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More than 185 Tennessee lineworkers answer the call for assistance following Hurricane Helene

NASHVILLE – Power restoration efforts are still underway today as communities across East Tennessee work to recover from the impact of Hurricane Helene. Heavy rain and strong winds left nearly 100,000 electric co-op consumers without power on Friday morning. Crews worked through the weekend to restore power to many of those impacted, but some 900 electric co-op members across eastern Tennessee remain without power today.  

“At TECA we are always ready to answer the call for mutual aid,” said Todd Blocker, vice president of member services for the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association and coordinator of electric co-op mutual aid efforts in the state. “18 of Tennessee’s electric cooperatives have answered the call for mutual aid assistance. Two of the seven cooperative principles that are the cornerstones of electric cooperatives throughout the country are ‘concern for community’ and ‘cooperation among cooperatives.’ Our members take pride in helping other communities in getting the power back on as safely and quickly as possible.” 

The Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association has continued to coordinate assistance from Tennessee cooperatives. 

Assisting cooperatives in Tennessee are: 

  • Eight lineworkers from Fayetteville Public Utilities and eight lineworkers from Tennessee Valley Electric Cooperative are assisting Mountain Electric Cooperative in Mountain City 
  • 20 lineworkers from Middle Tennessee Electric are assisting Appalachian Electric Cooperative in New Market 
  • 18 lineworkers from Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation, 10 from Duck River Electric Membership Corporation, 4 from Forked Deer Electric Cooperative, 10 from Pickwick Electric Cooperative, six from Plateau Electric Cooperative, 10 from Southwest Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation and 16 from Volunteer Energy Cooperative are assisting Holston Electric Cooperative in Rogersville 
  • 50 contractors from Volunteer Energy Cooperative are assisting Powell Valley Electric Cooperative in New Tazwell 

Assisting cooperatives in other states are: 

  • 15 lineworkers from Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation are assisting Rutherford Electric Membership Corporation in Morgantown, North Carolina
  • Five lineworkers from Tri-County Electric Membership Corporation are assisting Blue Ridge Energy in Lenoir, North Carolina
  • Six lineworkers from Chickasaw Electric Cooperative, five from Meriwether Lewis Electric Cooperative and 15 from Sequachee Valley Electric Cooperative are assisting Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation in Pickens, South Carolina  
  • 10 lineworkers from Caney Fork Electric Cooperative, five from Fort Loudoun Electric Cooperative and eight from Gibson Electric Membership Corporation are assisting Excelsior Electric Membership Corporation in Metter, Georgia
  • Eight lineworkers from Gibson Electric Membership Corporation are assisting Planters Electric Membership Corporation in Millen, Georgia
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Helene impacts Tennessee co-ops

NASHVILLE – Power restoration efforts are underway this afternoon as the remnants of Hurricane Helene move through the Volunteer State. Heavy rain and strong winds have left some 60,000 electric co-op members without power across eastern Tennessee.

“Electric co-op crews are working tirelessly to restore power to every affected home and business,” said Mike Knotts, CEO of the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association. “The damage in eastern Tennessee is significant, and ongoing flooding is hampering restoration efforts. During situations like this, the hard work and dedication of electric lineworkers cannot be overstated. They are performing a dangerous job under difficult conditions, and their commitment to serving their neighbors is truly inspiring.”

As of Friday afternoon, the hardest-hit cooperatives are:

  • Mountain Electric Cooperative, Mountain City – 25,000 consumers affected
  • Appalachian Electric Cooperative, New Market – 11,900 consumers affected
  • Holston Electric Cooperative, Rogersville – 11,900 consumers affected
  • Powell Valley Electric Cooperative, New Tazewell – 11,200 consumers affected

The Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association is coordinating assistance from Tennessee cooperatives. Appalachian Electric Cooperative is being assisted by Middle Tennessee Electric and Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation. Holston Electric Cooperative is being assisted by Middle Tennessee Electric. Mountain Electric Cooperative is being assisted by crews from Fayetteville Public Utilities and Tennessee Valley Electric Cooperative. Several additional cooperatives have pledged to send crews once the storm system moves through their own service territories.

