Author: scott

Will you be graduating from high school in the spring of 2022? Do you receive your electricity from a pub- lic power utility in Alabama? Then if your answer to these questions is “yes,” you could be eligible to receive a scholarship from the Alabama Municipal Electric Authority (AMEA) and its Member cities/util- ities. AMEA and its Members will make available 44, $2,500 scholarships (4 scholarships per Member city) in 2022.

Since 1992, AMEA has awarded over $3 million in scholarship monies to graduating high school seniors who receive their electric service from AMEA Members.

To be eligible for an AMEA scholarship, a student’s parent and/or legal guardian must receive electric serv- ice from an AMEA Member utility, and the student must attend a four-year college/university, community college, and/or vocational/trade school within the state of Alabama.

Applications are currently available from school counselors in AMEA Member cities, or you can go online to the AMEA web site, www.amea.com, Scholarship. Application deadline is Monday, Feb. 14, 2022.

For more information on the program, contact your school counselor or Pamela Poole, AMEA Scholarship Coordinator, (334) 387-3504, (800) 239-2632, Ext. 1110, or pam@amea.com.

AMEA, a joint action agency formed in 1981 and located in Montgomery, is the wholesale power provider for 11 public power utilities in Alabama, which serve some 350,000 customers.

Without them, we’d be sitting in the dark, freezing cold or unbearably hot. We wouldn’t be able to charge our cell phones, make our morning coffee, use our computers or watch our favorite sporting event on TV. When we’re safe in our homes amidst a big storm, they’re braving the weather to do their work. And when there’s an electrical emergency, they are the first responders who risk their own lives to serve our communities. They are the lineworkers who power America.

Alabama Lineman Appreciation Day is celebrated annually to recognize these unsung heroes on the first Monday of June, as designated by the Alabama Legislature in 2014. This year’s observance is Monday, June 7.

The Alabama Municipal Electric Authority (AMEA) salutes the sacrifices and hard work of the dedicated linemen who continue to keep the lights on in its 11 Member communities.

“The job of a lineman is absolutely essential, both to Alabama’s economy and our way of life,” said Fred Clark, AMEA President & CEO. “It’s a job that can be quite unpredictable and — as a result — requires a unique combination of strength, coordination and problem solving in order to be successful in carrying out the job of providing safe, reliable electricity.”

AMEA, a joint action agency formed in 1981, is the wholesale power provider for 11 public power utilities in Alabama, including the cities of Alexander City, Dothan, Fairhope, Foley, LaFayette, Lanett, Luverne, Opelika, Piedmont, Sylacauga and Tuskegee.

Forty (40) high school seniors will enroll in a four-year college/university, community college, and/or vocational school in Alabama this year with help from the Alabama Municipal Electric Authority (AMEA) and its Members through the 2021 AMEA Scholarship Program.

Each of the 40 scholarship recipients will receive a $2,500 scholarship for a total of $100,000 awarded in this year’s program. AMEA received 178 scholarship applications in the 2021 program.

Since 1992, AMEA and its Members have provided over $2.5 million in scholarships to the graduating high school seniors who receive their electric service from AMEA Members.

To be eligible for the AMEA scholarships, a student’s family must receive electric service from an AMEA Member city electric utility and the student must attend an Alabama college/university or vocational school.

“We take our role as a good corporate citizen seriously,” said Fred D. Clark, Jr., AMEA President & CEO. “That’s why we, along with our Members, support education initiatives, like the AMEA Scholarship Program, that contribute to making our state economically competitive. We congratulate this year’s scholarship winners.”

