POWERGRAMS

COMMUNITY ROR FOUNDER STILL HELPING RIVERS 18 YEARS LATER By Carla Davis • Photos by Wynter Byrd Aer a lifetime of watching his beloved Coosa River turn into a dumping ground for trash and debris, Gene Phifer took maers into his own hands. In 1999, Phifer, who was then the regulatory Compliance supervisor at Alabama Power's Plant Gadsden, spearheaded the first cleanup on the Coosa River. That effort, which began with employees cleaning a 2-mile stretch near the plant, now includes multiple cleanups with thousands of volunteers joining forces to remove trash from river systems across the Southeast. Though he has been retired for eight years, Phifer still plays an instrumental role in the local cleanup as president of the H. Neely Henry Lake Association. Looking back, Phifer said the Coosa River has always been an integral part of his life. As a boy, he spent time on the water with his dad. "We have a river system flowing right through our town, and it was serving as a collection site for debris," said the Gadsden native. "It was out of control. When you think about what the river means to the city from an environmental and economic standpoint, it didn't look good. It was a daunting task because there was so much trash and no one was doing anything about it. Why not me? Somebody had to do something." Phifer went to work, rallying the support of the plant manager at the time, employees at the facility and the Alabama Power Service Organization (APSO)-Plant Gadsden subchapter, Eastern Division. The cleanup was appropriately called Renew the Coosa and was later renamed Renew Our Rivers aer the concept began spreading to other Alabama waterways. "I had a lot of good responses from people at the plant wanting to know, 'What can I do? How can I help?'" Phifer said. Phifer and his co-workers knew they had to start small. During July and August 1999, they picked up trash and debris on the riverbank near the plant aer work. They made multiple trips, loading their boats with anything they found floating in the water or lodged along the shore. Phifer dreamed of removing trash all the way from Plant Gadsden to Henry Dam. But he realized plant employees could not do it alone. That's when Phifer turned to the community. In January 2000, he hosted a huge meeting at Gadsden City Hall, where he pitched his plan to community leaders, including Keep Etowah Beautiful, local chambers of commerce, schools, media, area businesses and civic organizations. The mayors and other officials from Gadsden, Rainbow City, Southside and Aalla were on hand. "This kind of cleanup had never been done before with so many segments coming together," said Phifer. "People were fed up and tired of the river not being taken care of. The group synergy and enthusiasm were tremendous." Under Phifer's guiding hand, representatives from Alabama Power met with community leaders weekly to develop the timeline, devise a workable plan and organize the cleanup. The biggest decision, Phifer said, was where to pile the debris during the seven-day event, set at the end of April. "We came up with the idea of puing it in the amphitheater parking lot across from Gadsden City Hall," Phifer said. "Some people said we shouldn't draw so much aention. But it was symbolic. We were showing the city of Gadsden, 'Look what we are doing to our river.'" At the end of the weeklong cleanup, there was a "mountain" of garbage and debris in the parking lot, Phifer said, with more than 500 volunteers bringing in about 14 tons of trash. "To me, the hardest part of that cleanup was the coordination: How do you take care of that many Cleanup Champion Phifer at the wheel on the lookout for trash along the Coosa. 25

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