POWERGRAMS

3 EMPLOYEES LEND A HAND IN AFTERMATH OF TORNADOES By Donna Cope COMMUNITY Amid devastation and despair, members of the Southern Division Chapter of the Alabama Power Service Organization (APSO) mobilized to help the Red Cross help hurting families in the aermath of the deadly March 3 tornadoes in Lee County. To Katrina Davis, the tragedy underscored the need for APSO and the importance of reaching out to communities. "Knowing that there are people out there who are less fortunate than myself – no house, no clothes, no food – and they've lost everything, my heart goes out to them," said Davis, an APSO member for 21 years. "When you lose everything, how do you physically keep pushing to do what you need to do, to feed your children and work?" Davis said. "We've got to help." On March 7, Davis and other Southern APSO volunteers were in Auburn to help the Red Cross take donations for victims. "We couldn't be out in the middle of the storm area doing anything – that wouldn't be safe," said Davis, customer services specialist - Southern Division Office. Davis and her 15-member team spent March 13 sorting mounds of clothes donated to Providence Baptist Church in Opelika for Lee County tornado victims. Volunteers included Cory Broome, Osie Cunningham, Terri Ford, Jenny Hinson, Zanea Irby, Will Mercer, Jessica Mitchell, Charlie Rankins, Santana People, Julie Sprayberry, Broderick Smith, Faye Smith, Katie Traffanstedt and Edaine Wilson. "We worked on a 'come as you can' basis, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.," Davis said. "The decision was whatever volunteer time we can give is what we were going to do." Selma Crew Foreman and Southern APSO member Cunningham is a third cousin to 10 people who died in the Lee County storms. He drove two hours to Opelika to sort donations. "I knew them all," Cunningham said. "It was a terrible thing. My cousins and I had been talking about what to do to help." APSO State President Wells Cooner joined Magic City Chapter members in distributing donations at the Goodrich Plant in Opelika March 16. "We helped the Red Cross with their needs as they brought in agencies to a central location," said Cooner, Risk and Compliance analyst - Information Consulting and Architecture. Magic City APSO members and the Corporate Headquarters Customer Services Team made calls during three Lee County Telethons to raise funds for tornado victims. Red Cross Recruitment Specialist Emerald Price thanked Magic City members for volunteering more than 50 hours: "We wouldn't have enjoyed the success we did without the help of corporate partners like Alabama Power," she said.

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