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Pages are turning, but the song and verse remain the same.  Gary Smith, long-time PowerSouth President & CEO has retired, and I have been named his successor. Allow me to introduce myself and my purpose.      

My wife, Dorothy, and I are natives of northwest Florida. I grew up in Bogia, Fla., on the lines of Escambia River Electric Cooperative, where my family attended Ray’s Chapel Baptist Church.  I went to high school in Walnut Hill, Fla. and later attended Auburn University, earning an Electrical Engineering degree in 1982. In October of that year, I started my employment with PowerSouth (at that time called Alabama Electric Cooperative), where I have worked for 43 years. For the past 13 years, I have served as PowerSouth’s Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer.

Over my lifetime, I have played, hunted and fished all over the PowerSouth service territory—­from the Tensaw River Delta to Lake Eufaula, from Tallapoosa County to the Dead Lakes, and all in between. This area of the country defines me, and I owe my upbringing and life lessons to the people, the soil, and the soul within it. 

It is here I found Jesus, learned the value of hard work and family, and learned lessons on loyalty and patriotism.  I learned how to lose, and I learned (less often) how to win.  I learned to say “yes, sir” and “yes, ma’am,” to value every human life, and that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.  

I come from a large family with many aunts, uncles, and cousins.  We picked each other’s gardens, pulled, shucked and cleaned corn, shelled peas and butter beans together, and went to the creek on the back of a pickup truck with our legs dangling off the tailgate.  My closest cousins, Donnie, David, Eric, Russ, Marcus, Ricky, and our preacher’s two boys, Mark and Mike, played ball every Saturday and Sunday depending on the season (football, baseball, or basketball—no soccer). I learned to compete and never give up.  Growing up in a rural community prepared me well for navigating a complex world as I left home.

I did not have to go very far to find a way to make a difference. The rural values I had enjoyed, values that shaped me, were worth preserving, and I found that working for a not-for-profit electric cooperative in Andalusia, Ala. was the best way to use the skills God gave me to improve the lives of the communities that raised me.  

People live in rural areas for good reasons. It may be their family heritage, or perhaps they value the lessons of rural life. Maybe it’s less crime, open fields, creeks, rivers or forests. Whatever the reason, a lot of folks desire rural living. I count it as a privilege and an honor to help make that a reality—to serve these rural communities and give back to them as they have given to me.

As has been recorded on these pages in the past, keeping electricity affordable and reliable is challenging.  As people migrate to our area, electric load increases.  We must plan years in advance for new lines and plants to serve the growing load. Permitting takes longer and longer, supply chains are constrained, inflation has raised the cost of everything. Not to mention that the environmental goal posts keep being moved by successive administrations. They have pushed us to shut down fossil fuel power plants, while at the same time trying to convert everyone to electric cars, trucks and even tractors, espousing that the power gap can all be made up by wind and solar. I can hear Admiral Akbar’s famous line from Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. “It’s a trap!”  

Despite these challenges, our purpose to safely and reliably keep the lights on continues. Rest assured, our mission will be successful. Failure is not an option.

Along with so many great leaders and employees in the cooperative network, it has been my purpose to safely and reliably keep the lights on in Alabama and the Florida panhandle. Our goal is to improve economic conditions so that young people who enjoy rural values can find employment and raise their families here at home. We provide lights, cool air, and heat so that life is comfortable for those who aspire to live in the country. Our job is not only to provide electricity but to preserve our way of life.   

This is my purpose. Have you discovered yours?  

Until next month, may the Lord bless you real good!