Georgia Magazine - October 2011 - (Page 16)

Preserving history UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA COLLEGE OF ENVIRONMENT AND DESIGN Going the distance Personnel from many electric membership corporations (EMCs) in Georgia headed to North Carolina and Maryland in late August to help electric cooperatives in those states restore power to areas hardest hit by Hurricane Irene. The crews, trucks and equipment were coordinated by Georgia EMC from the Electric Cooperative Training Center in Smarr, the statewide association that also organizes crews from Georgia EMCs during emergencies such as ice storms, tornadoes and hurricanes. “We are eager to help our sister co-ops,” says Jim Wright, Georgia EMC vice president of safety and training. The co-ops were in close Linemen, from left, Todd May, Daniel Jones and Timothy Thompson from Southern Rivers Energy in Barnesville help to restore power in Southern Maryland after Hurricane Irene. Milk jug house The FindIt program, sponsored by Georgia Transmission Corp. in Tucker, has catalogued more than 12,000 rare and endangered historical resources across the state since its inception 10 years ago. Georgia Transmission partners with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Historic Preservation Division and the University of Georgia’s College of Environmental Design, to implement the FindIt program. FindIt has chronicled valuable landmarks in 41 counties over the last decade. Students in UGA’s Historic Preservation graduate studies program conduct ﬁeld surveys and archive their ﬁndings in a digital inventory, a fundamental step in historic preservation. FindIt has uncovered a host of cultural gems, such as a site in Meriwether County called the “milk jug house.” This unusual building has a round base and an intricately designed, curved brick column that resembles a handle, symbolic of the then-owner’s position as a dairyman. “Since we began this partnership a decade ago, FindIt has made remarkable progress toward a more complete inventory of historic properties,” says Christy Johnson, Georgia Transmission’s environmental and regulatory compliance coordinator. “With this inventory, we are able to better preserve these important resources when planning electrical transmission projects for Georgia’s EMCs.” 16 contact with EMCs to the north to prearrange assistance even before the hurricane made landfall. Doing so allowed the timely dispatch of an arsenal of Georgia co-ops consisting of much-needed manpower, trucks and equipment. “It’s a massive effort to restore power in as short a time as possible,” Wright explains. Approximately 147 linemen from 16 Georgia EMCs participated in the effort. J.D. Power ranks Walton EMC Natural Gas No. 1 A recently released report by J.D. Power and Associates ranks Monroe-based Walton EMC Natural Gas highest in customer satisfaction among retail natural gas providers in Georgia. The study examines four key factors: price, billing and payment, communications and customer service. Besides the highest overall score of 724, Walton also scored highest in each of the four study areas. The industry average is 667. By scoring 724, Walton is the only Georgia marketer to earn a JDPower.com Power Circle Rating of ﬁve, making it “Among the best” according to the Power Circle RatMore online at www.georgiamagazine.org Dan Chelko, of Snellville, a member of Walton EMC electric and natural gas boards, explains the signiﬁcance of the recent J.D. Power and Associates Georgia Natural Gas Provider Survey at the cooperative’s recent annual meeting. ings Legend. The study is based on 1,853 residential interviews conducted in April 2011. For more information, see the J.D. Power and Associates news release at tiny.cc/jdpowerbestplaces. GEORGIA MAGAZINE GREG BROOKS / WALTON EMC GLENN “MAC” MACARANAS / SOUTHERN MARYLAND ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE http://www.JDPower.com http://www.tiny.cc/jdpowerbestplaces http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - October 2011

Georgia Magazine - October 2011
Contents
Viewpoint
Mailbox
Picture This?
Georgia News
Calendar of Events
Currents
Georgia's Energy Outlook
Naturally Florida
Florida Destinations
2011 Reader's Choice Awards
Other Top Picks in Our Readers’ Choice Contest
Around Georgia
My Georgia
Georgia Gardens
Georgia Cooks
Snapshot
More Snapshot Submissions
Gardens Plant of the Month; Liberty Notes
More on Georgia’s Energy Outlook
Energy-Efficiency Tips
More Great Recipes

Georgia Magazine - October 2011