jea dispatch
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DispatchThe
Inside… RetirementsMark Scoggins p4
Susan White p5
Also Inside ...EmployeeBenefits Corner p2
Births p2, 5
JEA helps witheducation expenses p3
One Run p4
Sympathies p5
Promotions p6
New employees p6
Graduates p6
Congratulations! p7
Employees teach in the classroom p7
Christmas Photo Booth p8
EJackson Energy Authority Newsletter January/February 2015Jackson EnergyAuthority collaboratedwith the City of Jack-
son to develop analternative fuel vehicle andfueling station. At a recent press con-
ference, Mayor Jerry Gistthanked JEA for itsinvolvement with the proj-ect and for valuing long-term sustainability and sav-ings for the city.“This is an exciting
day for Jackson,” said Gist.“It’s like being in victorylane.”As the city began
researching options foralternative fuel vehicles, JEA was included as an inte-gral partner in the process. Propane-powered DodgeChargers were chosen to be the police department’salternative fuel patrol cars. JEA, led by Ken McCorkle,JEA’s Manager of Propane Services, supplied thepropane-fueling infrastructure.
“When the city approached us about possiblyburning propane in several of their police cruisers, wewere very excited about the concept,” Ken said. He andEric Johnson, JEA’s Gas System Engineer, said theywere eager to join the Jackson alternative fuel team. Ken pointed out that propane-fueled vehicles
would be beneficial for the city because 90 percent ofpropane is produced in America and is in plentiful sup-ply. He also said that propane burns cleaner than gas ordiesel by emitting fewer greenhouse gases. “JEA has been happy to provide a propane fuel site
for the city’s use,” Ken said. The propane-powered patrol cars also have a gaso-
line-powered engine that starts the car. When the tem-perature of the motor rises above 100 degrees, the carautomatically switches to propane. “JEA recognizes the need for America to be inde-
pendent of foreign oil,” said Randy Nipp, SeniorVice President of JEA’s Gas System. “We support thedevelopment of alternative transportation fuelsources, such as compressed natural gas, propane andelectricity.”JEA’s history with alternative fuel vehicles began in
2012 with the purchase of a Compressed Natural Gas
JEA partners with City to bring morealternative fuel vehicles to Jackson
Terrell Brooks, Lead Maintenance Tech for the City of Jackson, shows off a propane-powered police car.
Continued on Page 2 ...Jackson Mayor Jerry Gist, left, talks about alternativefuels with JEA CEO Jim Ferrell.
w Kyle and KimDudley are the new par-ents of Whitley Ann,who was born January23. She has a big sister,Haleigh, and a big broth-er, Eli. Donna Whitakeris the proud grandmother.Kyle is a Maintenance Lineman in Distribution, and
Donna is a CustomerAccount Clerk inCashiering.
w Danny Hall and hiswife, Leslie, are proudparents of a baby girl.Willa Kate was born Jan-uary 29. Danny is SeniorManager of Stores and Transportation.
MissionOur mission is to provideexceptional utility services
that create value for our customers
and our community.
VisionJEA will continue to
improve the quality of lifein our community throughthe delivery of high-quality services to our customers.• JEA will be an industryleader in providing utilityservices, exceeding the
expectations of our customers.
• JEA’s employees will berecognized by those weserve as the most knowl-edgeable, highly-skilledand customer-focusedworkforce available.
• JEA will be a leader inthe economic developmentof the community we serve.
ValuesThe values that reflect
our culture and which ouremployees must possess to ensure our mission
and vision are:Integrity • Respect Fairness • Loyalty
Page 2
EThe Dispatchis the employeenewsletter for Jackson Energy Authority,
119 E. College St., Jackson, TN 38301.731-422-7500
www.jaxenergy.comn
Publisher: Aletza Boucher
Editor: Mary S. Reed
Contributors:Stacy ScogginsJanet WilbanksChrissy Vandiver
n
The next “Dispatch” will be in
March/April.Send items for the next
issue to Aletza Boucher byMarch 20, 2015.
