Rural Utilities Service Logo ----Skip to main content
RUS Pictures
Rural Development RUS Homepage Electric Program Telecommunications Water Program

 
 

 

RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE
RUS NEWS RELEASE

Claiborne Crain (202) 720-1255
ccrain@rus.usda.gov

KENTUCKY RURAL LEADER BECOMES 15TH ADMINISTRATOR OF RURAL UTILITIES PROGRAMS

WASHINGTON, October 2, 2001 - Hilda Gay Legg, a leader in Kentucky for rural development and a native of Adair, County, was sworn in today as the 15th Administrator of USDA's Rural Utilities Service by Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman.

"We appreciate the swift confirmation of Hilda Legg by the U.S. Senate," said Veneman. "She brings a great deal of experience and expertise to the Rural Utilities Service and I am proud to have her serving on our team here at USDA."

As the Administrator of RUS, Legg will oversee financing for construction of rural infrastructure, including rural electrification, telecommunications, and drinking water programs, and administers the distance learning and telemedicine loan and grant program. She will also serve as the 8th governor of the Rural Telephone Bank, a public/private lending institution that also finances rural telecommunications infrastructure.

Legg brings a diversified background of Kentucky and Washington, D.C. experience in rural community development. She has directed a rural development center, served on the Appalachian Regional Commission and represented Senator McConnell in Kentucky.

Since 1994, Legg served as executive director and CEO of The Center for Rural Development in Somerset, Kentucky. The Center is a national model for economic development in rural areas and for related educational, cultural and recreational purposes. The Center has a national reputation for innovation and meeting the economic development needs of Eastern Kentucky.

Legg was appointed by the President as alternate federal co-chairman for the Appalachian Regional Commission in Washington, DC, in 1990 and served through 1993. She represented and promoted economic policies for the 13 Appalachian States and assisted in the management of a $190 million budget for job creation, building infrastructure, education, and work force training, as well as research programs for economic development. She assisted in the development and implementation of a telecommunication program designed to maximize technology hardware in rural communities. Her biographical information is on the USDA home page at http://www.usda.gov .



Go to USDA  |  Go to Rural Development  |  Questions/Comments  |  Privacy Statement  |  Nondiscrimination Statement  |  Nonprofit Gateway