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BEMC Man
BY DOUG KIJTTER
"If you want some work done, go to the person who's '
busy."
Those dozen words once read by David Batten on the "
wall of a welding shop stuck firmly in his mind.
And if his actions are any indication of his thoughts,
he enjoys his work very much because he is as busy as Kn
proverbial beaver
A native of Columbus County and graduate of '
Hallsboro High School, Batten has been general manager
and executive vice president of Brunswick Electric 1
Membership Corporation since June 1981.
As manager, he said his daily task is to direct the entire
operation and carry out the goals of the
organization's 32,000 members as voiced through the
beard of directors.
"It's the type of job that you live because of the complexity
of it," he explained. "You don't just do it."
Batten, 43, lives at Buccaneer Hills near Holden
Beach, a place he fondly refers to as "paradise," with his
wife, Kay, and their three children.
In describing himself, he uses the terms strong
leader, family man, aggressive, self-confident,
knowledgeable and compassionate.
He explained that his approach to most situations is
one of positive action. "Instead of shirking it and turning
your back, you go after it," he said. "I'm one who
believes there is time enough to do it all."
Batten said he follows a simple philosophy on life.
"What you put into it is what you get nut," he explained.
"We're not gonna be hern but one time."
Before his promotion to general manager. Batten
worked for the electric cooperative for 10 years as assistant
administrator and district manager in Whiteville.
He is also a former vocational agriculture instructor
at Whiteville High School and was involved in promoting
industrial development as a regional representative with
the state Department of Commerce.
Earlier this month, Batten was elected to a one-year
term as president of the N.C. Association of Electric
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cooperatives throughout the state which served about
500,000 customers and sold $0.5 million of electricity in
1987, is currently searching for ways to improve rural
economic conditions.
In February, Batten was re-elected to a three-year
term as director of the National Rural Telecommunications
Corporation. Currently serving as vice president of
the NRTC board of directors, Batten was one of the 10
original founders of the group which organized two years
ago to address the need for telecommunications through
the use of satellite dishes.
In conjunction with his involvement in NRTC, Batten
established a local satellite dish service last year, Rural
Consumer Service Corporation, as a subsidiary of
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ager Believe
I'm not a workaholic?I just have
iomething going all the time."
?David Batten
BEMC General Manager
BEMC.
He also serves on the community and economic
development committee of the National Rural Electric
Cooperative Association.
As a regional representative, Batten coordinates
various rural revitalization and growth projects from
North Carolina to Maine. l>ast year, he spoke at four national
marketing conferences on behalf of the NRECA.
Batten also promotes the future of electric energy
through his service on a national research task committee
for the Electric Power Research Institute in California.
His educational achievments include a B.S. degree in
agricultural education and a master's in education from
N.C. State University. He has also earned a master's
degree in management through the NRECA.
In addition to his heavy involvement in the business
sector, Batten also serves as president of the Brunswick
Community College Foundation Board, which works
toward establishing endowment funds and scholarship
programs for the college.
He said recent growth at the college's main campus
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greater sense of community pride.
"I'm excited about the stage it's in now," he added.
"I want to see us attract some good students and also
help the needy students in the area."
And it may be only fitting that the South Brunswick
Islands Chamber of Commerce office in Shallotte sits on
property leased through BEMC. Batten serves on the
board of directors and is a past president.
He is also involved in the operations of Shallotte's
Calvary Baptist Church, where he serves as a trustee and
chairman of the finance committee.
"It's quite exciting when you're involved in so many
different things," he said. "If you can get wrapped up in
it, you really learn to love it."
With his feet so deeply entrenched in the happenings
of Brunswick County, it is hard to believe the man has
any time for hobbies.
But in addition to an occasional cast of the fishing
line and jaunt around the golf links to free his mind from
the pressures of big business. Batten said he is a
carpenter at heart.
"I'm not a workaholic. I just have something going
all the time," he said. "I feel I'm at the ideal stage of happiness
and involvement."
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DAVID BATTEN (left) talks with Congressman
Charlie Rose during a recent visit to Brunswick County.
Batten, general manager of Brunswick Electric
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STAFF PHOTO BY SUSAN USHER
Membership Corporation since 1981, believes his position
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with his role as a leader in the private sector.
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