FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Isakson, Chambliss Urge Swift Approval of Thomas Gilliland of Georgia to Serve on Tennessee Valley Authority Board
Gilliland Would Be First Georgian Ever to Serve on TVA Board

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., today praised Thomas Gilliland of Blairsville, Ga., at a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing and urged swift approval of his nomination to serve on the board of directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority. Gilliland is the first Georgian ever nominated to serve on the TVA board.

“Citizens of Georgia have never been represented on the TVA board although we constitute a significant part of TVA service,” said Isakson, who is a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “It’s a privilege for me to introduce this distinguished citizen of our state, who will do a great job in this tremendously important responsibility. There is no better qualified individual to serve on the TVA board than Tom Gilliland.”

“I appreciated the opportunity to join Senator Isakson today in introducing Tom Gilliland before the EPW Committee hearing and to underscore my support for his nomination,” said Chambliss.  “His strong background and qualifications make him an ideal candidate to represent the State of Georgia as its first member of the TVA board.  I look forward to a prompt Senate confirmation.”

President Bush nominated Gilliland to fill the vacancy created when Bill Baxter resigned from the board in January. Both Isakson and Chambliss recommended Gilliland for the post.

Gilliland is Executive Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel for United Community Banks, Inc., which is the third-largest bank holding company in Georgia. Prior to joining United Community Banks in 1992, he was a partner at Hurt, Richardson, Garner, Todd and Cadenhead in Atlanta, where he represented a number of financial institutions, specializing in commercial loan transactions. Gilliland earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia and a Juris Doctor from Emory University.

Isakson originally voiced concern over Georgia’s continued lack of representation on the TVA board in February 2006 when six new nominees to the board were considered before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, on which Isakson serves. Isakson exercised his right to block those nominations from final confirmation until each nominee had given him assurances in writing that the interests of Georgia would be represented in some form by the board. In individual letters to Isakson, each of the six nominees pledged to “commit to the establishment of a process to ensure the views and advice of residents of each state in the Tennessee Valley are taken into consideration by the Board.”

The TVA delivers power to some 123,000 households in northern Georgia, but no Georgian before Gilliland has ever been nominated to serve on the TVA board. In addition to Georgia, the states of North Carolina and Virginia also have never had a representative on the TVA board. The TVA service area includes Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

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