The myBlue Tennessee app givesyou access to all of your health
information, right at your fingertips. You can easily:
w See if your deductible has been metw View out-of-pocket balancesw Check your claims w See a summary of your benefits as afamily or by each person on theplan
w See a virtual picture of your insur-ance card
w “Find a Doctor” in our network injust a few clicks
w Explore BluePerks, which give youlots of discounts in health, fitness and travel throughout thestate of TennesseeTake a few moments and download the app to get “on the
go” access to all your health information. In addition to the app,this information also is available at www.bcbst.com. Please contact Chrissy Vandiver if you need help signing up.
Get on-the-go help withmyBlue TennesseeEmployee
BenefitsCorner
(CNG) Silverado mail truck. Later, in 2013, JEA builta small private CNG fueling station for JEA vehiclesand committed to converting at least two percent ofthe fleet to CNG.Waste Management approached JEA in 2014
about supplying fuel for their trucks if they broughtCNG to Jackson. JEA began expanding its existingCNG fueling station to accommodate the city, WasteManagement and JEA’s needs. Waste Management will have 75 CNG vehicles in
Nashville by the end of the year and five trucks inJackson. Dwight Robinson, Waste Management’s sen-ior district manager of Middle Tennessee, said that heasked JEA to help them with fueling options.
Robinson said that Waste Management’s partner-ship with JEA should provide a foundation for otherindustry partners to expand fuel-efficient vehicles inthe area. “Alternative fuel use can be fostered to advance the
nation’s economic, environmental and energy securi-ty,” said Mayor Gist. The community partnershipwith JEA was essential to bringing the alternative fuelvehicles to Jackson, he added. “We appreciate the opportunity to be here and be
part of this great day for our city,” said Eric Johnson,JEA’s Gas Division System Engineer. “We look for-ward to more alternative fuel vehicles being on theroad in Jackson.”
Continued from Page 1 ...JEA partners with City
More births on Page 5.
Whitley Ann Dudley
Births!
Willa Kate Hall
Page 3
Accounting was not exactly love atfirst sight for Melissa Maners,Accounting Associate III at JEA. She
hated the first accounting class she took incollege, but her feelings changed when shebegan working at JEA as a cashier in 2002.“I love numbers, and I realized that
accounting is just like a puzzle,” Melissa said.“I love being the one who gets to balanceeverything and figure it out when somethingisn’t right.”Melissa, who recently graduated with a
bachelor’s degree in the subject, participatedin the JEA education reimbursement pro-gram. She already had a bachelor’s degreefrom Union University in organizationalleadership. But after working in the account-ing department for several years, she realizedthat she would need an accounting degree inorder to advance her career. She decided to go back to school and
enlisted the help of Pat Berry, JEA’s Trainingand Development Coordinator. Pat assistedMelissa in picking out a school and research-ing the programs that were offered. “Pat gets excited about people advancing
and bettering themselves,” Melissa said.She began taking classes at the University
of Memphis atthebegin-ning of
2013 and graduated in December 2014.After working in accounting for several years,Melissa was skeptical that accounting classescould offer her any valuable knowledge. “I thought that I knew accounting,” said
Melissa. “I knew nothing. The classes openedup my world and taught me so much.”Melissa continued to work full-time
while she took classes. Married, with twosmall children, Melissa said that her husbandwas fully supportive of herfurthering her education.“He functioned as both
mom and dad while I wasin school,” said Melissa.Her son, Noah, was 5 yearsold, and her daughter, Ella,was a year old when shebegan taking classes.“I did homework on
lunch breaks and at nightafter the kids went to bed,”said Melissa. She is excited about
getting the diploma framedto put up in her office. She said that it wouldbe a reminder of her hard work. In addition to Melissa, another JEA
employee recently completed her goal ofobtaining a college degree.
Stacy Scoggins, HumanResources Coordinator,graduated from UnionUniversity in Decemberwith her bachelor’s degreein organizational leader-ship. At graduation,she was awarded theMedal for AcademicExcellence.
