POWERGRAMS

1 At Plant Miller, almost everyone knows Felen Grady "F.G." Perry. Working nearly 40 years at Miller, he won a job there several months before the plant's opening in 1978. Perry is proud to call the steam plant his "home away from home." Indeed, Perry has never strayed from the plant environment. It's a maer of pride that he grew up at the Plant Gorgas company village, which provided housing for every worker. Back then, Perry's father, Greeley Monroe "G.M." Perry, worked in Gorgas Boiler Operations for units 1-3. "I was raised in a company house, about a quarter-mile from the facility, and went to T.W. Martin School," said Perry, whose spirited laughter belies his 74 years. "I had a paper route, and knew everyone in the company." Several relatives worked at Alabama Power, including his three brothers, Olan, Felix and Pearson Perry; his uncle, Wesley Perry; his brothers-in-law, Cain Chappel and Hewi Franklin; and his first cousins, Hewell and Newton Carrington. Siing around the dinner table, Perry grew up hearing stories about Plant Gorgas. At F.G.'s high school graduation in 1961, the entire Perry clan assumed that he would work at Alabama Power. However, the economy was in turmoil. Perry found a job at Owens-Illinois Paper Mill in Clyaville, Georgia , and later moved to Gulf States Paper Mill in Tuscaloosa. Biding his time, Perry was thrilled to get a job as a laborer at Plant Gorgas in December 1967. Perry recalls that his starting wage was $2.75 an hour. It wasn't long before he took a position as plant auxiliary operator. Within a few months, Plant Barry posted several jobs for plant assistant operators, and Perry made the jump to the Mobile facility. He worked at Barry for two and a half years. "I went to school on that new Barry unit 5," Perry said, with a laugh. "It made history because it was the first super-critical unit on the system – no one had seen one brought on line like this." With a fondness for mechanics and maintenance, Perry took a welding course. He put in a bid to become a welder, but had to meet one condition: "If I could fix a boiler leak on unit 8, I could have the job," Perry said. "They had to have the boiler to run the generator to make electricity. "It was a tough job – to fix those boiler tubes, I had to lay on my back, on my stomach or on my head," Perry said, chuckling. He was a welder for a year, and then took a mechanic job. "I always liked mechanic work. I got the very first mechanic job to come open at Plant Miller on Aug. 22, 1977," he said. "The plant hadn't come into operation yet." The plant went into service in 1978 with the completion of the first of four 705.5-megawa generating units. Ten years ago, Perry moved to a warehouseman job at Miller. "We get in the material needed to fix anything at the plant, catalog the materials and store them, and even ship to other plants in the Southern Company system," he said. Reaching the midcentury marks a new start for Perry Aer a half-century of work, Perry's natural next step is retirement. He is mindful that will mark the end of an era, of sorts, for the Perry clan. Plant Manager Chris Miller recalled his first time meeting Perry and discussing his early years at Gorgas Village. "With F.G., it's a special and unique thing to have an employee who has given 50 years of service, with this amazing connection that bridges to Alabama Power's past and the present," said Miller, noting that Perry's father was at Gorgas in 1917. "It was amazing to carry on a conversation with someone whose dad worked here during the startup of one of the company's first plants. F.G. is a link to the past. It's neat to have an employee who is one generation away, who links to the beginning." Looking forward to having more free time on his hands, Perry said he wants to start restoring cars. "I have a '74 Volkswagen I need to get started on," Perry said. "I've worked on cars for most of my life." He will also spend more time with family, including his two daughters. The eldest, Tina Beersdorf, graduated from Auburn University with a journalism degree, and his youngest, Kathy Perry, earned a doctorate in special education and works as a psychometrist in Helena. "I've enjoyed working at Alabama Power," Perry said. "I want to join the Jasper Energizers when I retire, and keep in touch with employees. When you ask me what was the best thing about the company, the people are the greatest thing. They are good and helpful. Alabama Power is a very good place to work." Golden Years PERRY RECALLS HALF-CENTURY ON JOB FOR APC by Donna Cope

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