AEP Retirees & Alumni

Terry Cory with Drew Carey on “the Price is Right”

(Story by Tracy Warner)

Retiree Terry Cory, a 40-year AEP veteran, recently gave his family a big surprise.

Eight weeks after attending a taping of “The Price is Right,” Terry watched the show with his family – and they learned then that he won a car.

Terry’s appearance on the popular TV game show was featured in a story on Indianapolis television recently.

Terry retired in 2008 as a senior equipment specialist for AEP Transmission based in Muncie.

Kentucky Power employees show that there is strength in numbers at the Leonard Lawson Cancer Center in Pikeville, Ky.

(Story by Allison Barker)

Jessica Adkins learned how the Leonard Lawson Cancer Center at Pikeville (Ky.) Medical Center helps patients through difficult diagnosis when her grandmother was diagnosed with both breast cancer and lung cancer in 2016. Adkins, an administrative assistant in Pikeville, says she is thankful her grandmother won both health battles. It is that personal experience that led Adkins to choose the cancer center as the recipient of her 2018 Make a Difference grant.

“It feels really amazing to be part of a company that not only allows, but encourages us to give back within our own communities,” Adkins said. “The cancer center not only took care of my grandmother medically, but in other aspects as well. When the chemo treatments caused her hair to come out, the center gave her a wig. When the radiation treatments caused burns on her skin, the center gave her lotion. When she got to ring the `cancer free’ bell, every single person on staff came to watch and applaud, and had a little party for her with cupcakes. All of these things helped her feel special in the hardest time of her life.

“Seeing her smile made me feel forever appreciative of how the center cares for those who are very sick. The Leonard Lawson Cancer Center treats everyone like they are special, and that means a lot to the patients and to their families. Small things make a big difference in times like that and I was very proud to be able to help them to keep making patients feel special.”

Adkins’ project helps provide patients with wigs, creams and small gifts like those given to her grandmother during her illnesses. The project is one of a variety of volunteer opportunities Kentucky Power employees participated in during October. Employees received AEP Make a Difference mini-grants of up to $300 for their volunteer projects. The grants required participation of five or more employees or retirees.

Employees in Pikeville submitted several additional projects in addition to the one at the cancer center. They also participated in a walk/run that benefited the March of Dimes, as well as collected personal items and bedding for the Mountain Comprehensive Care Center, a homeless veterans transitional housing center. They also supported the Appalachian Pregnancy Care Center and the Westcare Emergency Shelter. Volunteers also participated in a spay/neuter clinic through the Appalachian SPCA.

“I volunteer because my mother taught me at a very early age to help others,” said Vanessa Phillips, an administrative assistant in Pikeville, who participated in all the Pikeville events. “My mother was always cooking and ready to feed anybody who was hungry. She was a Head Start teacher back when the only children who were allowed to go to Head Start were low-income children. She saw a lot of children come to school who needed clothes, coats, shoes, etc. She has passed away, but I honor her by continuing to help others whenever I can.  I volunteer for several charities and I am thankful that I work for a company that helps me make a difference in the lives of others that would make my mother proud.”

In Hazard, employees helped the Housing Development Alliance with its 2018 Community House Raising. Volunteers helped to hang and paint interior doors, lay a bit of flooring and paint.

“I think affordable housing in eastern Kentucky should be available to all, that is why I volunteered with the Housing Alliance,” said Sheena Hensley, a customer services representative in Hazard. “My time spent working on the house, whether I was painting, working on flooring or installing door knobs, helps the owner save money on labor. This way I know I have made a difference.”

In Ashland, employees gathered to support the American Heart Association’s annual HeartChase, a community adventure game. They also painted 5,000 square feet of flooring at the Neighborhood, which houses five nonprofit agencies. The Tygart Creek Fall Clean-up in Olive Hill also saw Kentucky Power volunteers.

“It is wonderful to see Kentucky Power employees supporting our communities,” said Kentucky Power President Matt Satterwhite. “We have good caring employees who live and work within the communities we serve. They want to make a difference and they are. I’m proud of them and encourage all employees to get involved and volunteer.”

Shown above: Some of the AEP-donated equipment.

(Story by Linda O’horo)

Instead of being auctioned off, some used construction equipment has been donated by AEP — to a place where it will be used to help veterans and others with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD).

A new facility, to be built on a farm in central Ohio, will enable veterans with PTSD and rescued horses to work together to heal.

The equipment donated by AEP will be used to first build an arena for equine therapy, followed by greenhouses and a retention pond.

Watch a video on the project.

This facility — where veterans can learn about potential careers in greenhouse farming and aquaculture — will be operated by True North Veteran Support, a nonprofit foundation created by Susan and Bill Barr, who live on the farm.

The Barrs told Ruth Robinson about their plans. Robinson, who retired from AEP in 2017 as manager of Generation Contracts, set up a meeting with Susan and Scott Smith, AEP Transmission senior vice president of Transmission Field Services & Controls.

