Georgia Magazine - November 2020 - 15

SHORTTakes

COURTESY HABERSHAM EMC

New president/
CEO: Bryan
Ferguson began
serving as the
new president
and CEO of
Habersham
Electric Membership Corp. (EMC)
in Clarkesville on
Sept. 28.
Ferguson, a
native of Habersham County, has 24 years of
electric utility experience, most recently at
Alabama Power, a division of Southern Co. He
held various leadership positions at Georgia
Power prior to joining Alabama Power in 2018.

Congressional Agricultural Fellowship
participant Emily Leonard of Lake Park
is working in the office of U.S. Rep.
Sanford Bishop.

When Joey Brown (at left), a lineman from
Tri-County Electric Membership Corp. (EMC)
in Gray, noticed that an elderly couple's home
needed a new roof, he took action. He partnered
with Sonrise Ministries Thrift Store in Gray to
apply for an Operation Round Up grant from the
Tri-County EMC Foundation. With a grant of $2,000
and help from friends and volunteers, a new roof
was installed on the last weekend in August. In the
Operation Round Up program, members opt to
round their monthly bills to the next dollar and
the difference goes into a fund that supports
charitable causes in the community.

COURTESY TRICOUNTY EMC

Raising the roof

COURTESY BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAIN EMC

ucker-based Georgia Electric Membership Corp. (EMC) is a sponsor of
congressional fellowships this fall for four leading students in the College
of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) at the University of
Georgia in Athens.
The Congressional Agricultural Fellowship is one of the longest-running
internship programs at the CAES. Normally, six or seven participants are in
Washington, D.C., for 12 weeks each summer. Because of the pandemic, the 2020
summer fellowships were put on hold for a semester.
This year's students are:
* Emily Leonard, a junior agricultural education major from Lake Park,
assigned to the office of Rep. Sanford Bishop. Leonard was a delegate on
the 2017 Washington Youth Tour and was sponsored by Slash Pine EMC in
Homerville.
* Julie Bacon of Reidsville, who recently earned a bachelor's degree in agricultural communications (office of Sen. Kelly Loeffler).
* Ben Murray, a senior agricultural communications major from Alapaha
(office of Sen. Kelly Loeffler).
* Grace Dodds, a junior agricultural communications major from Columbus
(office of Rep. Doug Collins).
The fellows attend committee hearings, prepare briefs, conduct research and
meet with constituents for Georgia's members of the House of Representatives
and Senate. The Congressional Agricultural Fellowship is funded by Georgia EMC
and the Georgia Agribusiness Council. To read more about the program and the
students, go to bit.ly/2020agfellows.

COURTESY TRICOUNTY EMC

EMILY LEONARD

EMCs support
congressional fellowships

Interim general
manager:
Blue Ridge
Mountain EMC in
Young Harris has
named Erik C. Brinke
its interim general
manager, taking the
reins from former
General Manager
Jeremy Nelms, who
became CEO of
Flint Energies in Reynolds on Oct. 1. Brinke, an
18-year employee of the co-op, established its
first formal economic development department and supported broadband deployment
in the region. He recently served as director of
administrative services and external relations.
In the news: The Arlington, Va.-based
National Rural Electric Cooperative
Association (NRECA) spotlighted three
Georgia EMCs in its article about
efforts nationwide to help students
get connected to the internet for
virtual learning. The story, titled "Back
to (Virtual) School: Co-op Broadband
Helps Keep Students Connected,"
mentioned efforts at Blue Ridge
Mountain EMC, which offered connectivity in parking lots in its service area;
Southern Rivers Energy in Barnesville,
which equipped school buses with
mobile Wi-Fi; and Flint Energies, which
donated 200 Chromebooks to local
school systems (see page 14). To read
the story, go to bit.ly/nrecaschools.

www.georgiamagazine.org

http://www.bit.ly/2020agfellows http://www.bit.ly/nrecaschools http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Georgia Magazine - November 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - November 2020