This year’s AMEA Academic Scholarship recipients are:
Cassiopeia Zahra Childress, Benjamin Russell High School, Alexander City
Macy McCall Daniel, Benjamin Russell High School, Alexander City
Robert Spencer Gilliland, Benjamin Russell High School, Alexander City
Bexley McClellan Knight, Benjamin Russell High School, Alexander City
Leah Kathryn Dorsey, Providence Christian School, Dothan
Carrie Elaine Smith, Dothan High School, Dothan
Samantha Lee Turnham, Providence Christian School, Dothan
Henry Jennings Walworth, Houston Academy, Dothan
Annalyn Rebecca Duke, Fairhope High School, Fairhope
Laney Elizabeth Haas, Fairhope High School, Fairhope
Isabella Grace Myrick, Fairhope High School, Fairhope
John Murray Wallace, Fairhope High School, Fairhope
Ariana Grace Crepeau, Foley High School, Riviera Utilities
Oliver Emerson Sinclair, Jr., Spanish Fort High School, Riviera Utilities
Thomas Griffin Smith, Fairhope High School, Riviera Utilities
Dean Morgan Sheffield, Chambers Academy, LaFayette
Vakiya Shaderranique Story, LaFayette High School, LaFayette
Sabrya Zabrion Davidson, Lanett High School, Lanett
Courtney Claire Easlick, Springwood School, Lanett
Caroline Camille Kambeitz, Springwood School, Lanett
Lucille Ray Spivey, Springwood School, Lanett
William Patrick Davis, Luverne High School, Luverne
Lillian Grace Marchand, Luverne High School, Luverne
Felicity Madison Reynolds, Luverne High School, Luverne
John Daniel Tranum, Crenshaw Christian Academy, Luverne
Laura Tyson Daffin, Opelika High School, Opelika
Nicholas Garrett Fitzwater, Opelika High School, Opelika
Braxton Asenath Harris, Opelika High School, Opelika
Leighanna Virginia Howell, Opelika High School, Opelika
Jaden Xander Cantrell, Piedmont High School, Piedmont
James Alexander Cullen, Piedmont High School, Piedmont
Stevey Wayne Jenkins, Piedmont High School, Piedmont
Sara Elizabeth Luna, Piedmont High School, Piedmont
Ella Kate Brooks, Sylacauga High School, Sylacauga Utilities Board
Nethan Ray Crew, Benjamin Russell High School, Sylacauga Utilities Board
Madelyn Reese Friday, Sylacauga High School, Sylacauga Utilities Board

This year’s AMEA Community College, and/or Vocational/Trade School  Scholarship recipients include:
Zachary Ryan Paul, Elberta High School, Riviera Utilities
Nadya S. K. Heard, LaFayette High School, LaFayette
Vadaja Natae Perry, LaFayette High School, LaFayette
Kayla Michele Hogan, Sylacauga High School, Sylacauga Utilities Board

AMEA, a joint action agency formed in 1981, is the wholesale power provider for 11 public power utilities in Alabama, which serve approximately 350,000 customers in the cities of Alexander City, Dothan, Fairhope, Foley, LaFayette, Lanett, Luverne, Opelika, Piedmont, Sylacauga and Tuskegee.

Electric Cities of Alabama (ECA), through its mutual aid efforts, coordinated the deployment of 18 public power utilities from throughout Alabama, Florida and Louisiana to south Alabama to assist in power restoration efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Sally.

Hurricane Sally made landfall as a Category 2 storm along Alabama’s gulf coast early Wednesday morning, Sept. 16, bringing with it dangerous storm surges, flooding and damaging winds. At peak, Alabama’s municipal utilities had more than 56,000 customer power outages.

Crews began rolling out Wednesday afternoon enroute to the City of Fairhope, Riviera Utilities in Foley, City of Evergreen, and the City of Robertsdale, said Jonathan Hand, ECA Executive Director. ECA serves as the mutual aid coordinator for 36 municipal electric utilities across the state of Alabama. ECA has an established mutual aid program through which member cities aid fellow member cities. Should the need arise, ECA coordinates all out-of-state requests and response to natural disasters.

“I am so thankful for the hardworking men and women who work for municipally owned electric utilities throughout our state,” said Hand. “When disaster hits, it’s reassuring to know there are public power utilities ready and willing to lend a helping hand.”

Public power utilities assisting in south Alabama include: Cullman Power Board; City of Troy Utilities; Huntsville Utilities; Municipal Utilities Board of Albertville; Dothan Utilities; Decatur Utilities; Guntersville Electric Board; Opelika Power Services; Utilities Board of Tuskegee; Russellville Electric Board; Scottsboro Electric Power Board; Tallahassee, FL; The Utilities Commission of New Smyrna Beach, FL; Jacksonville Electric Authority (JEA), FL; Gainesville, FL; Orlando Utilities Commission, FL; Lafayette Utilities System, LA; Florida Municipal Electric Association; and American Public Power Association.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Donna Key
Director of Communications and Marketing
Electric Cities of Alabama
(334) 954-3221
dkey@electricities.org

Will you be graduating from high school in the spring of 2021? Do you receive your electricity from a public power utility in Alabama? Then if your answer to these questions is “yes,” you could be eligible to receive a scholarship from the Alabama Municipal Electric Authority (AMEA) and its Member cities/utilities. AMEA and its Members will make available 44, $2,500 scholarships (4 scholarships per Member city) in 2020.

Since 1992, AMEA has awarded over $2.5 million in scholarship monies to graduating high school seniors who receive their electric service from AMEA Members.

