Board of Trustees




draked

Doug Drake (President), elected March 21st in 2015, is the Board's President. Mr. Drake is an Oxford Township resident for 32 years and life-long resident of Butler County; Two children; Graduated from Talawanda High School 1986; Received Bachelor's Degree in Agriculture from Eastern Kentucky University in 1990 with focus on horticulture and landscape design; Past President of the EKU Horticulture Club; Co-founder, owner, and landscape designer at Shademakers Nursery & Landscape, Inc. since 1991; Past Chair of the Oxford United Methodist Church Council, previously serving 8 years on the Board of Trustees; Past Committee Chair for Boy Scout Troop 930 and longtime committee member. Mr. Drake's term expires in 2024.


rolker

Randy Rolke (Vice President), appointed April 30, 2019 is the Board's Vice President. Mr. Rolke is a lifelong Butler County resident, previously living in Oxford and Hanover Townships. Mr. Rolke and his wife are current Milford Township residents. They have five children ranging in age from twenty-two to twenty-seven. He is a graduate of Talawanda High School and has an Associate Degree from Northwestern Business and Technical College in Auto Diesel Technology. Mr. Rolke has been a forty-plus year veteran of the Boy Scouts of America. He has served on the Fort Hamilton District Committee and been a Scoutmaster and Cubmaster. He is an Eagle Scout and a recipient of the Merit and Meritorious Service Award. Mr. Rolke has been employed by Equipment Depot for over thirty years as a field service technician. Mr. Rolke is a member of the Ohio Rural Water Association. Randy has taken every possible opportunity to attend training and learn about rural water. He understands the obligations, abilities, and protections the District has being a political subdivision organized under ORC 6119. Mr. Rolke understands the challenges and knows there is a lot to accomplish in infrastructure improvements and employee hiring and development while controlling rates and providing high quality water. Mr. Rolke believes we all have something to offer to give back to the community and he continues to address the challenges the District is facing. Mr. Rolke's term expires in 2026.


chenoweth

Chad Chenoweth (Secretary), appointed April 30, 2019 is the Board's Secretary. Mr. Chenoweth is a Hanover Township resident and graduate of Talawanda High School and the University of Kentucky with a degree in Elementary Education.  He is married to Kelli (Adams) Chenoweth, also a lifelong resident of Hanover Township.  They have two children, Lilly and Finn.  Mr. Chenoweth commissioned as an Army Infantry Officer immediately after college, serving 11 years on Active Duty with three total deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. While on active duty, he earned multiple decorations to include the Bronze Star.  Mr. Chenoweth continues service in the Army Reserves, holding the current rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and serves with 84th Training Command at Fort Knox Kentucky.  Mr. Chenoweth owns LJ Stone Buildings LLC, contracting building construction for Premier Portable Buildings, and works as a Purchasing Manager for the same company.  Mr. Chenoweth serves as the board Secretary and also serves in the community as the Administrative Council Chair at Grace United Methodist Church in Hamilton.  Mr. Chenoweth coaches youth soccer in Hamilton and loves the outdoors. Mr. Chenoweth's term expires in 2024.


brehm

Rob Brehm (Trustee), elected April 2, 2020 is a Board Trustee. Mr. Brehm is a Morgan Township resident and has been a District customer for twenty-nine years. Married to Kathy for thirty-one years with two children: Justin, a firefighter and paramedic at Sycamore Township, and Katie, who works at the Butler County General Health District while obtaining her Master’s Degree from Kent State. Mr. Brehm has worked for Morgan Township for thirty years, currently serving at Road Supervisor. He has been a volunteer firefighter for twenty-nine years holding ranks of Lieutenant, Captain, and Assistant Chief. Mr. Brehm and Kathy have been members of Shandon Congregational Church for twenty-three years. During this time he has served two terms as Trustee, overseeing the budget and upkeep of church buildings and grounds. In his spare time he enjoys going for walks with Kathy, riding four-wheelers, and vacationing at the beach. Mr. Brehm brings to the table knowledge and experience of working with people and seeing projects through start to finish. He has overseen church projects from obtaining bids, interviewing and hiring contractors, and seeing that the jobs were completed satisfactorily. He is responsible for maintaining thirty miles of roadways and six Township buildings, supervising two full-time and one-part time staff. Mr. Brehm is an Ohio Rural Water Association member. He sits on the District’s Policy Committee. He attends local, state, and national meetings, keeping current with regulations and works with other Trustees to maintain costs, replace infrastructure, and hire/retain employees. Mr. Brehm's term expires in 2026.


