POWERGRAMS

BEST Team, APSO members beautify Mobile Bay, Gulf during Alabama Coastal Cleanup BEST members Ward (right) and Green scoured Bayou Sara for trash. (Photo by Phil Free) Barry and Mobile APSO's Mayfield (left), Lofton, Thomas, Simmons, Jackson and Meier cleaned the coast. (contributed) Mobile APSO's Jackson and Mayfield removed roadway trash. (Photo by Sharon Meier) Thanks to about 2,000 Alabama Coastal Cleanup volunteers, coastal areas around Mobile and the state's sugar-white beaches are sparkling clean. Many Alabama Power employees played a big part in the event, scouring the land and waterways during the 37th annual cleanup. They removed hand trash and bottles, paper and cans along the Mobile Causeway in Spanish Fort, which runs through Mobile Bay to Fairhope; navigated marshes and swampy areas, while using grabbers to retrieve metal cans and trash; and traversed the roadways to remove debris. Volunteers gave an estimated 6,400 manhours to clean the Gulf Coast in late September, said Alabama Coastal Cleanup Coordinator Cory Powell. 31 zones in Baldwin, Mobile counties beautified Zones with team captains were set up, Powell said, to provide extra care in pre-identified target areas for "sprucing up." Alabama Coastal Cleanup gave volunteers supplies such as trash bags and gloves, along with data cards to record the amounts of trash removed. Members of the Plant Barry Environmental Stewardship Team (BEST) began cleaning at 9 a.m. a day early. Barry Planning and Engineering Manager Shawn Stinson and other BEST members tackled refuse and debris on water and on the ground. The team used a kayak to work in the wetlands at Bayou Sara and Gunnison Creek in Satsuma, Alabama. Barry Compliance Specialist Walter Rosenbohm, Engineer Bill Ward, Instrumentation and Controls Specialist Emily Green and Maintenance Specialist Dewayne Heathcoe assisted. BEST consists of Plant Barry volunteers who take the plant's environmental stewardship to the next level by volunteering every month in their communities, with projects that improve the environment where they live and work. APSO volunteers assisted Members of the Mobile Division and Plant Barry chapters of the Alabama Power Service Organization (APSO) also worked. Chris Mayfield, vice president of Mobile APSO, Customer Service Manager Johnetta Jackson and External Affairs Manager Beth Thomas cleaned the Mobile Causeway at Spanish Fort. The team wore safety vests while removing hand trash, such as bottles, cans, paper and plastic. Community Relations Manager Jeff Schmitz worked in a cleanup at Gulf Shores. Longtime Barry APSO members, including Contractor Support Specialist Amanda Lofton, Plant IT Specialist Sharon Meier and Employee Development Coordinator Stacy Simmons, also worked. "I've probably worked in this cleanup off and on for 10 years," said Simmons, a Plant Barry employee since September 2006. "I remember when we'd use a boat and take stuff out of the Delta." Stinson led nine members of his daughter's Girl Scouts troop, ages 10 to 17, in a cleanup detail. They met their Coastal Cleanup zone captain at Chickasaw, then moved to Satsuma. Taking part in the Coastal Cleanup helps the girls to obtain a merit badge. Powell is excited about this year's success. "During the last 36 years, we have had 110,000 volunteers and 889 tons of garbage have been cleaned up," said Powell, who also serves as education coordinator at Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. "The Alabama Coastal Cleanup is an opportunity for locals and visitors alike to come together in an effort to keep our local ecosystems healthy and beautiful." Mayfield said supporting events like the Coastal Cleanup is part of the foundation of good stewardship set by Alabama Power and its employees. "We want to be good corporate citizens, and part of that is being an active community member and taking care of the environment that we live in," said Mayfield, who has worked at the company for about three years. "Every day, we want to leave this place better than we found it. We definitely want to do our part and be engaged. We want to make sure we have clean areas for our kids and for future generations." Barry Environmental Manager Patrick Smith is proud of all employees' work during the cleanup, and noted that BEST is an active steward of the local environment. "Our members recognize and value the unique ecosystem of our coastal area," Smith said. "It's great when we partner with other community groups, and a few times a year our BEST and APSO members collaborate on service projects. We appreciate Mobile Division for being a long-term sponsor of the Alabama Coastal Cleanup." By Donna Cope 1

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