POWERGRAMS

hired in 1978 as Gorgas Steam Plant's first female utilityman, the experience was unlike anything she expected. "I was a naïve 18-year-old kid thrown into a man's world," said Brown, whose job was to sweep and mop floors and clean bathrooms at Gorgas generating units 8 and 9. "It was intimidating because you were an oddity. Brown persevered and was soon promoted to helper in Maintenance. She then moved to Fuels, where she filled the bunkers at the units with coal and cleaned up spills. "In Fuels, there was a lot of shoveling, a lot of cleaning and a lot of dirty," Brown said. "But it was my favorite department because the people were great to work with, and they treated us fairly." Meanwhile, Brown continued to move up the ladder, becoming an apprentice electrician at Plant Miller in 1986. Returning to Gorgas three years later, Brown worked as an electrical and instrumentation (E&I) journeyman until her retirement in 2001. Brown said women became an integral part of life at the plants as the years passed. "As more women came in and more women stayed, you saw more acceptance," she said. "We were there as an equal. They no longer thought we were there to take a man's spot." MARCH WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH 11 Dawn in action, earlier in her career, climbing pole. Below, father Billy Wayne Peeks and brother Shawn Peeks. PHOTO by WYNTER BYRD Brown worked at Miller and Gorgas before retiring in 2001. PHOTO by WYNTER BYRD PHOTO by WYNTER BYRD PHOTO by WYNTER BYRD

• Cover