Members of the Grady Electric Membership Corporation have formed a committee and launched a petition to remove the current board of directors and bring on board new management for the company.

The committee, titled “Let’s Take Back Our Grady EMC,” has raised questions over the past three weeks regarding the compensation of Grady EMC President and General Manager Thomas (Bo) Rosser, Jr., the position of Rosser’s father and former general manager, Thomas Rosser, Sr.

They also question company loans for a stock purchase and a patronage account of $42,000,000 that doesn’t show signs of members being refunded.

The committee is seeking 10 percent of Grady EMC’s 13,100 members to vote out the board of directors and both Rossers. Currently, 2,877 accounts for Grady EMC are active in Decatur County.

As a non-profit organization run by the members, committee founder Gordon Clyatt said he wants the power of the Grady EMC Board of Directors and the Rossers to end and be put back in the hands of the members.

“This is not going away until we get our answers,” Clyatt said. Clyatt and other committee members have published ads in The Cairo Messenger over the past three weeks detailing the questions they have for Grady EMC’s management and asking for members to sign the petition. “All I want is transparency.”

According to the ads run by Clyatt in the Messenger, Rosser, Sr., received a loan of $375,000 from Grady EMC for the purchase of United National banks stock. In an interview with the Messenger, Rosser, Jr., said his father bought the stock to help support the bank and the Cairo community.

Between 2007 and 2012, the payment balance has been lowered by $11,000 and remains in default, according to tax records found by Clyatt. Rosser, Sr., is also on the board of directors at United National Bank.

“When he purchased that stock from the EMC, and with him on the board of directors at United National Bank, the federal government is not going to look really good on him owning that stock and him getting dividends on that stock that he purchased, and EMC’s money is in national bank and he’s making money as a board member,” Clyatt said.

Despite the March 2014 Grady EMC newsletter announcing the promotion of Rosser, Jr., to the general manager position, Rosser, Sr., remains employed by Grady EMC in an “advisory position.” According to Clyatt’s ads in the Messenger, Rosser, Sr. made $368,249 in 2011. Rosser, Jr., declined to comment what his current salary is, saying that information would be disclosed in the tax forms filed by EMC later this year.

Also on the committee’s list of concerns is Grady EMC working on Rosser, Sr.’s personal cars, Clyatt said.

“The way the board looks at is, if we have mechanics with no work to do, we let them work on employees’ vehicles to keep their skills sharp,” Rosser, Jr., said in an interview with the Messenger.

Clyatt said he’s been in contact with three Grady EMC employees who were never aware of this employee privilege.
Next on the committee’s agenda is to continue requesting documents from Grady EMC via affidavits.

“We’re sending letter after letter requesting documents we have questions about,” Clyatt said. “If we can get more than 1,300 signatures, we can recall (the board).”

For information on the “Take Back Our Grady EMC” committee or to sign the petition, contact Clyatt at (229) 377-0944.