Georgia Magazine - February 2025 - 14

Currents
News from Georgia's electric co-ops * Compiled by Amy Schneider
A
EMC employees lauded for lifesaving efforts
t the Annual Meeting of Members
on Nov. 11 at the Hyatt Regency in
Savannah, Georgia Electric
Membership Corp. (EMC) in Tucker
honored cooperatives' achievements in
safety as well as individual employees
whose heroic actions saved lives.
Twelve co-op employees received
Lifesaving Awards:
* Tim Bowen of Central Georgia EMC,
based in Jackson: Bowen and his wife,
Erin, saw a twin-engine plane flying low
over their home and then heard a loud
crash. They rode their all-terrain vehicle
to the airport landing strip and found the
plane crashed into trees and leaking fuel.
The pilot was injured but had gotten out
of the plane. After Bowen helped him
to safety, he crawled into the plane and
found the co-pilot and passenger trapped
by bent metal. Bowen went and got saws,
which he was using to cut the metal legs
of the seats away as first responders
arrived. He continued to assist by pulling
fire hoses and starting the motor for the
jaws of life. The co-pilot and passenger
were taken by helicopter to a hospital.
* Erika Blocker-LeCounte of Coastal
Electric Cooperative, based in Midway:
Blocker-LeCounte, a lifelong coastal
resident, knew what to do when she
saw the Sapelo Island gangway collapse
and 20 people fall into the Duplin River.
Because she knew the tides in the area,
she jumped into the marsh and ran along
the beach to a spot where the current was
carrying the people. She then waded into
the water, which was above her waist,
and began pulling people out, including
a woman she had met earlier who was
calling her name. Blocker-LeCounte had
taken swimming lessons for the first time
only two years before the incident.
* Brad McGinnis, Zack Madaris, Corey
Hendrix and Josh Minnifield of CowetaFayette
EMC, based in Palmetto: The four
linemen were working at a job site when
they saw a van veer off the road and hit
a golf cart that was carrying a 2-year-old
and the child's babysitter. The child and
babysitter were thrown from the golf cart;
14 Georgia Magazine February 2025
Electric cooperative employees honored with the Lifesaving Award are, from left, Tim
Bowen, Corey Hendrix, Zack Madaris, Erika Blocker-LeCounte, Brad McGinnis, Taylor Alston,
Alfred Perry, Keith Bragg, Blake Hobbs and Triston Brantley. (Not pictured are Josh
Minnifield and Ryan Carter.)
the child was uninjured, and the
babysitter had minor cuts and scrapes.
The linemen helped to get the trapped
van driver out of the vehicle and wrapped
the driver in blankets for protection from
broken glass. They remained at the scene
until first responders arrived.
* Alfred Perry of Coweta-Fayette EMC:
Perry was at a member's home to install a
meter when he noticed that the homeowner
was slumped and having difficulty
breathing. As he worked, Perry kept an
eye on the man, and when he was finished
and about to leave he noticed that the
man was propped against his truck. Perry
called 911 and helped the man to sit down
as they waited for first responders. The
man said he had a heart condition, and
he believed he had cracked ribs and other
injuries from a recent fall.
* Taylor Alston of Coweta-Fayette EMC:
Alston was out to dinner with his family
when his stepmother, Janie Alston, started
choking on a piece of steak. Taylor Alston
No Lost Time awards (honoring EMCs that recorded no lost-time injuries):
* Coastal Electric Cooperative, 11 consecutive years;
* Georgia System Operations Corp. (Tucker), nine years;
* Habersham EMC (Clarkesville), six years;
* Southern Rivers Energy (Barnesville), five years;
* Rayle EMC (Washington), four years;
* Oconee EMC (Dudley) and Washington EMC, three years;
* Irwin EMC (Ocilla), two years; and
* Grady EMC (Cairo), Okefenoke Rural EMC and Sumter EMC (Americus), one year.
Safety accreditation honorees:
* The following EMCs earned accreditation through the Electric Cooperative Safety
Accreditation Program of Georgia: Canoochee EMC (Reidsville), Coweta-Fayette
EMC, Diverse Power (LaGrange), Flint Energies (Reynolds), Georgia System
Operations Corp., Georgia Transmission Corp., Grady EMC, Middle Georgia EMC
(Vienna), Ocmulgee EMC (Eastman) and Tri-County EMC (Gray).
* Georgia Transmission Corp. earned accreditation through the Arlington, Va.-based
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association's Rural Electric Safety Achievement
Program.
SAVANNAH CORPORATE PHOTOGRAPHY
Georgia Magazine - February 2025

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