Nick Carter

Born into a farm family in Lincoln County, Kentucky in 1946, Nick Carter was raised there through his high school years at Hustonville, High School where he was Class President, served as Vice President and President of his FFA Chapter, then advancing to being an FFA State Officer. 

After graduation he attended University of Kentucky where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Economics, was a member of FarmHouse Fraternity and numerous honoraries, as well as serving on the Student Senate. Carter then served in the US Navy, stationed in Pensacola and Honolulu where he received an Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Economics. 

Upon discharge Carter returned to UK and obtained a JD degree from the UK College of Law. He practiced law in Lexington from 1976 until 1982 when he left to join MAPCO Coal and began his 32-year career in his beloved coal industry. 

Carter soon moved from the legal profession to the management side of the business, serving as Director of Government Relations and Administration. He quickly realized the error of his ways and switched his party affiliation to Republican and has found a happy home there since then. 

In 1990, Carter left MAPCO to join Western Pocahontas Properties LP in Huntington, WV as President and COO. During his first years in the coal land business, He led a team that purchased 4.75 million acres from BNRR. In 2002, WPPLP combined its properties with those of Arch Coal to form Natural Resource Partners LP which was publicly traded as NRP on the NYSE. The WPPLP management team was asked to manage the new entity. 

NRP, under the leadership of Carter and his team, grew rapidly and proved highly successful. During his time in the coal industry he served on the board of WV Coal Association, Kentucky Coal Association, the National Mining Association, and for many years was the President and then Chairman of the National Council of Coal Lessors. 

Carter retired from NRP in 2012 and has been enjoying retirement in Lexington while serving on the board of Alliance Coal (ARLP) and is also a retired board member of Community Trust Bancorp (CTBI). He now serves as Chairman of the Board of the Kentucky FFA Foundation giving him an opportunity to pay back the many gifts that his membership in FFA in high school gave to his life and career. He also serves as a mentor to numerous students and a coach and judge in public speaking and parliamentary procedure contests.