Joe Cook

Miles “Joe” Cook (Trustee), appointed April 26, 2022. Mr. Cook is a Milford Township resident since 2005. He graduated from Badin High School and attended Miami University. He has one daughter, one grandson and one granddaughter. Mr. Cook is a retired City of Hamilton Firefighter and is now a self-employed rancher, raising beef cattle and miniature donkeys. Mr. Cook is a recipient of the Joe Dudley Conservationist Award through Butler County, and Ohio Firefighter’s Peer Group Counselor, member of the Knights of Columbus, and has been active in Butler County 4H for the past ten years. Mr. Cook believes that the challenges the District is facing are maintaining high water quality and increases in costs with rising inflation rates. He is interested in working to maintain the high quality of our water while keeping expenses minimal. Mr. Cook’s term expires in 2026.


Mike Egbert(2)

Michael Egbert (Trustee), elected March 11th in 2003, is a Board Trustee. Mr. Egbert is a Reily Township resident; Married; member of Reily Presbyterian Church; Elder of Reily Presbyterian Church; Part-time farmer; Current member and Past Board Member of Butler County Cattlemen's Association; Butler Rural Electric nomination Committee - six years; Member of the Community Blood Bank Life Leader Program - twenty-eight gallon blood donor; DuPont/Ohio Soybean Association Young Leader; Past Farm Bureau President - five years; Chairman of Reily Township Executive Advisory Council - Past Youth Advisor, member Service chairman, Scholarship Chairman, Congressional Spokesman; County Vice President - two years; State Policy Development committee Member; Past Farm City Tour Vice Chairman and Chairman; Ohio Rural Water Association Trustee for four years, Mr. Egbert's term expires in 2025.

 


gronasNicholas Gronas (Trustee), elected on March 21st in 2016, is a Board Trustee. Mr. Gronas is a Ross Township resident for 11 years; Life-long Butler County resident; Married to Katie for 15 years; Two children; Graduated from Ross High School in 1997; Currently employed with Fairfield City Public Works Department; Previously employed with Southwest Regional Water District for 12 years working in Systems Maintenance as a crew leader with an OEPA Water Distribution 1 license and served on Safety Committee; Volunteered for Millville, Ross and Hanover Townships fire departments from 1997-2008 as a firefighter/emergency technician.                                                 Mr. Gronas' term expires in 2025.


Clark KellyClark Kelly (Trustee), elected March 17th in 2021, is a Board Trustee. After 31 years in the military and 17 military moves, Mr. Kelly and his wife were looking for a friendly community with four seasons. Butler County fit the bill perfectly. After six months living in Hanover Township, they knew that Southwest Ohio was the perfect place to start the second phase of their lives. Mr. Kelly and his wife have two adult children that live outside of Ohio, but both like to come visit the Kelly homestead frequently. They are also proud owners of a pack of four dogs that keep them entertained all hours of the day. When Mr. Kelly retired from the Air Force, he went to work for Miami University and is currently an Assistant Dean in the College of Engineering and Computing. In that role, he is the liaison to the Admission, the Career Center, and the Advancement Division. Mr. Kelly also teaches the introduction to engineering and computing class. Mr. Kelly's term expires in 2024.


schmidt

Robert Schmidt (Trustee), elected March 16th in 2013, is a Board Trustee. Mr. Schmidt is a Wayne Township Resident.  Married, two children and four grandchildren.  Retired from BNY Mellon after forty-one years in banking as Vice President and Manager.  Completed Bachelor’s Degree B.S. in Business Administration at Lake Erie College – Major was Business Administration with concentration in Organizational Management and Financial Management.  Received an Associate Degree from Cuyahoga Community College in Business Administration.  Served with the U.S. Army, First Air Cavalry Division, Infantry which included one year in Vietnam as a Squad Leader attaining the rank of Sergeant and was awarded two Bronze Stars and the Air Medal.  Served the City of Euclid, OH as a Volunteer Auxiliary Police Officer for fourteen years and the Director of the unit for four years.  Member of St. Peter in Chains Church.  Serves on the Finance Committee of St. Peter in Chains Parish and School in Hamilton, serves as Vice-Chairman of the Butler County Port Authority and serves on the Investment Committee for the Greater Miami Valley YMCA.  Mr. Schmidt’s term expires in 2025.