Kenneth E. Stone, from Braintree Electric Light Department, completes APPA's Public Power Manager Certificate Program

Kenneth E. Stone, the Division Manager of Energy Services, Accounting, and Procurement at Braintree Electric Light Department, received his Public Power Manager Certificate this year at the APPA National Conference in Nashville, Tennessee.

Ken has been at the Braintree Electric Light Department since 1997. In 200,1 he became the Division Manager of Energy Services, and in 2008 he became the Division Manager of Energy Services, Accounting and Procurement. He oversees all power supply planning functions, the accounting department and all inventory and materials purchases, including the issuing of IFBs and RFPs. He is also the NERC Compliance Officer for Braintree.

Ken goes on to say:

"I wanted to take the Public Power Manager Certificate program in order to enhance my knowledge and skills in not only managing a utility but more importantly managing people. The Strategic Management section of the course involved using a technique called Polarity Mapping. With this technique, we learned how to balance two opposing polarities such as tact and candor or accountability and freedom. For my paper, I chose to write about balancing empowerment and control based on a recent personnel decision we needed to make at BELD. The certificate program was a great opportunity to learn more about my management style and how other people manage various situations."

Ken received his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering Technology from Northeastern University, and went on to earn his Executive Master's Degree in Business Administration from Suffolk University.