Stacy attendedLambuth Univer-sity after highschool but neverfinished her degree.Years later, withthe help of JEA’seducation reim-bursement pro-gram and the
encouragement of her family,Stacy made the decision toreturn to college. After working with Pat,
Stacy found a degree programat Union that met her needs.Twenty years later, she earnedher college degree. “God just opened these
doors,” said Stacy. “Therewas fear about returning to school after manyyears in addition to working full-time with afamily, but Union made it easy.”Stacy said that her primary goal was to
finish what she had started years ago and toset an example for her 16-year-old son, River.“I enjoy seeing people get started in the
program,” Pat said. “I always encourage peo-ple to make improvements, and at the end,they are always excited.” Many employees goon to have promotions or advance in thecompany, she said.Pat added that she is always happy when
an employee calls to talk about the educationreimbursement program.There are currently 22 employees
enrolled in the program, which is open to allfull-time employees who have been with thecompany for at least one year. JEA reimburs-es 75 percent of the tuition and up to $5,000in a fiscal year per student. “I love working at JEA,” Melissa said.
“The management treats us like family andalways acts so proud of their employees’accomplishments and awards.”
JEA employee reimbursement programhelps employees further their careers
Stacy Scoggins receives the Medal of Academic Excellence from Dr. Beverly Absher, Chair of the Department of Continuing Studies
and Professor of Educational Leadership at Union.
Melissa Maners and a copy ofher diploma
JEA Supports OneRun: On a recent Saturdayin January, five JEA employeesbraved below-freezing temper-atures to support the JuvenileDiabetes Research Foundationand participate in ONE Run— a 10k race in downtownJackson. The 6.2-mile coursestarted at the LIFT WellnessCenter and took runners bythe University of Memphis-Lambuth Campus. The routecontinued past the hospital,circled the Woman’s Clinicand turned back to the LIFT.The 14-degree weather was nodeterrent for JEA’s crew. Runners were, from left to right, Thomas Varughese, RussellGibson, Cassandra Fuller, Mike Diggs and Scott Murray.
Page 4
AnniversariesJanuaryRick Webb 1/26/76Teresa Whiteford 1/26/81Charlie Jones 1/04/93Robert Mullins 1/21/97Stacy Scoggins 1/24/00Matthew Coffman 1/02/01Barry Harrison 1/16/01Edward Coffman 1/14/02Penny Knipper 1/27/03Jay Emison 1/10/05John Bray 1/10/05Darryl Ross 1/31/05Mitch Pigue 1/03/06Brandon Butler 1/12/06Kelly Readhimer 1/15/07Tracy Webster 1/22/07Bradley Henson 1/29/07Regina Kelly 1/29/07Angela Bond 1/09/12Jason Gable 1/23/12Gerald Plemons 1/29/12Tanisha Buford 1/02/13Dale Justice 1/13/13Charles Johnson 1/25/13Jim Halbrook 1/30/13
FebruaryLee Haskins 2/15/82Randy Nipp 2/13/83Mona Gates 2/23/90David Wright 2/12/91Donnie Garey 2/18/91Joe Poteet 2/18/91Sandra Wall 2/25/91Janeil Day 2/20/92Ricky Martin 2/24/92Janet Wilbanks 2/28/96Mark McCage 2/03/97Braxton Williams 2/16/98Hameen Harris 2/01/99Alan Couch 2/01/01Kathy Hopper 2/05/01Willie Rogers, III 2/19/01Jennifer Ferrell 2/26/01Aaron Cooper 2/11/02Wes Alexander 2/28/02Phil Utley 2/10/03Kyle Dudley 2/11/03Jennifer Melugin 2/17/03Clint Lee 2/02/04Tim Rogers 2/01/07Alice Coleman 2/19/07Sheri Baker 2/04/08Miller Pounds 2/17/14Luke Cain 2/10/14
Mark Scoggins, a Water/Wastewater Fore-man, began his career at JEA as a part-timeemployee in the electric storeroom. He is
retiring February 28, after 28 years with JEA.When he began working in the Water/Waste-
water Department, the department had one backhoeand one trencher. JEA now has numerous excavators,jet trucks and machinery that aid with daily opera-tions. Mark said that every piece of equipment has been
obtained with the customer in mind. The addition ofmore machines has been essential to the department.Mark oversees crews, works with customers and
has frequently filled in for the superintendent. He
also served as a pipelayer and a senior pipelayer beforebecoming a foreman. “The guys that I get to work with on a daily basis
are great,” he said. “The best part of my day is beingon-site to work with the crews.” Mark said that during his time at JEA, he has
made friends who have become like family, and he isproud of his department. “This company has been extremely good to me,”
he said.Mark has many plans for the future, including
playing golf, fishing and spending time with his fami-ly. “And,” he added, “whatever my wife tells me todo.”
