AEP Retirees & Alumni

Derek Myers stands proudly next to the sign for Station 405 in Ohio.

(Story by Laura Vargas)

The time it takes for an ambulance or fire truck to arrive can mean the difference between life and death. The residents of Jersey Township, Ohio thought it was taking too long. Luckily, they had a great advocate in Derek Myers.

Myers is the director of the infrastructure complex team at AEP.  He’s also an engaged community member. He served as a Jersey Township Trustee and West Licking Fire Board member for more than 20 years.

In his leadership roles, Myers advocated for a new fire station, along with other township improvements.  His efforts paid off in October when a new fire station with EMS services was opened at Morse Rd. and 161.  The township dedicated the new station to him, naming it the Derek Myers Station 405.

“It was unexpected and very humbling,” Myers said.

The new station covers Jersey Township, Harrison Township, Etna Township, Reynoldsburg, Pataskala, Kirkersville and parts of New Albany. AEP’s New Albany Transmission building is also included.

“When you looked at our district, lots of improvements were made to the southern part of the district, which was more populated.  It made sense to offer the same level of service in the north,” Myers said.

Myers brings the same passion to his work on AEP’s IT team.  “We’re so proud of Derek,” said Jason Griffith, managing director of infrastructure and operations.  “His leadership and dedication are clear in his work at AEP and in the community.”

Jim Carlson places ornaments on his “giving” Christmas tree.

(Story by Tawn Earnest)

Like a lot of people this time of year, Jim Carlson and his wife, Suzanne, throw a Christmas party for friends, family and neighbors. Their guests have come to expect at least three things. The party is always the first Saturday night in December. The Ohio State game will be on TV, “no matter how painful it is to watch.” At least one of the Christmas trees will be bare.

When Jim started throwing the party years ago, guests would bring huge casseroles and bottomless bowls of chips and dip. There would be enough dessert to stock a small bakery.

“Twenty people would show up with food to feed 20 people, which meant you had enough food to feed 400 people. And, there’d be nowhere to put it,” laughed Jim, a retired AEP accountant who recently came out of retirement to return to work at AEP.

But sharing and caring is an important part of celebrating the holidays. So, in keeping with that spirit, Jim asks friends to bring an ornament instead of food. At the party, they hang their ornament on a small tree and share the simple joy of decorating it together. After the party, the fully decked tree moves to Jim’s car and begins its journey to a local charity. Its final destination: a needy family’s home, where the holidays will be brighter, literally and figuratively, because of it.

The very first year, Jim drove the tree to a food pantry. A man saw Jim put the tree on the floor, and quietly asked if he could take it home to surprise his kids. “As we were loading the tree onto his truck, he told me, ‘you don’t know how much this means to me,’” Jim said.

It was a game-changer for the man, whose family had planned to celebrate with a plastic palm tree. And, it was a game-changer for Jim.

Jim’s party has donated a Christmas tree every year since. It’s been more than a decade. In some years, friends gave Jim trees. Most years, Jim buys a new tree (or two) on clearance in January ahead of the coming Christmas. The tradition lives on thanks to Suzanne, who cooks for days ahead of time. Many of Jim’s collaborators are former coworkers whose lives he’s touched in his decades-long AEP career. They aren’t surprised at all by his ability to connect to people’s needs and find people-oriented solutions.

Years ago, as a young accountant, Jim joined AEP’s Operation Feed Steering Committee, the annual fundraiser for the local food bank. He earned a reputation as a master networker who kept an A-Z binder of contacts that he constantly updated. Small talk with strangers while riding up on the elevator at AEP’s downtown tower opened a gold mine of details about family, hobbies and interests. Jim captured all those little details in his binder. The binder became a catalogue of both needs and leads. Jim used it as an excuse to reconnect and help his new friends.

“You were put on this earth for a reason,” said Jim, pausing to choose his words. “Maybe the reason is to help someone else.”

AEP Executive Vice President Paul Chodak (right) presents the AEP Chairman’s Life Saving Award to APCO Line Crew Supervisor Herb Coles Nov. 21 in Roanoke. In April, Coles rushed to the aid of his neighbor who was being attacked by a dog. His actions likely saved her life.

(Story by Teresa Hall)

In a room full of coworkers, Herb Coles, a line crew supervisor for Appalachian Power Company, accepted the AEP Chairman’s Life Saving Award for his actions in April that likely saved his neighbor’s life. Paul Chodak, AEP executive vice president — Utilities, presented the award after commending Coles for his willingness to help someone in need.

“Anyone who works with dogs will tell you I did everything wrong that day,” Coles told his colleagues as he accepted the plaque. “But I didn’t have too much time to think about it. My neighbors were in trouble and I reacted, and I give all the glory to God for the way it turned out.”