To be eligible for an AMEA scholarship, a student’s parent and/or legal guardian must receive electric service from an AMEA Member utility, and the student must attend a four-year college/university, community college, and/or vocational/trade school within the state of Alabama.

Applications are currently available from school counselors in AMEA Member cities, or you can go online to the AMEA web site, www.amea.com, Scholarship. Application deadline is Monday, Feb. 8, 2021.

For more information on the program, contact your school counselor or Pamela Poole, AMEA Scholarship Coordinator, (334) 387-3504, (800) 239-2632, Ext. 1110, or pam@amea.com.

AMEA, a joint action agency formed in 1981 and located in Montgomery, is the wholesale power provider for 11 public power utilities in Alabama, which serve some 350,000 customers.

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Forty-four (44) high school seniors will enroll in a four-year college/university, community col- lege, and/or vocational school in Alabama this year with help from the Alabama Municipal Electric Authority (AMEA) and its 11 Members through the 2020 AMEA Scholarship Program.

Each of the 44 scholarship recipients will receive a $2,500 scholarship for a total of $110,000 awarded in this year’s program. AMEA received 192 scholarship applications in the 2020 program.

Since 1992, AMEA and its Members have provided over $2.5 million in scholarships to the grad- uating high school seniors who receive their electric service from AMEA Members, including Alexander City, Dothan, Fairhope, LaFayette, Lanett, Luverne, Opelika, Piedmont, Riviera Utilities (Foley), Sylacauga and Tuskegee.

To be eligible for the AMEA scholarships, a student’s family must receive electric service from an AMEA Member city electric utility and the student must attend an Alabama college/university or vocational school.

“We take our role as a good corporate citizen seriously,” said Fred D. Clark, Jr., AMEA President & CEO. “That’s why we, along with our Members, support education initiatives, like the AMEA Scholarship Program, that contribute to making our state economically competitive. We congratulate this year’s scholarship winners.”

This year’s AMEA Academic Scholarship recipients are:

Camryn Marie Benefield, Benjamin Russell High School, Alexander City
James Andrew Caldwell, Benjamin Russell High School, Alexander City
Kathryn Elizabeth Crutchfield, Benjamin Russell High School, Alexander City
Anna Lauren Baldwin, Providence Christian School, Dothan
Katherine Olivia Griffin, Providence Christian School, Dothan
Maggie Lynn Janney, Houston Academy, Dothan
Morgan Hanson Blosser, Fairhope High School, Fairhope
Bethany Grace Graham, Fairhope High School, Fairhope
Rosa Jolie Mastin, Fairhope High School, Fairhope
Kyndall Brady Nelms, Fairhope High School, Fairhope
Max Burton Brown, Daphne High School, Riviera Utilities
Anna Elizabeth Turner, Daphne High School, Riviera Utilities
Jackson Spencer Ward, Daphne High School, Riviera Utilities
Tytiana Keriana Bell, LaFayette High School, LaFayette
Anquavion Jamal Presley, LaFayette High School, LaFayette
Cayla Cheyenne Nelson, Springwood School, Lanett
Jordan Bennett Plank, Springwood School, Lanett
Shamesia Ashanti Pruitt, Lanett High School, Lanett
Rebecca Leigh Billings, Crenshaw Christian Academy, Luverne
Aaliyah Ashanti Monique Harris, Luverne High School, Luverne
Hope Elizabeth Bearden, Opelika High School, Opelika
Dozier Howard Smith T, Opelika High School, Opelika
Hannah Claire Wilson, Opelika High School, Opelika
Elizabeth Grace Goss, Jacksonville Christian Academy, Piedmont
Christian Trey McFarland, Piedmont High School, Piedmont
Adelynn Loraine Straub, Piedmont High School, Piedmont
Silas Christopher Thompson, Piedmont High School, Piedmont
Nicholas Ray Mauldin, Sylacauga High School, Sylacauga Utilities Board
Ashlyn Grayce Tyler, Sylacauga High School, Sylacauga Utilities Board
Ashleigh Susan Harrison, Booker T. Washington High School, Utilities Board of
Tuskegee
Lane Carter Johnson, Macon East Academy, Utilities Board of Tuskegee
Kaitlyn Michelle Roberts, Edgewood Academy, Utilities Board of Tuskegee
Rachel Wilson Sargent, Macon East Academy, Utilities Board of Tuskegee

This year’s AMEA Community College/Vocational School Scholarship recipients include:

