POWERGRAMS

48 Alabama Power and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) have received a Partners for Environmental Progress (PEP) Environmental Stewardship Award for their work last year on an oyster reef. Alabama Power and TNC teamed to help preserve the reef at Helen Wood Park on Mobile Bay. TNC worked with the Alabama Power Foundation to fund restoring the reef, which fosters oyster selement, creates fish habitat and provides a stable shoreline. Children from six elementary, intermediate and high schools, including Jemison, Vestavia Hills, Thorsby and Wilsonville, were hosted by the Alabama Power Service Organization to fish on a 3-acre pond. More than 60 Gaston APSO members, including employees from Local 2077 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, helped youngsters bait fishing poles and reel in their catches. A skeet shoot fundraiser for the Gaston Steam Plant chapter of the Alabama Power Service Organization raised $2,300 to buy four three-wheeled "Amtryke" bikes for special-needs students in Shelby County. The big, specially- designed, adjustable therapeutic tricycles are distributed by the Birmingham chapter of AMBUCS, a nonprofit service organization of business leaders. Alabama Power received the 2019 Innovation Project Excellence Award at the GE North American User Conference. The company was recognized for its success this year in the deployment of Integrated Distribution and Management System (IDMS) applications focusing on areas such as distribution power flow, fault locating and fault isolation and service restoration. Corporate Headquarters PD Technology Manager Bill Mintz accepted the award on the company's behalf. Two members of Alabama Power's corporate Toastmasters Club, known as Power Speakers, were recognized for leadership at the district level of the organization. As Division B director for Toastmasters District 77, Tamara Hall, Corporate Headquarters Supplier Diversity consultant, led the 17 Birmingham-area clubs under her jurisdiction to President's Distinguished status, the highest recognition that Toastmasters organizations can receive. Additionally, Gary Speights, Toastmasters Division B Area director and Corporate Headquarters Energy Management Systems compliance analyst, ended the year with his area receiving President's Distinguished recognition. There are six Birmingham clubs in Speights' area. Power Speakers celebrated its 25th anniversary. About 25 past and present members honored the occasion with a program and meal at Corporate Headquarters in Birmingham. They shared stories about how the club assisted in their professional growth and helped develop their communications and leadership skills. Two Alabama Power inventors received special recognition for their work. A U.S. patent was awarded to Southern Company Services for its Storm Confirmation, Path Prediction system. Co-invented by System Development and Support Manager Derl Rhoades and Team Leader Brandon Lundy, both of Corporate Headquarters, the system is a program that uses Automated Metering Infrastructure data to verify that a storm is a tornado and project the path it will follow. Tornadoes have a known radar signature, and the program can analyze the signature and use that data to project the direction the storm will take. The Miller Chapter of the Alabama Power Service Organization raised $18,700 through its 2019 golf tournament. The event at the Robert Trent Jones Oxmoor Valley Golf Course benefited the chapter's annual Adopt-A-Child Christmas charity. The funds will provide Christmas gis for more than 300 underprivileged children. There were 258 golfers and 24 volunteers either playing and/or working during the tourney. Sco McCaleb and Corey Kizzire, Fayee line crew members, received a note from Mahew Vines of the Alabama State Department of Education thanking them for taking part in career day at Fayee and Lamar County schools. "As we get ready to rock the next school year, I wanted to say thank you for your continued support of our local schools," wrote Vines. He added that McCaleb and Kizzire were professional and communicated well with students. The note was accompanied by a box of cupcakes. Thumbs Up! Miller APSO raised $18,700 through golf tourney.

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