FROM THE CEO: To the Crews Who Worked Through the Storms
Friday night, the storms started rolling in. By the time most of us were going to bed, our crews were already out there.
The damage was real. Trees on lines from Center Ridge to Shirley to Clinton to Marshall. A broken pole on Highway 95W. More damage in Botkinburg, Damascus, Bee Branch, Quitman.
The crews worked through the night. By Saturday morning, almost every member was back on. Then Sunday came around and the storms came back through, and we did it all again. And then last night, another round of storms moved through and dealt us another wave of outages. Through the perseverance of our team, most of you are already back on this morning. To those who are still patiently waiting, you have my word. You will be taken care of. Our crews will not stop until every light is back on.
I want our members to know what that actually looks like. It looks like a lineman climbing a pole in the dark with rain on his back. It looks like a dispatcher who has not slept staying on the phone. It looks like Tonia and our team posting updates at 4 PM, at 9 PM, at 8 in the morning, so members know what is happening.
And it looks like our members sending thank you messages back, asking us to pass them along to the crews. We did. They needed to hear it.
To every lineman, every dispatcher, and every employee who worked through this weekend and into this week: thank you. From me, and from every member you served.
This is what a cooperative looks like when it is working the way it is supposed to. People you know, doing real work, for the community they call home.
Michael Kirkland
CEO, Petit Jean Electric Cooperative