Texas Transmission Crew Receives AEP Hero Award

AEP Transmission employees (shown left to right) Gilbert Silvas, Roel Garcia, Carlos Zepeda and Jonathan Gonzalez received the AEP Hero Award for rescuing a Corpus Christi resident who was stranded on the roof of her flooded vehicle during a storm this past summer.

(Story by Linda O’Horo)

AEP Transmission Line Crew Supervisor Jonathan Gonzalez and Transmission Line Mechanics Gilbert Silvas, Roel Garcia, and Carlos Zepeda recently received the AEP Hero Award from Transmission leadership for their heroic efforts rescuing a woman stranded on the roof of her car in rising waters in July.

Shawn Robinson, managing director, Transmission Field Services (Line-West), nominated the crew for this corporate award, which he presented to them during a recent visit to the Lon Hill Service Center.

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“There’s a lot of good work our employees do out there every day, and we just want to take the time to recognize a few employees, encourage them, and let them know we appreciate them when they step out of their way and do things like this,” Robinson said. “This is about being a brother’s keeper, which we talk about internally a lot, watching out for each other.

“But in our roles we deal with the public a lot. So in this case, it was not about the electrical system, but being a part of the community. They went above and beyond to help someone in need, so it’s just a great chance to recognize them.”

Garcia said he and his fellow crew members chose to do the right thing that day.

“We were just doing our jobs when we decided to look and see, and we saw a lady there,” Garcia said. “We helped her after putting our whole family perspective in mind. It didn’t seem like a big deal at the time, just the right thing to do. So this award is not something I expected, but it is appreciated. It was just the right thing to do.”