Issue link: http://alabamapower.uberflip.com/i/438233
PowerofGood.com | Winter 2014 3 and Tom Martin, that the company would not fail. As Alabama Power's financial condition improved, its officers began to join and then lead the phil- anthropic and economic develop- ment efforts within the state. With the introduction of four division offices in 1919, much of the chari- table giving shifted from Corporate Headquarters to the local division offices, which were better able to evaluate community educational and economic needs and special projects that deserved support from Alabama Power. In good years, the company was able to donate about $2 million a year. In the 1980s, there was consider- able discussion among corporate leaders about whether a foundation could place Alabama Power in a better position to serve the needs of the people and communities of its service area, which was, except for TVA territory in north Alabama and several cooperatives in south Alabama, almost the entire state. With a stable rate base that al- lowed for long-range planning and a strong recommendation from then- president Elmer Harris, the Alabama Power board of directors approved a company foundation on Oct. 27, 1989. On Oct. 31, the Alabama Power Foundation was incorporated in Jefferson County. Jera G. Strib- ling was the nonprofit's first execu- tive director. The board of directors was composed of Bill McDonough, Steve Bradley, A.J. Connor and Art Beattie. One firm rule was that all the money donated by the company to the Ala- bama Power Foundation would come from the shareholders' portion of Alabama Power's profits, and not one penny from ratepayers would find its way into the foun- dation. Regular financial reviews by the Public Service Commission make certain this rule is maintained. Several years after the foundation began operating, Alabama Congress- man Tom Bevill approached the company about donating its Little River Canyon property in northeast Alabama to the federal government for a national park. This property Red Mountain Park in Birmingham stretches over 1,500 acres.