POWERGRAMS

Knowing what transpired in the world of power development and government regulations has always been a priority for Alabama Power Company. Its leaders were quick to study and adopt new operational and engineering innovations and standards, and to understand governmental regulations. The 1960s and 1970s were a time of rapid and significant changes in civil rights and employment laws, and the effects of these federal regulations were reflected in the company's history. Across the nation, companies changed the way they did business, how they hired and the promotion guidelines they used. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 gave employees the right of redress for discrimination. In 1967, the General Services Administration revised their contracts and added the requirement that companies doing work for the federal government could not discriminate by race or gender in employment. Alabama Power President Joe Farley was especially sensitive to these issues, because the company held a number of GSA contracts, and the federal regulations were activated during his leadership years, 1969- 1989. Changes came to the nation, and gender equality and guidelines were implemented across the states. Between 1977 and 1986, the number of women hired by Alabama Power rose 64 percent, but only 8 percent of women were holding supervisory positions. This began to change as more management opportunities became available to women. Brenda Faush came to Alabama Power in 1973. She completed her college degree in 1979 and moved up into several management positions. She served as a mentor to young African-American women. Audrey Vaughan joined Alabama Power in 1981. Cheryl Thompson worked her way through various leadership jobs to become the first woman to lead a division when she became a vice president and head of the Mobile Division in 1998. Marsha Johnson was the first female vice president of the Birmingham Division when she assumed the position in 2001. Bobbie Knight was the first female and African-American to be elected vice president of Public Relations in 2002. Julia Segars was elected vice president of the Eastern Division in 2006. Susan Story was a role model for women at Alabama Power — and elsewhere. An engineering graduate of Auburn in 1981, she made an A on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission examination and served in various jobs of increasing responsibility. In 2003 she became president and CEO of Gulf Power. Others who were in the forefront of women moving into management positions were Donna Smith, who came to Alabama Power in 1976 and who received her MBA from Samford in 1976; Shelia Garrett, who joined Alabama Power in 1984 as a senior employment specialist; and Gail Willis, who began working in 1976 in Customer Service. Many of the Alabama Power women of this time continued their education, graduating from college, earning advanced degrees, and completing special educational programs. Segars was the first woman who still had children in school to serve as a vice president of Alabama Power. She felt a responsibility "to get it right and to show you can do it all" – be a vice president and a mother. by Leah Rawls Atkins 43 HISTORY

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