SHORELINES

"My dad worked in materials for Alabama Power – it was called a storekeeper back then," Phifer said. Henry, Gene's father, started at Gorgas Steam Plant in the late 1930s, leaving to serve in the Army during World War II. Aer the war, he returned to Gorgas before transferring to Gadsden in the early 1950s. "All during my childhood, my dad was working for Alabama Power. When that opening came up with Alabama Power, it was just too much to turn down," said Phifer, who appreciated the chance to work with his dad before he retired. He remained at Gadsden Steam Plant for his entire 29-year tenure, beginning in the chemistry and results area, then environmental, and finally in regulatory compliance – continuing to work with chemistry, water filtration and purification, and issues related to the Coosa River. "I had thought about a river cleanup in the early '90s," Phifer said. "I could go out and look at the inlet screens, discharge area or different parts of the plant ground, and see debris driing up around the plant." Several large projects at Gadsden in the early to mid-'90s kept Phifer from acting immediately. Finally, in 1999, he brought the idea of a river cleanup around the plant to his supervisor, Wayne Edwards. "I had an idea of what needed to be done, and he (Edwards) said go for it and I'll back you up," said Phifer. From there, he reached out to fellow employees at Gadsden, who shared his enthusiasm. Gadsden held a small cleanup around the plant in spring 1999. "People wanted to get involved and they got a real feel for it," Phifer said. "It wasn't anything like what came later, but it was the beginning of it." As the program began to expand into the community, Phifer knew the movement needed a name. at came one day from a list of names that APC employee Cheryl Lowery le on his desk. "One day I told Lowery about it and some ideas for names that I had, and I could tell that she didn't think they were that good," Phifer said. When he arrived back at his desk later in the aernoon, he saw a sheet of paper with several names, including Renew the Coosa and Renew Our River. "ose two ... I thought, man, that sounds good," Phifer said. During the rest of 1999, with support from Alabama Power, there were meetings with the local municipal, civic and emergency planning organizations, educational and environmental agencies like Keep Etowah Beautiful, to plan a larger, communitywide cleanup. 5 www.apcshorelines.com

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