As the president of the FreeState Board of Directors, it is my privilege to introduce the cooperative’s new CEO on a more personal level. Chris Parr, formerly FreeState’s assistant general manager, will assume the CEO duties effective Jan. 1, 2022, following the retirement of Steve Foss, who has had a lengthy and impressive cooperative career.
Chris has 17 years of experience in the utility industry including investor-owned, municipalities, and cooperatives. He was hired by Leavenworth-Jefferson Electric Cooperative in 2013 and worked with the executive and governance teams during the consolidation of LJEC and Kaw Valley Electric Cooperatives in 2017. Through the consolidation and transition, Chris worked closely with CEO Steve Foss and oversaw the accounting and financial management, human resources, corporate communications, and information technology and also oversaw engineering and operations, compliance, safety, and procurement. Parr has also taken the lead on strategic planning, risk management, and leadership development for the cooperative.
He is not only a proven leader at FreeState, but he is also a graduate of NRECA’s prestigious Management Internship Program (MIP) which is recognized on a national level as the gold standard of excellence in cooperative management. Very few cooperatives have executives with this distinction, and it takes hard work and dedication to complete the program.
The board recognizes Chris as an asset to FreeState and he not only understands the meaning and importance of member service but will continue to develop innovative and fresh ways the cooperative can serve communities and members. He works hard to continually take his leadership skills and knowledge to the next level and the board is confident that Chris will utilize his skills to make certain FreeState exceeds the goals the board has set.
Chris is well qualified for the position. He holds an MBA from Baker University and BBA in financial management from Kansas State University. He is a certified internal auditor (CIA) and is certified in risk management assurance (CRMA) from the Institute of Internal Auditors.
On behalf of the board and employees, congratulations Chris. We can’t wait to see where we go from here!