Director Bios for the 2025 Annual Meeting are located here.
District 4 Candidate: Jeffrey Martin
Jeffrey Martin lives in the Spivey’s Corner area of Sampson County. He is a 1976 graduate of Clement School. He worked for his family business, Martin’s Abattoir & Wholesale Meats, Inc., for almost 40 years where his responsibilities included executive management positions such as cattle procurement, cattle and beef transportation and director of operations.
He is co-owner of Martin Family Farms LLC, a beef cattle operation located in NC. Martin served on the NC Meat Processors Board of Directors for over 20 years and he is currently serving his fourth term on the South River EMC Board of Directors.
Martin has completed the National Rural Electrification Cooperative Association’s Director Certificate Program.
Jeffrey is married to Angela Phillips Martin and has two daughters, Cassie and Karlee. They are members of Clement Baptist Church
District 6 Candidate: Dr. E. Sue Godwin-Baker
Dr. Sue Godwin-Baker has served on the South River EMC Board of Directors since 2012; serving as board chair for seven years. Dr. Godwin-Baker has completed the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s Director Certification Program.
During her career, Dr. Godwin-Baker held various teaching and administrative positions in Cumberland, Beaufort, and Harnett Counties. She retired from the public school system in 2010. She then wrote and implemented the Master of Education program at Methodist University and retired from MU in 2016. Since retiring, she has taken classes at Fayetteville Technical Community College.
Dr. Godwin-Baker is a member of First Presbyterian Church in Fayetteville. She has served as deacon, elder, and Stephen Minister. She has served on the Allocation Committee for Cumberland County Partnership for Children. She and her husband, Warren, live in Eastover.
District 8 Candidate: Kayla Bartley
Kayla Bartley is a lifelong resident of the Gray’s Creek Community in Cumberland County. She attended Campbell University for undergraduate and graduate school, where she obtained a Master of Business Administration in 2013. She returned to Gray’s Creek to work for the family businesses, Hoke County Sand Company and Riddle Farms. It is here that she has built many relationships throughout her community.
Bartley is an active member of the community. She is actively involved in the Gray’s Creek High School FFA Alumni and the Ladies Auxiliary at Gray’s Creek Fire Department Station 18.
Bartley was appointed by the board of directors to complete the unexpired term of Clifton McNeill Jr. in 2023. She has earned the National Rural Electrification Cooperative Association’s Credentialed Cooperative Director certificate.
Bartley lives in the Gray’s Creek community of Cumberland County with her husband, James Bartley III and their three children: Vera, Emmett, and Elliott.