Board of Directors
Charles Key - Chairman
National Construction Director of Expansion and Growth
Comcast
Charles "Chuck" Key Jr. brings over 19 years of expertise in telecommunications construction, with a focus on fiber network expansion and infrastructure development. His career began in 2005 in New Orleans, where he contributed to critical telecommunications recovery efforts following Hurricane Katrina. Since joining Comcast in 2007, Chuck has held key roles within the Construction Department and currently serves as the National Construction Director of Expansion and Growth. In this capacity, he leads strategic initiatives to achieve Comcast’s nationwide passings goal, overseeing efficient and effective construction practices across diverse markets.
Chuck’s leadership is defined by his deep knowledge of OSP (Outside Plant) and ISP (Inside Plant) construction, particularly in multi-state fiber build projects that extend connectivity to both urban and rural areas. He is known for optimizing vendor relationships, streamlining construction processes, and implementing standards that enhance project timelines and cost-effectiveness. His work is instrumental in advancing Comcast’s goals for network reliability and customer satisfaction, establishing him as an influential leader in telecommunications infrastructure and fiber expansion.
Robert Mullins - Vice Chairman
Vice President of Operations
Jackson Energy Authority
Robert Mullins is the Vice President of Operations at the Jackson Energy Authority in Jackson, TN. Robert began his career at Jackson Energy Authority in 1997 and has served in multiple roles within JEA since that time. Robert is a licensed professional engineer in the State of Tennessee. Robert obtained his engineering degree from Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, TN in 1994 and obtained his MBA in 2004 from Union University.
He began his career working as an engineer at JEA and has moved within the company to fill multiple roles within the engineering department and the operations side of the company. Robert was Manager of Operations from 2011 until April 2022, in which he managed daily operations of the electric, gas, water and wastewater systems for JEA. Robert’s current role as Vice President of Operations includes managing daily operations of all utility systems along with managing Purchasing and Fleet, Field Services, AMI/Meter Reading and Facilities Maintenance. With a broad range of experience in multiple areas and multiple utility systems of Jackson Energy Authority, Robert offers a skillset that is unique within the utility industry.
Ryan Williams - Treasurer
Vice President of Operations and Customer Service and Company Operating Officer
Middle Tennessee Natural Gas
Ryan graduated from Tennessee tech with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management.
He has been with MTNG since 1995. He has served as Superintendent of Operations for Middle Tennessee Natural Gas for 18 years.
Middle Tennessee Natural Gas serves over 65,000 customers in 23 counties and has over 3000 miles of mainline piping in the Middle TN area.
Vaughan Charles - Secretary
Vice President - T & D Operations
Nashville Electric Service
Vaughan has over 25 years of professional experience in the electric utility industry.
He has held a variety of positions within the NES engineering dept., serving as Supervisor & Manager in Customer Engineering sections & Civil & Environmental Engineering sections.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Tennessee State Univ. and a Master of Science in Engineering Management from the Univ. of Tennessee.
He is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Tennessee and has his certification as a Project Management Professional through the Project Management Institute.
NES serves over 370,000 customers and is the 12th largest public electric utility in the nation.
Dewey Branstetter
Attorney
Sherrard, Roe, Voigt & Harbison
Dewey Branstetter, a partner at the Nashville law firm Sherrard, Roe, Voigt, and Harbison, PLC, has been the attorney for TN 811 since it became a self-run organization 30 years ago.
A graduate of Vanderbilt University and the Vanderbilt Law School, Dewey has practiced law for over 40 years, representing utility entities across Tennessee, as well as other governmental and non-profit entities.
He has served on several governmental boards and commissions, and he has also been a board member of numerous non-profit entities.
For many years Dewey has been recognized in the publication “ Best Lawyers in America” in the fields of utility law and employment law. He has been recognized as a “Super Lawyer” in utility law, and he has been selected several times by the Nashville Business Journal as one of the “Best of the Bar.”
Donnie Coward
Damage Prevention Supervisor
Kinder -Morgan
Donnie Coward has responsibilities in damage prevention, public awareness, and one-call representation as the Damage Prevention Supervisor for Kinder-Morgan, Inc.
