POWERGRAMS

CONTENTS YEAR IN REVIEW Alabama Power's 111th year was a good one from start to finish for the company, employees, communities and stakeholders. We look back from January through December 2017. Page 1 SAFETY The Presidential Award of Honor was given to six employees who went the extra mile last year to help others in emergency situations Page 7 BLACK HISTORY MONTH Bethel Baptist Church of Collegeville played a prominent role in the struggle for civil rights in Alabama and America. The Alabama Power Foundation is helping restore the former parsonage of one of the movement's icons. Page 10 ENVIRONMENT It's a new year for the nationally recognized Renew Our Rivers cleanup campaign as the program founded at Alabama Power moves beyond the 15-million-pound mark for trash removed from waterways by volunteers. Page 13 TRANSMISSION Employees facing difficulties high on a mountain teamed up with several federal agencies to make important improvements near Cheaha State Park. Page 17 COMMUNITY It can cost as lile as $1 per month for Alabama Power customers and employees, but Project Share keeps the power on for needy people across the state. Page 20 APSO When Wilsonville Elementary School needed a new sensory classroom for autistic children, the Plant Gaston Chapter of the Alabama Power Service Organization came to the rescue. Page 21 ENERGIZERS John Mills joined the Energizers soon aer he retired and has spent the past quarter-century as a leader of the volunteer organization. Page 23 OUR TOWN Jasper is in the midst of a revitalization that is bringing its once-dormant downtown back to life through a wide- ranging partnership creating new businesses, events and jobs. Page 25 OUR TOWN SIDEBAR The Bankhead House and Heritage Center is in the recently restored two-story brick home of William B. Bankhead, the late U.S. Speaker of the House and father of "dahling" stage, radio, TV and movie star Tallulah Bankhead. Page 32 HONORS Gadsden Steam Plant Administrative Assistant Briany Cobb earned the Energizers' highest honor for an Alabama Power employee, receiving the Booker Award. Page 37 PROFILE Portia Williams has stepped outside the office to establish herself as an honored artist working in traditional oil and acrylic paintings to mixed- media abstracts. Page 39 HAPPY TRAILS Former Southeast Division Manager John McLean is taking it easy aer years of making a daily 150-mile round trip from Enterprise to Eufaula. He retired last year aer four decades with the company. Page 42 RETIREES Page 45 FAMILY PORTRAIT Page 45 POSTCARDS TO POWERGRAMS Page 46 IN MEMORIAM Page 47 THUMBS UP Page 48 JANUARY-FEBRUARY • 2018 EDITOR Chuck Chandler 205-257-3651 cchandle@southernco.com ART DIRECTOR Jay Parker CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER Phil Free WRITERS Donna Cope Carla Davis Gilbert Nicholson CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Erin Harney Sarah Reid Harris Shirley Jackson CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Linda Brannon Donna Cope Don Franklin Chris Jones Meg McKinney Caleb Parker ON THE COVER Aorney Whitney Dyer learned to swim as an adult at the Jasper Natatorium, which is part of the city's expansive recreational complex. Story on Page 25 POWERGRAMS © Alabama Power Company 2018 Powergrams magazine swept the top awards at the 2017 International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Southern Region Conference in Houston, Texas. Alabama Power's official magazine for employees and retirees won Best of Show, Best of Division and Best Publication for the March-April, May-June and July-August issues. Powergrams was singled out from nearly 60 award winners in 28 categories to receive the top overall IABC honor, as well as presented one of two Best in Division trophies and earned the Silver Quill Award of Excellence for Publications. The Southern Region is the largest in the IABC, with members across 13 states, the Caribbean and Latin America. Judges for the 2017 awards were from the U.S., Canada, Australia and Africa.

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