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DREMC selects new president and CEO

DREMC CEO James Wright

The Duck River Electric Membership Corporation Board of Directors announced that James Wright has accepted the position of president and CEO and will assume the leadership role on Nov. 4.

“James brings an extensively broad range of experience to Duck River Electric that we believe will serve our members and employees well,” shares DREMC Board Chairman Anthony Kimbrough.

Wright currently serves as Vice President of Corporate Services at GreyStone Power Corporation located in Hiram, Georgia, and since 2013 has led a division responsible for many internal functions and member-focused areas within the cooperative.

GreyStone Power Corporation, a cooperative serving 150,000 meters, serves portions of eight counties in west-metro Atlanta. During his tenure at GreyStone, Wright helped the cooperative attain the highest safety accreditation score ever awarded by their statewide organization, Georgia Electric Membership Corporation. In 2019, the cooperative achieved the J.D. Power Award with the highest customer satisfaction rating ever received at that time by an electric utility and has placed in the top five in the cooperative segment the following three out of four years.

Kimbrough adds that Wright has accomplished an impressive academic and professional resume, but it is his commitment to a member- and employee-focused culture that is one of the many things that contributed to a unanimous board decision for him to lead DREMC.

“All 13 board members are tremendously excited about the days ahead for Duck River Electric,” adds Kimbrough, “and we are convinced that James is exactly the leader that our members and employees desire and value.”

“My family and I feel incredibly blessed to be joining the Duck River family, and I look forward to working with the Board of Directors and employees during this exciting time in Duck River’s history. I am a firm believer in providing our member-owners with the best service possible, and we will do this at Duck River by building upon our culture of collaboration, investing in our employees, and having a strategic plan that focuses on our members and employees,” says Wright. James and his wife Miranda, along with their four sons, are preparing to relocate to the Middle Tennessee area.

“While we as a board of directors are grateful that the nearly six-month-long nationwide search led us to James Wright as our next CEO, we are just as grateful for the guidance that Troy Crowell and his leadership team have provided and will continue to provide to the DREMC family,” said Kimbrough. “Thank you for letting us serve you and thank you for joining us in welcoming James Wright to DREMC.”

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Norris joins TECA team as developer

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association is pleased to announce the addition of Joel Norris to its communications team as digital media manager. With a rural heritage and a diverse background in media design and computer science, Norris brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and excitement to the association. 

Norris served in the U.S. Army for four years with tours in South Korea and Iraq. He earned the Army Commendation Medal and a Purple Heart. After leaving the army, Norris graduated from the Art Institute of Tennessee Nashville in its interactive media design program and from Middle Tennessee State University with a bachelor’s degree in computer science. 

Norris taught web design and development for many years at the collegiate level at Belmont University, Nossi College of Art and the Art Institute of Nashville. More recently, he has been working as a PHP developer. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Joel Norris to our team,” said Trent Scott, vice president of communications for TECA. “Joel is a talented developer with an impressive background in coding, digital media and AI. Most importantly, he understands co-ops and rural communities, and we believe Tennessee co-ops will genuinely enjoy collaborating with him to elevate their online presence.” 

In this new role, Norris will manage websites for the association and The Tennesseee Magazine, oversee TECA’s apps and online properties and direct TECA PowerSites, a website service specifically for Tennessee’s electric cooperatives. 

“I’ve been a part of smaller co-ops before, and I am a firm believer in their worth and value,” Norris says. “I already love being a part of something so beneficial to rural Tennesseans, and I am honored and excited to have been chosen to be part of the TECA team!” 

Electric cooperatives serve more than 3 million consumers and 72 percent of Tennessee. The Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association provides leadership, advocacy and support for Tennessee’s 23 electric cooperatives and publishes The Tennessee Magazine, the state’s most widely-circulated periodical. Visit tnelectric.org or tnmagazine.org to learn more. 

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Happy Retirement to Amy Jordan

Following 36 years of dedicated service to the association, Amy Jordan retired from TECA in July. Co-op leaders from across the state gathered in Nashville on Tuesday, Sept. 3 to honor the long-time TECA employee.

“Great colleague and friend,” “without fail, she always did the right thing,” “she’s the type of person you want on your side” and “she always put co-ops first” are a few sentiments that were shared during the reception.