His coverage area includes northern Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, southeast Arkansas, and southern Kentucky.
He has worked in the pipeline industry since 1989 for Kinder-Morgan (formerly El Paso Corporation) and its subsidiaries.
Donnie is a graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering.
He is also certified with the State of Tennessee Board of Architectural and Engineering Examiners as Engineer Intern with a career history of seven years in pipeline construction engineering, and fifteen years in DOT compliance services.
Brad Gates
Director of Electric Construction
Memphis Light, Gas & Water
Brad Gates is currently the Director of Electric Construction at Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division. He is responsible for the construction and operation of the electric distribution, transmission, network, and street light systems at the Division. His duties also include the management of the electric support functions at the Division which comprise of line clearance, facility location, and contract services.
He joined MLGW in 2000 as a Staff Engineer and has held numerous positions both in Engineering and Construction throughout his career at MLGW including Service Engineer, District Engineer, and Supervisor in Customer Engineering. In 2013, he rotated as Assistant Manager in Electric Construction and Maintenance and was promoted to Manager over that Department in 2020. At the beginning of 2024, he was promoted to his current role of Director of Electric Construction. Additionally, he served as the Project Manager for the City of Memphis LED streetlight conversion project in 2023. He earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Mississippi in 1999. He graduated from the Leadership Memphis Executive Program in 2021. He is active in several industry associations, such as the American Public Power Association, the Tennessee Valley Authority Public Power Association, the Big 8 Engineering and Operations Roundtable Conferences, and the North American Transmission Forum. He actively attends and supports the APPA and TVPPA Lineworkers Rodeos every year.
Gates was born in Memphis, TN and is a supporter of many community endeavors such as St. Jude, Junior Achievement, the United Way, Leadership Memphis, Multiple Sclerosis Society, American Heart Association, Breast Cancer Awareness, and the Memphis Food Bank. He is an active member of Hernando Methodist Church in Hernando, MS.
Thomas McCutcheon
Operations Supervisor
Chattanooga Gas Company
Thomas has been in the Natural Gas Industry for over 13 years.
As Operations Supervisor with Chattanooga Gas Company, Thomas oversees daily below ground construction activities in Chattanooga and Cleveland TN. He has spent 10+ years with Southern Company Gas (previously AGL Resources). During this time, he held multiple positions, each increasing in responsibility, within Virginia Natural Gas (VNG) and Chattanooga Gas (CGC).
From 2021-2023, Thomas worked for Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB), where he was the Team Lead of Natural Gas Compliance and Maintenance Programs. Thomas’s group was responsible for the regulatory oversight for the following programs: Operations and Maintenance (O&M), Emergency Response, Control Room Management, Public Awareness Program, Distribution Integrity Management Program (DIMP), and the OQ Program.
He received his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Syracuse University and his Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from The College of William and Mary.
As an active member within the Tennessee Gas Association, Thomas has presented at multiple conferences helping to promote the safe and reliable operations of the natural gas infrastructure in Tennessee.
Chattanooga Gas Company provides safe and reliable natural gas to 71,000 customers in Hamilton and Bradley County.
Pat Miller
Pat Miller Government Relations, LLC
In 2013, Pat Miller established Pat Miller Government Relations, LLC a government relations firm focusing on advising and developing strategies for business clients on a variety of issues pending before the Tennessee General Assembly and Tennessee state government. Applying years of experience in state government, Pat assists his clients in navigating issues that impact their business in Tennessee. Over the past 12 years, he has advised a number of energy, utility, technology and education clients, including Tennessee 811, Williamson County School System, Colonial Pipeline, Microsoft, Accenture, Lexmark, DocuSign, Palo Alto Systems, among others.
Prior to establishing his government relations firm, Pat had an extensive career in Tennessee state government. From 2007 to 2011, Pat served as Senior Advisor and Director of Legislative affairs to Governor Phil Bredesen. As the Governor's chief Lobbyist, Pat shepherded major pieces of legislation through the Tennessee General Assembly, including the Tennessee Clean Energy Future Act of 2009, dubbed "the cornerstone for all future energy policy'' in the Volunteer State.
