POWERGRAMS

PG_Jan_2019_final

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CONTENTS YEAR IN REVIEW Alabama Power's 112th year in business was a good one from beginning to end, for employees, communities and stakeholders. We look back from January through December 2018. Page 1 HONORS The Association of Edison Illuminating Companies presented Alabama Power with the Achievement Award, which is given annually to member individuals or groups who make significant contributions to the electric industry. Page 9 BLACK HISTORY MONTH Four of the first African-American executives at Alabama Power look back at rising through the ranks of the company beginning in the 1970s. Page 11 EDUCATION Gaston Steam Plant's subchapter of the Alabama Power Service Organization is like family to Wilsonville Elementary, sponsoring a variety of efforts throughout the year to aid the school and its students. Page 13 INNOVATION Alabama Power linemen and E&W journeymen are training and teaching in a novel new program established through the efforts of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and Power Delivery safety and training employees. Page 17 APSO More than 200 volunteers from the Alabama Power Service Organization and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers spent 10 days in October building a Habitat for Humanity house in Birmingham. Page 19 ENERGIZERS Retiree Glenda Taylor serves as secretary of both the Corporate Energizers and the Energizers state board of directors. Page 21 ENERGIZERS Since 1998, the state Energizers board of directors has presented the Sam Booker Award to employees who have gone "beyond the call of duty" to assist the retiree volunteer organization. Communications Specialist Donna Cope is the 2018 recipient. Page 24 ENERGY Farley Nuclear Plant near Dothan, which is operated by Southern Nuclear Company and owned by Alabama Power, undergoes a graded emergency drill every two years. Page 25 OUR TOWN Eutaw has a population of less than 2,000 but more houses on the National Register of Historic Places than most cities of similar size. Tourists travel from across the nation and around the world to visit antebellum mansions such as Kirkwood, White Columns and Oakmont. Page 27 OUR TOWN SIDEBAR Barden Smedberg's career kept him flying from California to Hong Kong for more than a decade before he was drawn to Alabama's Black Belt by a house built in 1852. Much of the Auburn University teacher's time is now spent boosting his adopted home of Eutaw. Page 36 COMMUNITY Leah Banks helped save the life of someone she's never met, donating stem cells for an overseas child who had leukemia. The customer service representative encourages other employees to Be the Match. Page 39 HEALTH Tuscaloosa Lineman Ma Collins last year gained a new title aer winning Alabama's Strongest Man competition in Gulf Shores. Page 41 INNOVATION STATION Alabama Power's idea- generation program and competition, "Spark," is helping transform business through innovation and collaboration. Employees are asked to submit ideas that improve the company in safety, revenue growth, cost reductions and operational efficiency. Page 42 HAPPY TRAILS Communications Specialist Bill Tharpe spent 30 years building Alabama Power's Corporate Archives, cataloging thousands of unique items that span more than a century of business and the work of thousands of employees. Page 43 RETIREES/ENERGIZERS Page 46 IN MEMORIAM Page 47 THUMBS UP! Page 48 POSTCARDS TO POWERGRAMS Page 48 JANUARY-FEBRUARY • 2019 EDITOR Chuck Chandler 205-257-3651 cchandle@southernco.com ART DIRECTOR Jay Parker CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER Phil Free WRITERS Donna Cope Carla Davis Gilbert Nicholson CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Justin Averee Whitney Massey CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Billy Brown Chuck Chandler Phil Free Christopher Jones Karim Samshi-Basha Meg McKinney Michael Tomberlin Dennis Washington ON THE COVER Kindergarten students at Wilsonville Elementary School enjoy sliding down the playground equipment purchased in part through donations by the Alabama Power Service Organization subchapter at Gaston Steam Plant. Photo by Karim Samshi-Basha. See the story on Page 13 POWERGRAMS © Alabama Power Company 2019 For the third year in a row, Powergrams magazine won the Award of Excellence from the International Association of Business Communicators in the annual Silver Quill competition. The award was presented during the 2018 Southern Region Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. The Southern Region is the largest in the IABC, with members across 13 states, the Caribbean and Latin America.

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