Mark Scoggins retires after 28 years
Mark signs retirement papers with his wife, Stacy, JEA’s Human Resources Coordinator.
Page 5
w Beverly Manley, whosemother, Bonnie Wadley Pow-ers, died on December 9.Beverly is an AdministrativeClerk in Customer Service.
w Greg Kelley, whosemother-in-law, Mary BethColeman Ing, died December12. Greg is a Plant Operatorin Treatment Operations.
w Polly Glover, whose hus-band L.C. Glover, diedDecember 19. Polly is aretiree, who works part timein Customer Service as a Cus-tomer Service Representative.
w Rick Scales, whose step-father, Michael Wayne New-bern, died on January 3.Rick is a Gas Pipelayer inDistribution.
w Wendi Stewart, whosegrandfather, Paul E. WilsonSr., died on January 11.Wendi is an AdministrativeClerk in Engineering.
w Kelly Jones, whosegrandfather, Billy MackPounders, died on January27. Kelly is a Drafter in Engi-neering.
With sympathy to:
Susan White, Administrative Clerk in theEngineering and Drafting Department, isretiring after 35 years of employment with
JEA. In 1980, Susan was working at Kisber’s while
she went to school to study drafting. She found outabout a job in the Drafting Department at JEA andsubmitted her application. Because North and South Jackson had been
annexed in 1978, one of Susan’s first responsibili-ties was to send locators to obtain customer permitsat the new services. “That first project was probably my favorite
one,” she said.Susan said that, at that time,
new utility services were hand-drawn. As new pipes were laid,drafts had to be drawn toshow where copper pipeshad been replaced. Now,the majority of the
drafting is computer-generated.“The drawings have to be very clear and
detailed,” she said. Over the years, Susan has kept track of gas
leaks and filed new services. She also spent sometime in the Water and Wastewater Department. Infact, she has been at JEA for so long that employeesfrom other departments frequently call her whenthey can’t find an old file.“I can always find that old stuff,” she said. After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis
several years ago, she said she is eager to take bettercare of herself as she enters retirement. An avid coupon-user, she also is excited to
have more time to teachcoupon classes. With threegrandchildren and a 14-year-old son at home,Susan is excited aboutspending more time with
her family.
Susan White signs retirement papers
Susan is withher husband,Mike, asshe signsher retire-mentpapers.
w Jonathanand HeatherKee adopteda daughter,LivingstonAnne Ai JiaKee. TheKee’s cele-brated“GotchaDay” on December 23 in Zhengzhou,China, when Livi Anne was placed in theirarms for the first time. Livi Anne’s birth dateis February 6. They returned home as a fam-ily of three on January 1. Heather is thedaughter of Jim and Janeil Day, WorkOrder Coordinator in Distribution.
w Mitch Pigue andhis wife, Joy, have anew baby girl. Archana“Archie” Laine wasborn December 24.Mitch is a Supervisorin EnvironmentalApplication.
w Ben Gordon and his wife, Julie, have anew son. LaneRobert was bornDecember 31.Ben is a Pipelay-er in Water Dis-tribution.
w RetireeLinda Northcott has a new great-granddaughter. Dallas Mae Hayes was bornJanuary 16 to Brittany and Austin Hayes.
Dallas Mae has a 3-year-old sister, ZaydaRose.
w Tim Cochranwelcomed a newgranddaughter on Jan-uary 21. Conley KayDeaton was born toPearce and AmandaDeaton. Tim is a Serv-iceman III in Cus-tomer Service.
w Joe Baumgard-ner is the proudgrandfather of NoraGrey Ellis, who wasborn January 23 toMike and MalloryEllis. Joe is Superin-tendent of Gas Distribution.
Births!
Nora Grey Ellis
Conley Kay Deaton
Lane Robert Gordon
Archie Laine Pigue
Livi Anne Kee
More births on Page 2.
w Evan Barnett, Programmer Assistant,previously worked as an independent IT con-sultant.
w Michael Blackwell is a temporary StoresHelper in Distribution.
w Jeremy Harwell, Water and WastewaterProject Engineer, previously worked for Ten-nergy Corporation.
w Eric Herndon, Serviceman I in ProGas,previously worked for Asplundh Tree Service.
