manager since 1990. Throughout the years, he has served on many national boards and committees.

The Distinguished Engineer Award was first awarded by the SDSU College of Engineering on Feb. 26, 1976, under the direction of Dean Junis O. Storry. Since its inception, the coveted award has been presented to more than 100 distinguished engineers.

Nelson receives award: South Dakota State University Dean of Engineering Dr. Lewis Brown (left) and South Dakota State University President Dr. David Chicoine (right) present East River Electric Power Cooperative General Manager Jeff Nelson with the “Distinguished Engineer Award” April 3, 2009 on the campus of SDSU.