MORE POWERFUL CAREERS
Powerful Careers: A Unique Opportunity
Young women invited to explore powerful careers by Jim Robertson, Staff Writer Over the past couple of years, several curious young women in high school and college — even some who had completed school — gathered at the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware...
Powerful Careers: Rewarding Challenges
World traveler finds fulfillment in serving others by Jim Robertson, Staff Writer “We’re not trying to make money off our neighbors. We’re just trying to provide the best service we can to our members, and we’re trying to be as frugal with that money as we...
A Powerful Experience
Career stories from women in the energy industry Last fall, a group of young women took advantage of an opportunity to see firsthand what it’s like to work on a utility line crew. They climbed poles, strung wire, operated a bucket truck and used a hot stick...
Powerful Careers: Emily Reitz
Having a sense of adventure might not immediately come to mind as an attribute one should have working for an electric utility. But it’s a pretty good one if you aren’t tasked with touching thousands of volts of electricity, and that’s the case for Emily...
Powerful Careers: Clyde Robertson
As lead instructor for Southside Virginia Community College’s Power Line Worker Program, he has helped guide more than 375 students on the path to successful “powerful careers.” The SVCC Power Line Worker Program was the first of its kind in Virginia. The...
Powerful Careers: Jeremy Tucker and Lauren Irby
Lauren Irby and Jeremy Tucker head up Delaware Electric Cooperative's communications team. (Photo By: Jim Robertson) Equally important as the work electric cooperatives perform is the story of the history co-ops have made and...
Powerful Careers: Cindy Musick
Cindy Musick earned a forestry degree and her father was in the electric utility industry. Still, she acknowledges knowing little about electric cooperatives before joining Rappahannock Electric Cooperative. “I have never felt so...
Powerful Careers: Ryan Barrack
Just a few weeks before Christmas, on a mandatory conference call, Ryan Barrack learned that the bank he had worked at for more than a decade was being sold. “What does tomorrow hold for my family?” he thought. Later, as he and...
Powerful Careers: Crystal Johnson-Smith
For Crystal Johnson-Smith, vice president of human resources at Prince George Electric Cooperative, her experience with energy commenced early in her childhood. Johnson-Smith recalls discussions with her father about the vast difference of her family’s...
Powerful Careers: Mike Malandro
For Mike Malandro, president and CEO of Choptank Electric Cooperative, it's all about having a plan. After high school, Malandro joined the Army. His rapid-deployment unit was one of the first units in Bosnia, where he spent a...
Powerful Careers: Andrew Cotter
Despite the misconception that he needed to be an engineer, Andrew Cotter pursued his passion for the power industry and serves as a power portfolio specialist for Central Virginia Electric Cooperative in Arrington, Va. When he...
Powerful Careers: Brenda Mansfield
Things have changed since Brenda Mansfield joined her Community Electric Cooperative family in 1979, including more women in leadership roles. She followed the lead of her mother, who previously worked for the co-op. Her mother’s dedication and love for the...
Powerful Careers: Kenny McMichael
Like many high school students overwhelmed by the options from which to choose, Kenny McMichael was undecided on which career path to take. Like the flip of a switch, that all changed during a four-hour presentation during a school field trip to Community...
Powerful Careers: Mitch DeJarnette
Mitch DeJarnette remembers as a boy riding along with his dad, who worked as a contractor clearing rights-of-way for electric cooperatives along the East Coast. That impressed the young man enough to pursue his own career in line...
Powerful Careers: Justice Powell
While serving in mass communications with the U.S. Navy, Justice Powell saw a need for graphic design. She decided to fulfill that need and navigated herself through basic training of the Adobe design software. That self-motivation and drive landed her a...
Powerful Careers: Sheila Switzer
You never know where a Powerful Career might take you. Or for how long. After graduating from Craig County High School in New Castle, Va., Sheila Switzer started working at a furniture company when an acquaintance told her that she might be a good fit for an...
Powerful Careers: Virginia Clifton
In just three years, Virginia Clifton went from receiving calls from members reporting power outages to overseeing the inventory and purchasing of materials needed to restore power. Her children often remind the Craig-Botetourt...
Powerful Careers: Heather Dalton
In her 23 years at Southside Electric Cooperative, Heather Dalton has experienced the inside and outside of the power line industry. Dalton, a staking technician in SEC’s Altavista office, came to the cooperative as a...