Page 6
Promotionsw Justin Alexander is a new Groundman in
Electric Distribution. Hewas previously a PlantMaintenance Tech I inOperations.
w Sheri Baker waspromoted from Account-ing Associate III to StaffAccountant.
w Luke Cain was pro-moted from Groundmanto Apprentice Lineman.
w Tiffany Collins is anew Billing Coordinator. She previously was aCashier.
w Mark David was promoted from Service-man II in ProGas to Serviceman III in ProGas.
w Keith Duck was promoted from Service-man I, ProGas to Serviceman II, ProGas.
w Josh Gabert is a new Apprentice Lineman.He previously was a Groundman.
w Ben Harston was promoted from tempo-rary Gas Pipelayer to full-time Gas Pipelayer.
w Eddie Preslar was promoted fromtemporary Groundsworker to Full-timeGroundman.
w Wendi Stewart was promoted frompart-time Courier to full-time Administra-tive Clerk in Engineering.
w Jason Towater was promoted fromtemporary Water and Wastewater Pipelay-er to full-time Water and WastewaterPipelayer.
w Richard Watson is a new ServicemanI. He previously was a Gas Pipelayer.
w Richie White was promoted fromJourneyman Lineman to Lead Lineman.
Welcome newemployees ...
Eddie Preslar
Wendi Stewart Jason Towater Richard Watson Richie White
Keith Duck Josh Gabert Ben Harston
Luke Cain Tiffany Collins
Mark David
Eric Herndon
Justin Alexander Sheri Baker
Evan Barnett Michael Blackwell Jeremy Harwell
w Jaclyn Miller Bane,wife of Meter Tech ll KelleyBane, graduated from theUniversity of South Alabamawith a master’s degree innursing on December 12.
w Chris Hearn, son ofSherman and Cathy Hearn,earned a master’s degree inbusiness administration fromBethel University. Shermanis a JEA Retiree.
Congratulations, Graduates!
Jaclyn and Kelley Chris Hearn
Page 7
w Water Department Senior PipelayerBrandon Smith and Water DepartmentPipelayers Martin Lowrance and Ben Gordoncompleted the requirements for the State ofTennessee Department of Environment andConservation Grade II Wastewater CollectionSystem Operator certification.
w Water Department Pipelayers Ben Gordon,Jared Gowan, Donald Goodman and JacobBridger completed the requirements for theState of Tennessee Department of Environmentand Conservation Grade II Water Distribu-tion System Operator certification.
w Casey Brooks, Plant MaintenanceTech I, successfully completed a coursein Testing and Evaluation of BackflowPrevention Assemblies.
w Brandon Fesmire, JourneymanLineman, successfully completed theSubstation Maintenance Unit I course.
w Cassandra Fuller, Creative Servic-es Coordinator II, is a Leadership Jack-son Jewel Award winner. The Cham-ber’s three-month Leadership Jacksonprogram prepares a yearly class of 30 busi-ness people for future leadership roles inthe community through education and awareness.
w Substation Apprentice Barry Harrison successfully completedthe Protective Relaying Unit III course.
w David Yates, an Installation Tech with Telecom, was promot-ed to sergeant in the Tennessee National Guard. David is a mem-ber of 212th Engineer Company based in Paris, Tenn.
Congratulations!
David YatesBarry Harrison
Casey Brooks
Brandon Fesmire
Jared Gowan
Donald Goodman Jacob Bridger
Brandon Smith Martin Lowrance Ben Gordon
Cassandra Fuller
Leslie Jones and Michael Cain gavea presentation to fifth graders at
Isaac Lane Technology School duringan Engineer’s Club meeting afterschool. “We taught them how electricity is
generated and how it gets from thegeneration plant to their houses,” Lesliesaid. “We also demonstrated electricitysafety with ‘Mr. Neon’ and energy con-servation with incandescent bulbs ver-sus compact fluorescents.” Each of JEA’s systems, including
Telecom, will be presented to the club,which meets twice a month to partici-pate in engineering activities over thenext few months. Students will receivea presentation about Gas in March.
Employees discuss electricity at Isaac Lane
Leslie Jones, above, and Michael Cain, at right,speak to the Engineering Club at Isaac Lane.
Page 8
Christmas Photo Booth!