POWERGRAMS

Adding a personal touch makes all the difference, especially when talking with children, Kisha Linley believes. That was the case at Ft. McClellan in Anniston, where employees shared Alabama Power's electric safety message with 850 fourth-graders from Calhoun County and Anniston city schools and two private schools. The employees, helping with the educational service project through the Alabama Power Service Organization (APSO), joined with teams from other municipal groups and utilities in explaining to the 9-year-olds why it's important to protect Earth's resources. During the Earth Day event sponsored by the Calhoun County Extension Office, Linley said groups of 40 students moved from station to station, learning about electrical, water and food safety; organic gardening; farms and wildlife; and recycling. Alabama Power's volunteers worked from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day. Linley said that being able to talk one- on-one with youngsters, at their level, not only made sharing easier, but also helped kids retain the message. "The children were so excited to see our Alabama Power trucks," said Linley, Eastern Division Accounting Services manager, Anniston Office. "But it's the conversation that counts. They were excited to see our electrical gloves, the hardhats and the safety glasses – it made safety come alive, outside the textbook setting. Hearing it from us makes it appealing to kids." Linley's team of Pell City Engineer Melissa Scott, Distribution Control Center Supervisor Eric Boykin, Engineering Supervisor Jonique Parker and Power Delivery - Distribution Engineer Jennifer Wilkerson Robinson performed 15- to 20-minute Safe-T-Opolis programs in their booth at Cane Creek Community Garden. They told children about the importance of electricity and how it adds value to everyday life. "We let them try on our gloves," said Linley, adding that those activities help children learn and remember. "We asked them about areas where they play, discussing pad-mounted transformers for underground electrical service. We told them those are places they should not open or crawl inside, and made them aware that electricity isn't just about poles and wires." Boykin said his day ran the gamut from safety equipment to safety practices. "It was Safe-T-Opolis on steroids," said Boykin, an engineer who has been a Lifeliner for four years. "We wanted to cement what the Calhoun City schools have done in teaching earth and environmental sciences to fourth-graders. "I did about six programs on Tuesday, April 8, which was really fun," said Boykin, 2014 Eastern Division APSO president. "I enjoy being around kids. We need to teach them about how to be safe around electricity and to become accustomed to it – it's pretty much a necessity. If we don't respect it, it can hurt us." Last year, 215 employees presented about 1,180 Safe-T-Opolis programs to schoolchildren and other groups in company territory, said Risk Services Program Manager Kim Savage, Western Division. The Risk Services group wants to make sure every fourth-grader in Alabama Power territory has the opportunity to see Safe-T-Opolis. Boykin, with two youngsters of his own, said there is a serious need for electrical safety training. "What better way is there than to capture this message and give it in the great outdoors, during Earth Day?" Boykin said. "It's part of the environment. Electricity is something everyone uses, it touches all of us." By Donna Cope Employees share electric safety tips SAFETY 5 Boykin demonstrates Safe-T-Opolis for fourth-graders in Anniston. Photos by Jacki Thacker

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