Today, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced the appointment of Earnie Lehman of Hays to the Tower Mental Health Foundation Board of Directors.

Lehman is president and general manager of Midwest Energy Inc. as well as the Chair of the Kansas Electric Transmission Authority and has served on the KETA board since it was formed in 2005. He has also led and continues to serve on the board of Smoky Hills Public Television and the Area One Workforce Investment Board.

“I’m grateful for Earnie’s willingness to serve,” Schmidt said. “He will bring a wealth of experience and diverse perspectives to the Tower Foundation.”

Lehman is an economist with an MBA in finance. He worked in airline regulation and then at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission before working in the utility industry. He previously worked for Westar Energy, and the El Paso Electric Company before returning to Kansas and joining Midwest Energy in 2003.

The Tower Mental Health Foundation of Kansas was created as a result of an agreement between the Attorney General’s Office and the Menninger Foundation in 2007. It offers support to organizations that provide mental health services to Kansas. The Attorney General is the sole member of the Foundation, which is staffed by the Office of the Attorney General. The Foundation’s Board of Directors is comprised of nine Kansans with a keen interest in mental health issues. Dr. Walter Menninger serves as the Board’s president.