Samuel D. Jarvis was appointed Director of the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office, Muskogee, Oklahoma, on October 2, 2005.  Prior to this appointment, he was the Director of the Records Management Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

As Director, Mr. Jarvis is responsible for managing the full range of non-medical benefits provided to a potential clientele of 338,000 veterans and their dependents living in Oklahoma.  These benefits include compensation, education, and vocational rehabilitation.  In addition, the Muskogee VA Regional Office is one of four Regional Processing Offices, administering education benefits for the states of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Arizona, New Mexico, California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Alaska, Hawaii, the Philippines and the trust territories.  The Muskogee VARO administers approximately $1.3 billion in annual education and compensation benefits. 

Mr. Jarvis began his federal career in 1973 as an elementary school teacher for the Bureau of Indian Affairs on the Navajo reservation in New Mexico.  He began his VA career as a trainee adjudicator in July 1975.  He was eventually selected as the Authorization Section Chief in the Muskogee Adjudication Division.  In 1995, Mr. Jarvis was promoted to the position of Adjudication Officer at the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, VARO.  In January 1997, he was selected as the Veterans Service Center Manager at the New Orleans, Louisiana, VARO.  In May 1999, he was appointed Assistant Director at the Denver, Colorado, VARO. 

Mr. Jarvis is a member of the Leadership VA Alumni Association (LVA 2000) and graduate of the Federal Executive Institute.  He attended leadership training with Brookings Institute and MIT.  He is active in four Masonic organizations.  He is a member of the Federal Executive Board Steering Committee. 

Mr. Jarvis was born in Edmond, Oklahoma on December 11, 1947.  He entered the United States Navy in August 1966 and was released from active duty in August 1968.  While on active duty he served on the staff of Commander Amphibious Group FOUR.  Mr. Jarvis retired from the United States Naval Reserve in 1987.  He graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma, where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education.  Mr. Jarvis also holds a Master’s Degree in Education Administration.  Sam and his wife, Sara, have two sons, two granddaughters, and a Boston Terrier named Abby.  

 

Vice-Chairman

Jon Worthington

Administrator
Southwestern Power Administration

Tulsa, OK

Jon C. Worthington was appointed Administrator of the Southwestern Power Administration (Southwestern) effective January 4, 2008.

He has a twenty-five year career in the Federal power marketing industry as well as major Federal organizational management and development efforts.  He was born in Boise, Idaho, and obtained a Bachelor of Science from Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1978, and a Master of Business Administration in 1985 from Eastern Washington University.  His first job after undergraduate study was with the Idaho Office of Energy and was later selected to direct Idaho’s Office of Petroleum Markets and Services. 

In 1982, Worthington began his Federal career with the Bonneville Power Administration in Spokane, Washington where he led negotiations and preparations of long-term power sales contracts and the task force for wholesale transmission rates and open access issues.  In 1985, he accepted a position with the Department of Energy (DOE) in Washington, D.C., as the manager of DOE’s National Laboratories site utilities planning and management program, and in 1988, transferred to the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) to help improve creditworthiness of financed borrowers.

In 1990, Worthington returned to the Bonneville Power Administration Washington, D.C. office.  There he served as the lead point of contact for twelve Northwestern congressional offices on endangered species, and open access transmission and electric deregulation issues.  In 1997, he accepted a position with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as the lead analyst on Federal power rate cases and team lead on RTO West compliance filing and western utility seams issues, including Desert Star and the California ISO. 

In 2002, Worthington was selected to serve as the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Southeastern and Southwestern Power Administration Washington, DC liaison.  There he led high-level policy decisions and interactions with the legislative and executive branches.  In 2006, he was appointed as Administrator of Southeastern Power Administration in Elberton, Georgia and served until his appointment to Administrator of Southwestern Power Administration.

Over the years, Worthington has volunteered his services to many organizations, both public and private.  He currently serves as Southeastern’s Member Representative to the North American electric Reliability Corporation, the SERC Reliability Corporation, and has served as an organizing member of the Idaho Special Olympics.  He has received numerous outstanding ratings for his demonstrated leadership and exemplary performance.