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April 27, 2005 | AECI recognizes employees who excel
Contact : Nancy Southworth Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. presented its prestigious Excel awards April 14 in a ceremony at its New Madrid Power Plant in southeast Missouri. Four employees from the Thomas Hill Energy Center - Dennie Gaines, Chuck Ashworth, Sharon Rustemeyer and Kent Dunwoody -- were nominated by their peers and selected to receive the awards, which recognize employees for their outstanding contributions to the cooperative and their communities. Dennie Gaines earns Supervisor of the Year AwardElectrical Maintenance Supervisor Dennie Gaines received the 2004 Supervisor of the Year award. Nominators said Gaines is an excellent communicator who is able to draw out the best from the people in his department. "The key to supervision is to treat your employees as you would like to be treated yourself," Gaines said. Gaines started at AECI in 1972 and rose through the ranks to become lead electrician at Thomas Hill Energy Center. Promoted to department supervisor in 1992, Gaines channels his employees' strengths, carefully balances workloads and opportunities and rotates leadership positions among department staff so all employees are able to develop their skills, nominators said. He regularly asks others for their ideas on ways to improve a task and he is extremely safety conscious and ensures that employees receive proper training. His leadership helps the department work as a team to accomplish tasks and ensure safety. For example, in 2004 his department updated the legends in the circuit breaker panels that describe which circuit connects to which piece of equipment to improve safety. They also completed the replacement of all the precipitator controls, which are part of the emissions control systems at the power plant. Kent Dunwoody selected as Employee of the Year in a Professional FieldReceiving the 2004 Employee of the Year in a Professional Field award was Kent Dunwoody, senior human resources coordinator at Thomas Hill Energy Center. Dunwoody was nominated and selected for the award because of his positive attitude, learning initiative and work ethic. Dunwoody has acquired an impressive work history at AECI that includes experience in many parts of its operations. Now that he works on the third floor in a key management position, his nominator said he is the same cheerful person as when he started as a general utility in the basement of the power plant. Dunwoody started at AECI in February 1980 and worked 20 years in operations and maintenance at the plant. His work experience includes utility operator in the coal yard, auxiliary operator with training in operations, and journeyman instrumentation technician specialist in the instrument department. While working in the instrument shop, Dunwoody took advantage of AECI's educational assistance program and completed his bachelor's degree in business management. In June 2000, he was promoted to associate plant performance manager at AECI's New Madrid Power Plant in southeast Missouri. In November 2001, he moved back to Thomas Hill as human resources coordinator and recently became senior human resources coordinator. Dunwoody continues his education, recently earning certification as a Professional in Human Resources and recently attending a weeklong conference on negotiation and administering contracts. Chuck Ashworth named Employee of the Year in a Vocational FieldJourneyman electrician specialist Chuck Ashworth was nominated and selected as the 2004 Employee of the Year in a Vocational Field due to his skill, experience, mentoring of co-workers and focus on safety. Employed by AECI since 1979, Ashworth worked his way up through the operations department, then transferred to the electrical department 15 years ago. He has become the department's expert on the indexing cleaners and water lances that keep slag from accumulating on boiler pendants. When Thomas Hill Unit 2 developed problems with the exciter in August 2004, Ashworth worked as an integral part of the departmental team to disconnect the old exciter and convert and install a new, temporary one. In barely over 48 hours, the team of employees got Unit 2 back on line and up to maximum performance. His experience in the operations department enables him to provide new hires with a sound overview of the many aspects to any job, his nominator said. As chief union steward, Ashworth has encouraged other employees to embrace the concept of the safety Voluntary Protection Program and do everything they can to meet safety goals. He truly lives the safety motto "Let everyone leave the plant the same way they arrived ... healthy and safe," his nominator said. Sharon Rustemeyer lauded with Award for Outstanding Community ServiceOffice Associate II Sharon Rustemeyer, nominated by co-workers at Thomas Hill, received the Excel Award for Outstanding Community Service in 2004. Nominators said they admire her tireless energy and her selfless dedication to helping others. "Every day Sharon does something for others," said one of her nominators. "She is the epitome of community service." Rustemeyer started in administrative services at AECI in 1987. Three years later, she moved to her current role in the preventive maintenance and engineering department. For several years, Rustemeyer has organized and inspired co-workers to ensure that area children have a good Christmas. She obtained donations of money and gifts from AECI employees as well as the community. She invested her own time in hosting campaign events, collecting gifts and delivering them. In response to her enthusiastic example, AECI employees at Thomas Hill for several years have donated $1,000 to each agency in Macon, Randolph and Chariton counties and presented gifts to 75 needy children. In addition, Rustemeyer pours herself into fundraising and support for the American Cancer Society, collecting donations and organizing Relay for Life teams. She is the organizing force behind the ham and bean and barbecue pork chop dinners. Rustemeyer, not surprisingly, credits her co-workers for the success of these events, saying all her efforts would come to nothing without their consistent participation and support of all the events. Rustemeyer also organizes one of the Thomas Hill blood drives, represents AECI on the Salisbury Chamber of Commerce and participates in her church and community. Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. is owned by and provides wholesale power to six regional and 51 local electric cooperative systems in Missouri, northeast Oklahoma and southeast Iowa that serve more than 800,000 customers. AECI's mission is to provide an economical and reliable power supply and support services to its members with the vision of being the nation's lowest-cost wholesale power supplier. AECI is a Touchstone Energy Cooperative. Released: 27 April 2005
Electronic copies of article and photographs available. |
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