“I am very fortunate and blessed that God put me where He did, when He did,” Jordan said. “Being at TECA gave me the opportunity to meet people across Tennessee who became friends and co-workers. They exemplify integrity and are valuable to the efforts of the electric cooperatives.”

Jordan graduated from Lipscomb University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration-accounting. She began her journey on November 16, 1988, as TECA’s finance specialist, and, as they say, the rest is history. Jordan tackled both accounting and human resource duties for the association. Little did TECA or Jordan know though how memorable and valuable that history would be personally, for Tennessee cooperatives and the association.

“Amy’s dedication is inspiring, as she has unfailingly focused her career on the success of our association and all of Tennessee’s electric co-ops,” Mike Knotts, TECA CEO, said. “She has so much to be proud of and has demonstrated to the rest of the team at TECA what it means to work hard, work with integrity and always focus on serving others. She will most certainly be missed, and I congratulate her on a job well done.”

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How Pocket Change Can Change the Community (and the Co-op)

Cooperatives are special because they are owned by the consumers they serve and guided by a set of seven principles that reflect the best interest of those consumers. Two of those principles are having concern for the community and education, training and information. Mountain Electric Cooperative is exemplifying both principles through their Operation Pocket Change (OPC) program.

OPC is a voluntary round-up program that helps local organizations and members during difficult times through the generosity of the co-op. Members can choose to round up their monthly electric bills to the next whole dollar amount. The extra pocket change flows into a special fund that is managed by a board of volunteer members who have a desire to help the service area. To date, more than $2 million has been provided to the community as a result. A quarter of those contributions are designated for scholarships. This fall MEC awarded 43 $1,000 scholarships and one of the recipients is currently attending lineman school.

Another way MEC serves the youth in the community is through their annual career day.

“The high school students take a field trip to our facilities where they climb poles, take bucket truck rides, operate equipment and talk to our employees about what an average day at MEC is like,” said Sally Snyder, MEC’s director of member services.

Logan Barnett received the OPC scholarship, attended the annual career day and is now in MEC’s apprenticeship program.

“Operation Pocket Change helped me get to the dream job I have today,” Barnett said. “I don’t know if I’d been able to do it without it!”

Over the years, more than ten of MEC’s current employees received this scholarship or attended the cooperative’s annual career day.

“It has been amazing to see the amount of employees we have now that attended as a high school student,” Snyder said. “I absolutely love this program and how much it has changed our communities with just a small amount of pocket change.”

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Meeting Tennessee’s Lawmakers and Youth Where They Are

A grand champion ham, Trace Adkins and the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association all played a role in supporting the future of agriculture at the Tennessee State Fair this year. More than 1,200 people were in attendance and helped raise $221,100 for the youth organization at the 9th Annual Tennessee State Fair FFA Ham Breakfast. TECA was a proud blue-ribbon sponsor of the event and was able to meet both lawmakers and youth where they were.

“The Tennessee FFA Ham Breakfast has been a transformational event since it began,” said Ryan King, TECA’s vice president of government affairs. “TECA on behalf of its members is a proud supporter of the event, but more than that, we believe it is important to demonstrate our support for Tennessee FFA, Tennessee 4-H and Tennessee lawmakers through year-round engagement. We believe there is no better way to invest in Tennessee’s rural communities.”

The Tennessee Grand Champion Country Ham was sold during a live auction and went for $25,000. Farm equipment dealer, H&R Agri-Power, seed company, Beck’s and Catesa Farms in Riddleton, served by Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation, teamed up to make the winning bid. A Packer Style Ham was also auctioned off and sold for $18,500. The Tennessee Farm Bureau, the Tennessee Farmers Cooperative, CPC Commodities and ProTrition made that purchase together. Both hams have been donated back to the FFA to be sold during a private event at a later time.

An exciting twist this year was keynote speaker and country music artist, Trace Adkins. Adkins was the president of his FFA chapter in Sarepta, La. and lost his blue corduroy jacket in a house fire years ago. With the help of the National FFA organization and his wife though, he received a replacement jacket, which he wore during the FFA Ham Breakfast.

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