POWERGRAMS

GOVERNMENT Photo by Jamie Martin New law secures voting rights for employees in emergencies Bentley met with Alabama Power employees after signing voting law. While voters across Alabama lined up at the polls Nov. 6, 2012, to cast their vote for the next U.S. president, Doyle Martin and some 520 other Alabama Power workers were in bucket trucks lined up along highways across the East Coast helping restore power for victims of Hurricane Sandy. Martin was proud to lend a hand to people he didn't know, even knowing it was costing him the chance to exercise one of Americans' most sacred rights. Still, he wished there had been a way to do both. "I feel very strongly about my right to vote, especially when it comes to electing a president or governor," said Martin, Clanton local operations lineman. "Every night when we ate together up there, we all talked about how were we going to vote? I called my wife and asked her to call our state representative, Kurt Wallace." Like many officials at Alabama Power, Wallace exhausted every effort to secure a ballot for the employees who were so far from their voting precincts. By Election Day it was clear it was an impossible task because of state and federal election laws. The efforts then turned to making sure the situation wasn't repeated. Spurred on by so many good Samaritans being unable to cast a ballot last year, Gov. Robert Bentley on July 22 helped rectify the situation by signing a law to ensure voting rights for all emergency workers. "This legislation recognizes the sacrifice we make when we leave our families and the communities we serve behind to help others," said Casey Shelton, Business manager, System Council U-19, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). Alabama Power employees, Alabama National Guard members, first responders and other utility providers watched Bentley sign the law outside the Capitol in Montgomery. "I'm glad it's been signed into law," said Martin, who has worked nearly 30 years for Alabama Power. The new law effective Aug. 1 allows workers to vote via absentee ballot in the event they are called away from home for a declared emergency before an election, Bentley said. "We are incredibly thankful that the Legislature saw the need to protect this essential right," said Governmental Relations Vice President Quentin Riggins. "I look forward to continuing more important work with our friends and partners at the IBEW in the days ahead of us." Alabama Power employees at the ceremony included Southern Division Distribution Manager Rhonda Brown, Wetumpka Local Operations Lineman Mike Goldman, Montgomery Lead Lineman Jason Gregory, Prattville Lead Lineman Burt Osborne, Clanton Local Operations Lineman Steve Scott, Montgomery Local Operations Lineman John Shirley, Montgomery Apprentice Lineman Lamarious Whetstone and Auburn Local Operations Lineman Keith Williams. The legislation was sponsored by Rep. Barry Moore of Enterprise and Sen. Bryan Taylor of Prattville, who took part in the signing ceremony with Alabama Emergency Management Director Art Faulkner. By Chuck Chandler ON THE COVER: Metro South-Pelham Office Engineer Jeff Putt qualified for the 2013 Ottawa Sprint Duathlon World Championships in Canada beginning August 10. Photo by Bill Snow. 2

• Cover