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Jones Announces Retirement, Jason Lingle Promoted to Watauga District Manager
Jones and Lingle
Blue Ridge Energy has announced that Jason Lingle of Boone has been promoted to Watauga district manager, working in conjunction with current district manager Susan Jones until her retirement in January 2019.
Lingle joined Blue Ridge Energy in 2007, working for the past five years as Energy Solutions Manager overseeing projects such as the cooperative’s community solar gardens, energy efficiency loans and rebates, electric vehicle and EV charging stations integration, and the new Beat The Peak and load demand programs to help control wholesale power cost. Before that, Lingle worked as a member service representative in Watauga District for six years under the leadership of Susan Jones.
Lingle is a member of the High Country Young Professionals and has completed Leadership programs for the Chamber of Commerce in both Boone and Caldwell County.
Lingle is currently completing his Master’s in Business Administration from East Carolina University and graduated from Appalachian State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. He resides in Boone with his wife, Kacy.
Jones has served as Watauga district manager since 2003 and received her Manager Certification from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Previously, she worked for First Union/Wachovia for 16 years, where she left as Financial Center Manager.
Jones has been extensively involved in community activities including serving as Chair of the Board for the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce, which co-named the Baker-Jones Woman of the Year award after her. She has also served on numerous other boards as part of her Blue Ridge Energy service: Watauga Education Foundation, Watauga Opportunities, Catawba Valley Area Girl Scout Council, Kiwanis of Boone, Foscoe Ruritan, and RISE of the High Country of which she is a co-founder. Jones, a graduate of Gardner-Webb University, is also active in the High Country United Way Funding Initiative, Valle Crucis PTO, and Boone Methodist Church.
She and her husband, Frank, reside in Foscoe and have two grown daughters and two grandchildren.
Jones and Lingle work in partnership with Steve Woodring, operations manager, to lead the Watauga district team of employees in serving Blue Ridge members and with Kevin Ward, Propane and Fuels district manager, to serve the customers of the cooperative’s propane and fuels subsidiary. Jones and Lingle also have responsibilities for the Watauga district office showroom sales of propane home and hearth products such as gas logs and fireplaces, water heaters, backup power generators and outdoor living items including fire tables, grills and heaters.
Blue Ridge Energy is a member-owned electric cooperative, serving some 76,000 members in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, Alexander, Avery and Wilkes counties. The cooperative’s subsidiary, Blue Ridge Energy propane and fuels, provides residential and commercial services in the cooperative’s service area and beyond. Learn more at BlueRidgeEnergy.com.