From 2002 to 2007, Pat served a term on the Tennessee Regulatory Authority, Tennessee's public utility commission responsible for setting rates and enforcing service standards for telephone, natural gas, electric and water utilities for over five million Tennessee consumers. From 2004 to 2005, Pat served as chairman of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority. Prior to his appointment to the Authority, Pat served as Chief of Staff to Tennessee's Lt. Governor John S. Wilder from 1996 to 2002.
Pat holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Tennessee and a JD from the Nashville School of Law.
Matt Mingus
Director of Safety
Team Construction LLC
Matt Mingus is the Director of Safety at Team Construction, an underground utility contractor that specializes in renewal, relocation, and new main and service installations of natural gas utilities.
Matt oversees and directs all safety protocols and programs and manages equipment maintenance.
Though Matt officially joined the company in 2006, he has been around since its opening in 2003. To him, going to work for the family business was a dream come true. As a child, there was nothing Matt wanted more than to work for his dad, Donnie Mingus (founder of Team Construction).
Matt is dedicated to safety and serves as Chair on the Team Safety Council.
Don Scholes
General Counsel
Tennessee Assoc. of Utility Districts
Before coming to TAUD in 2017, Don was a partner in the firm of Branstetter, Stranch & Jennings, PLLC, where he practiced utility law for 30 years.
Before joining that firm, he was Assistant General Counsel of the Tennessee Public Service Commission (now Tennessee Public Utility Commission).
Don has represented utility districts and municipal and county utilities across the state of Tennessee for many years.
He has been a frequent presenter at TAUD seminars and conferences, and has written numerous articles over the years on legal issues affecting utilities.
Scott Shepard
Manager of Gas Customer Field Operations
Piedmont Natural Gas Company
Scott Shepard, P.E. is the Manager of Gas Customer Field Operations for Piedmont Natural Gas Company and serves as the site manager for Piedmont’s operations center in Nashville, Tennessee. He is a graduate of Vanderbilt University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and is a registered professional engineer in the State of Tennessee. He is a past president of the Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers Middle Tennessee Chapter and the Engineers’ Association of Nashville. He has served on the Gas Mechanical Board of Metro Nashville Davidson County and as a State Director on the board of the Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers. He currently serves on the board of the Century City Office Association. Scott and his wife Jennifer are recent empty nesters and reside in Brentwood, Tennessee.
Christopher "Lance" Sledge
Sr Specialist Environmental Health & Safety
Damage Prevention - Alabama and Tennessee
AT&T Field Operations
Lance is a 26+ year employee with AT&T serving in multiple roles in network operations over those years. He currently serves as the damage prevention manager for AT&T for the states of Tennessee and Alabama.
He holds a degree from Western Kentucky University in Electrical Engineering Technology and Mid-Continent University in Business Management.
A lifelong Kentuckian, he and his wife moved to the middle Tennessee area in 2022 to be closer to their children and grandchildren who reside in the Nashville area.
Ryan Tolbert
Manager of Damage Prevention
Atmos Energy
Ryan Tolbert is Atmos Energy’s Manager of Damage Prevention. Ryan has close to two decades of operational experience in the natural gas industry. He is extremely passionate about damage prevention and his team’s overall success in damage reduction across TN, KY, & VA.
Prior to his current role, he has led different Atmos teams across western KY and TN. Ryan currently serves on Atmos Energy’s Enterprise Damage Prevention Team. KGA’s Damage Prevention committee and remains an active volunteer for various agencies where he resides.
William "Bill" Turner
President & CEO
Tennessee 811
Tennessee 811’s President and CEO has dedicated over 30 years to advancing the state’s “Call Before You Dig” service. Bill began his career with a Pennsylvania-based contractor managing one-call systems nationwide, and he relocated to Tennessee in 1990 to oversee the local contract. By 1994, he became the first executive of Tennessee One-Call System, transforming it into a self-managed, nonprofit organization and a cornerstone of public safety and utility protection.
In addition to leading Tennessee 811, Bill serves as executive director of Progressive Partnering, whose GeoCall software supports one-call centers in 11 states. He is also a founding mentor in the 811 Executive Apprentice Program, guiding future leaders to sustain and advance the mission of one-call organizations nationwide.