James P. Rode, president of Core Minerals Holdings, LLC, was recently elected to the board of directors of the Kentucky Oil & Gas Association in Frankfort, Kentucky. The Association was formed in the late 1920s to disseminate reliable information to its members and to assist in legislative issues relevant to the oil and gas industry.

Core Minerals is the largest, privately held, independent oil and gas exploration, production, and transportation company in the Illinois Basin. Corporate offices are located in Evansville, Indiana with field offices in Morganfield, Kentucky, Vincennes and Ft. Branch, Indiana.

Mr. Rode has been active in the oil and gas industry since 1980. He served as Vice President and General Counsel of the Hercules Petroleum Company, an Illinois Basin exploration and production company, and then served as General Counsel for Entrade Corporation, a natural gas marketing company affiliated with Indiana Gas Company and Michigan Consolidated Gas Company.

In 1987, Mr. Rode founded Interenergy Corporation, a Denver based natural gas gathering, processing, and marketing company which was sold to K N Energy (now Kinder Morgan). He also was the founder of nGenX Corporation, a technology Network and Application Service Provider, serving over 1,000 users in the United States and in several international markets. The company was acquired by Cinergy Communications, now Norlight, in 2004.

Mr. Rode has a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from the University of Kentucky and a Juris Doctor Degree from Gonzaga University School of Law.