POWERGRAMS

41 HAPPY TRAILS Call him "Mr. Congeniality." Throughout his 46 years in Document Services, Roger Sanderson has produced printed documents that many of his customers call "pure professionalism." Sanderson's retirement March 31 caps a long and storied career. He has tried to do whatever it takes to make his customers happy. "I love to serve," said Document Services Coordinator Sanderson. His glassed-in, corner office on the eighth floor of Corporate Headquarters is paper-filled, even cluered – all signs that the owner of the space stays busy. A sign on Sanderson's desk proclaims: "I'm pleased to drop everything and work on your problem." It's a moo he takes to heart. "I want to make sure that everyone is taken care of the right way," said Sanderson, who, at 6 feet tall, fills the room with laughter. "It's something I learned many years ago working part-time as a salesperson in men's clothes at Sears. You learn to interact with people. "People come in with their own ideas of what they want," he continued. "You have to learn to reason with them." When Sears offered Sanderson a full-time job selling clothes, he declined: A week earlier, he'd signed on to work at Alabama Power. Building a solid career Sanderson got an early start in printing by serving on the newspaper staff at Minor High School. "I was in journalism class, where we printed our own newspaper," he said, proudly recalling his stint with the Tiger Pride. "I learned to do plates and layout. I shot the negatives and made the plates – and that's exactly what I did when I started working in Birmingham Division." He said it was natural that he would work for Alabama Power, following in the footsteps of his father, Ray Sanderson. "My Dad was a clerk in Appliance Repair," Sanderson said. "He worked 43 years and retired from Claims." The senior Sanderson was a source of fatherly advice and stern guidance: "He told me, 'Give it your best every day, and if you're able to go to work, go to work.' I've always been proud to work here, and I've always tried to treat the company fairly." Sanderson joined his family's proud legacy of company service. His brother, Steve Sanderson, retired in 2007 aer 39 years. Steve's sons, Kevin, a local operations lineman, and Troy, a line construction coordinator, work at Paon Chapel Crew Headquarters Printer's Tally LONG-TIME EMPLOYEE KNOWN FOR PLEASING PERSONALITY by Donna Cope PHOTOS by PHIL FREE

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