New trustee for the village of Panama, Kyle Rhoades, is sworn in to the position by Mayor William Schneider. P-J photo by Sara Holthouse

PANAMA — The first meeting of the village of Panama for the year began with the official swearing in of the village’s new trustee, Kyle Rhoades.

Rhoades replaces former trustee Kim Davis, who finished her time in the role at the end of 2025. Following his official swearing in at the village’s January meeting, Rhoades was welcomed by Mayor William Schneider to introduce himself to the board.

Rhoades and his wife moved to the village in 2014 with their two kids.

“I work for a natural gas pipeline company … we own gas wells and about 400 miles of pipeline with multiple facilities from Meadville, Pennsylvania to Mayville and Little Valley, New York,” Rhoades said.

Rhoades talked a little bit more about his work, and that he has previously served on the Panama Central School Board of Education as well, with his five-year term ending just last year, meaning this will be his second board position. He also has held multiple officer positions in his job, and has experience with permitting government officials. Additionally, Rhoades said his company is small, with 12 employees total.

Schneider said he had Rhoades introduce himself to show that he has unique experiences that will be beneficial as the village board moves forward.

“Just like Kim had unique skill sets and experiences, they’ve all been very helpful to the village,” Schneider said. “You are a welcome replacement, with some experience so you already know how government agencies work and how boards operate.”

Schneider said Rhoades will not need training to know how boards work because of this. Rhoades asked what gaps he could fill for the board with Davis leaving, and it was noted that Davis was the event coordinator and school liaison. Rhoades is set to be school liaison for the village now, especially with his previous experience on the school board.