A night Coles won’t forget

Coles hadn’t been home from work long; it was around 9 p.m. when he said he was startled by what sounded like kids playing followed by a faint voice possibly yelling, “Call police.”

A concerned Coles stepped outside and detected commotion next door. “It was dark and hard to tell what was going on,” he said. Coles heard his neighbor’s daughter scream, “Please help, the dog is killing my Momma.”

Coles put on his boots, grabbed a broken sledgehammer that was missing the metal head, and ran next door. Armed with only the wooden handle, he entered his neighbor’s backyard and saw what appeared to be a large pit bull with its mouth clamped down on his neighbor’s forearm. At least two other dogs were also in the yard.

Coles said his badly injured neighbor was on the ground and struggling to break free. “I hit the dog on its back as hard as I could several times, but it didn’t budge; it wouldn’t let go,” he said. The other two dogs turned on Coles. “One of the dogs was biting my shoulder, and the other was biting my ankles.”

With the pit bull latched on to his neighbor, Coles grabbed the loose skin on the back of its neck. “What happened next had to be God,” Coles said. As the dog released its grip on his neighbor, the animal turned its head toward him. “It was dark and I couldn’t see, but I shoved the stick in its mouth.”

As Coles and the dog continued to wrestle, the two fell to the ground with Coles on top. But keeping the dog at bay long enough for the women to get inside wasn’t easy. The dog managed to turn its head and bite Coles’ hand. In a panic, Coles hit the dog a second time in the mouth and saw what he said appeared to be a tooth exit its mouth. Perhaps sensing what was happening, the other two dogs scampered away and the women were able to make it inside their home.

With the women now safe, Coles jumped the fence to the security of his own yard. Police and rescue personnel soon arrived.

Coles received injuries to his hands, forearms, shoulders and buttocks, and required 11 shots. His neighbor’s injuries were far more severe and required hospitalization. She sustained at least one broken arm, blood loss, and multiple lacerations and wounds to her face.

“It had to be God that made it work just right,” Coles said. “I was home when I wasn’t supposed to be.”

Following the attack, Coles said his neighbor quietly referred to him as her hero. “I told her, no,” he said. “The glory belongs to God.”

The finished holiday lighting at Huckleberry House, with 9,000 lights.

(Story by Scott Fuller)

The Huckleberry House provides support to youth and families in Central Ohio who are dealing with abuse, poverty, homelessness and other life challenges. The organization got a little support of its own when AEP lit up the house with Christmas lights for the first time in more than 40 years.

AEP employees provided “A Very Merry Huckleberry Holiday” by stringing 9,000 white Christmas lights across the 100-plus-year-old mansion near the Short North area of Columbus. The idea was born from two line servicers from the Grandview Service Center who wanted to volunteer their time.

The plan grew to include various groups at AEP including AEP Ohio, Generation, Transmission and Employee Resource Groups that donated their time – and about $1,500 from AEP Ohio’s Energy Efficiency team for the lights alone – to illuminate the building for the first time since the crisis shelter opened in the 1970s.

Becky Naugle, coordinator, East Transmission Planning, is co-chair of the ADAPT Employee Resource Group and helped take the reins planning the project, rounding up volunteers and taking the necessary measurements at the house.

“It was a lot of fun and really cool,” Naugle said. “When I first heard about it I was so excited because I love ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation’ and I pictured us lighting up the house just like in the movie.”

Coyla Black, Transmission right of way project coordinator, has also worked to get employees connected to Huckleberry House. “AEP has been a supporter of Huckleberry House for some time,” Black said. “A year or so ago, I had the opportunity to meet some of the youth helped by Huckleberry House, and since then I’ve been introducing the AEP ERGs and other groups to find ways to get involved with this wonderful organization.”

Ten AEP employees (six from the Columbus line department and a four-man Transmission crew) spent four hours November 29 using bucket trucks to hang the lights, despite several of them working long hours the day before during an ice storm. Safety issues remained a priority, and Naugle and Safety Consultant Katrina Miaudi placed attention on the details. For example, due to the building’s age, it has no outdoor electrical outlets, so cords had to be run into the third floor and attic windows. The use of bucket trucks eliminated the need for very tall ladders that would have created a significant hazard.

The many hours of hard work paid off: On Sunday, December 2, a public ceremony was held, complete with carolers and hot chocolate, that illuminated the house and brought smiles to the children’s faces. The lights will remain on from dusk to midnight through the end of December.

“This effort was very important to us. We were so proud to be able to have our employees help and spread some holiday cheer in the community,” said Dave Tabata, energy efficiency and consumer programs manager for AEP Ohio.

“The staff and residents of Huckleberry House are all wonderful. They really have warmed our hearts – so much so that we hope to be back next year to provide more lights and an even brighter holiday.”

Learn more about getting involved with Huckleberry House.