POWERGRAMS

6 1969 was a remarkable year. Apollo 11 made history with its first flight to the moon, making Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin worldwide heroes. Boeing 747 took its first flight. A postage stamp cost 5 cents, a gallon of gas was 35 cents, and Richard M. Nixon was president. That year, Michael was the most popular boy's name – fittingly, as Mike Goldman began his long career with Alabama Power. Working at the power company was an easy choice for Goldman, who enjoys being outdoors. Goldman found his calling as a local operations lineman and has worked safely for 57 years. Goldman's career covered a wide range of jobs. He started March 4, 1969, as a laborer at North Birmingham Stores, where materials were shipped to sites across the division. After a few months, he joined a tree-trimming crew, gaining skills that helped him advance to an apprentice lineman job on a Transmission crew. Goldman later served as an apprentice on a Gardendale line crew before transferring to downtown Montgomery. A friend who was hired for a lineman job in Southern Division encouraged him to move there, saying, "Come down here, things are really hopping." Goldman did and became a lineman in Livingston, where he worked for seven years. He also worked in Montgomery, Demopolis and Selma, eventually becoming a lead lineman. Goldman later served as a crew foreman for about a year in Selma and Winfield but returned to Montgomery for crew work. "I figured I liked doing the work better than telling people what to do," said Goldman, who climbs power poles at 78 years old. He moved to an LOL position in Greenville and settled in Wetumpka, where he's worked the last 25 years. Most of his calls involve troubleshooting. Goldman takes pride in doing the job safely and correctly. On a recent day, he completed 14 work orders, doing everything from repairing security lights to replacing meters and connecting service for new customers. As one of three Wetumpka local operations linemen, Goldman is on call every third week – at all hours, day and night. "If a storm or something major happens, we all get called out to come help," Goldman said. "Power outages occur because of dead trees that fall on lines and customers have loose connections that must be checked – there is something all the time." He received call-outs to restore power after outages caused by Mother Nature, either trees or animals. "Electricity is such a necessity these days," Goldman said. "You do your work safely, but if you can get the lights on, you do it – you don't wait for somebody else. Do what you were taught to do – do your job." Lineman Mike Goldman ends 57-year career keeping power flowing Goldman looks forward to retirement and is in excellent health after years of on-the-job exercise, including climbing in and out of the bucket truck. He plans to spend more time with his wife, Jackie, to whom he's been married 55 years, as well as his three children, six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. "Jackie is an angel," he said. "She goes out of the way for me like I always went out of the way for work – I was well-blessed and always had a good meal when I went out for call-outs." Goldman retired March 3 but one constant remains in his life. "I always ask God for his protection," Goldman said. "I've got a litany of prayers I say every morning and every night for my family, for my friends, for the sick and for the people at Alabama Power, that we are protected and our families are protected while we're at work." Future focus Future focus Goldman (standing, second right) enjoyed serving Alabama Power customers. (contributed) At 78 Goldman worked from a bucket truck and climbed poles. (contributed) Goldman (second row, sixth right) restored power after Hurricane Michael. (contributed)

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