Braxton Lee Ray, Benjamin Russell High School, Alexander City
Stephen Philip Holliman, Dothan High School, Dothan
Samuel Austin Miller, Daphne High School, Riviera Utilities
Tamara Denise Presley, LaFayette High School, LaFayette
Jordan Jarentae Wallace, LaFayette High School, LaFayette
Judson Dennis Garner, Valley High School, Lanett
Kayonnie Elise Smith, Luverne High School, Luverne
Shakira Alise Upshaw, Luverne High School, Luverne
Zachary Hunter Pierce, Opelika High School, Opelika
Kylie Alexis Loftis, Sylacauga High School, Sylacauga Utilities Board
Marlie Elizabeth Sims, Knollwood Christian School, Sylacauga Utilities Board

AMEA, a joint action agency formed in 1981, is the wholesale power provider for 11 public power utilities in Alabama, which serve approximately 350,000 customers in the cities of Alexander City, Dothan, Fairhope, Foley, LaFayette, Lanett, Luverne, Opelika, Piedmont, Sylacauga and Tuskegee.

The Alabama Municipal Electric Authority (AMEA), in partnership with the City of Lanett, dedicated a new 50-KW solar research project in the City of Lanett on Wednesday, Dec. 11. The AMEA-City of Lanett Solar Research Project, located at 119 S. Gilmer Avenue, was completed in November.

“We are proud of the new solar research project in Lanett as part of our effort to enhance renewable energy in our portfolio,” said Fred Clark, AMEA President & CEO. “We want to thank the City of Lanett and the Chambers County Development Authority (CCDA) for its leadership and partnership in this endeavor.”

AMEA partnered with the City of Lanett and CCDA on the purchase of the 27-acre Lanett mill site. The City and CCDA have worked to develop the site as a commercial or light industry zone. The solar project and the new Tractor Supply Company are located on the site.

The AMEA Board of Directors approved a $1 million investment to construct one solar research project in each Member city for a total of 11 projects, Clark added. AMEA has dedicated similar-size solar research projects in Alexander City, Dothan, Foley, LaFayette, Luverne, Opelika, Sylacauga and Tuskegee.

The Greater Valley Area Chamber of Commerce conducted a ribbon cutting as part of the day’s activities.

AMEA, located in Montgomery, is the wholesale power provider for 11 public power utilities in Alabama, which serve some 350,000 customers in Alexander City, Dothan, Fairhope, Foley (Riviera Utilities), LaFayette, Lanett, Luverne, Opelika, Piedmont, Sylacauga, and Tuskegee.

It was “chamber of commerce” weather on Thursday, Oct. 17 as the Alabama Municipal Electric Authority (AMEA) celebrated 15 years of its Sylacauga Plant with AMEA Members and other key stakeholders. Those in attendance enjoyed a barbecue lunch and tours of the plant.

In 2004, AMEA became the first organization in Alabama in more than 80 years to build a municipally-owned power generation plant.

The AMEA-Sylacauga Plant, owned collectively by AMEA’s 11 municipal electric systems, uti- lizes two GE LM 6000 natural gas, combustion turbine generating units. Together they can gen- erate 95,000 kilowatts. The aircraft version of the engine drives commercial aircraft such as the Boeing 747-400.

AMEA, a joint action agency formed in 1981, is the wholesale power provider for 11 public power utilities in Alabama, which serve approximately 350,000 customers in the cities of Alexander City, Dothan, Fairhope, Foley, LaFayette, Lanett, Luverne, Opelika, Piedmont, Sylacauga and Tuskegee.

Photo Gallery

During its Aug. 22 board meeting, the Alabama Municipal Electric Authority (AMEA) Board of Directors elected new officers.

Mayor Gary Fuller of Opelika has been elected chairman of the AMEA Board of Directors. Fuller replaces long-time board chairman, Don McClellan of Alexander City, who died June 26. Fuller, who has served on the AMEA Board for the past 18 years, had previously served as vice chairman for the past 10 years.

Other board officers elected on Aug. 22 were Morris Tate of Luverne, vice chairman, and Dale Baker of Sylacauga, secretary/treasurer. Tate, who has served on the AMEA Board for the past 16 years, had previously served as secretary/treasurer for the past 10 years. Baker has served on the board for the past 10 years.

AMEA, a joint action agency formed in 1981 and located in Montgomery, is the wholesale power provider for 11 public power utilities in Alabama, which serve some 350,000 customers in the cities of Alexander City, Dothan, Fairhope, Foley, LaFayette, Lanett, Luverne, Opelika, Piedmont, Sylacauga, and Tuskegee.