After discussing construction needs, Smith contacted Diana Weaver, managing director of Supply Chain and Fleet Operations. They were very happy to assist in this effort.

AEP found and donated eight pieces of heavy construction equipment, which had been used in the Ohio and Indiana Michigan Power regions: a forklift, skid steer, two dump trucks, and four trailers.

True North Veteran Support recently held a groundbreaking event to kick-off the arena construction project.

Some veterans who were there were excited about the possibilities for this new program.

Joe Machado, an Army veteran who served in Vietnam, said “what this facility is, is another step in the direction of dealing with the veterans who come back with needs that aren’t being handled by the official sources — the VA doesn’t have anything like this.”

Ohio VFW commander David Root said that when veterans return and experience PTSD, “the slightest little thing will kick back memories that they don’t know are there, and suddenly they are re-living things that they don’t want to. And sometimes they can get through it on their own. But other times they can’t. Those who are around them know what to do to help them get around it.”

Robert Barr, who earned his Purple Heart in Korea, said, “These people will be around a gentle animal like a horse, and it will calm them down and help tremendously. I think this is going to help save a lot of veterans’ lives.”

As part of the project, Indiana Michigan Power Company workers planted 10 berry-producing trees to benefit wildlife near the right-of-way.

(Story by Linda O’horo)

Recently, Indiana Michigan Power Company (I&M) and AEP collaborated with the City of Fort Wayne on the Spy Run Extension project, which restored and enhanced a transmission right-of-way area that passes through a city park and along a greenway trail.

This was the final piece of the massive Powering Up Central project, one of five Powering Up Indiana projects to replace aging transmission infrastructure and improve reliability for customers.

Watch a video about the project.

During these projects, AEP entities collaborated with city and community officials and communicated frequently with area residents.

And for the Spy Run Extension Project, post-construction site restoration involved special efforts to enhance sustainability and beauty during restoration work in a 6.5 mile long transmission line right-of-way area.

I&M and the City of Fort Wayne worked together to create environmentally-balanced habitats which provide beauty in a right-of-way area that runs through a public parkway. Benefits from the new project include:

• Replacing old towers and lines with new, modern transmission towers and lines, which are less visible on the horizon.
• Removing invasive trees in the right-of-way area, providing better views of the adjacent St. Joseph River.
• Planting 10 berry-producing trees to benefit wildlife.
• Planting native plant seeds in one section of the right-of-way to provide animal habitat, while restricting the establishment of invasive trees.
• Adding two park benches and a bike repair station on the pathway.

The Spy Run-Greenway area project is just one example of how AEP, AEP Transmission, and AEP operating companies work with others to improve electric system reliability for customers while benefitting the surrounding community in additional ways.

AEP CEO Nick Akins discusses AEP’s third quarter financial results on CNBC’s “Mad Money with Jim Cramer” program.

Nick Akins, AEP chairman, president and chief executive officer, appeared on CNBC’s “Mad Money with Jim Cramer” program October 31 and discussed AEP’s strong financial performance in the third quarter of 2018, a “tempering” of the economy in the company’s service territory, the plight of coal in the country and more with the show’s host, stock analyst Jim Cramer.

View the video.

Concerning AEP’s third quarter results, Akins said, “We did have a great third quarter. The weather obviously drove a lot of it, but the 8.1 percent dividend increase was very good for our investors and it really showed the confidence our board has in our business plan going forward. We’re seeing a 5-to-7 percent growth rate for the foreseeable future and we expect dividends to be commensurate with that growth. We have a solid financial plan, a solid company focused on capital deployment, particularly in transmission, and in other areas, and it shows that our business plan going forward is very positive.”

Cramer noted that AEP’s industrial, commercial and residential sectors had all been improving over the last several quarters, but that was not the case in the third quarter.

“We have seen some tempering of the economy, particularly when it’s non oil and gas related,” Akins explained. “Oil and gas is still doing fine, industrials grew by 2.4 percent but we saw residential and commercial growth come down a little bit. We think it’s really driven by a strong dollar, and some of the tariffs are having an impact on non-oil-and-gas-related activities. We’re seeing some level of tempering, so we’re watching that very closely as we go forward.”

Cramer then asked if President Trump called him and told him to use more coal, would Akins be able to explain to him that it’s a very complex issue?

“Yeah, I think I would,” Akins answered. “It’s much more complex than that and we’re trying to do things to develop those coal-related territories like our Appalachian Sky initiative that focuses on industrial activities. We’re trying to get industrials to locate in those particular areas to provide options going forward, but coal-fired generation continues to fall in this country. Exports of coal, particularly metallurgical coal, continue to have an impact and we want to see that continue to progress, but I think it’s going to be tempered in its approach relative to coal-fired generation, so we have to really think about what that means to the economies in those regions of the country.”

Turning to natural gas and renewables, Akins told Cramer that, “I think you are seeing a much broader view of resources going forward. Certainly renewables are coming into play, and natural gas is being looked at as a backup source for renewables. We view transmission as a resource to bring renewables to market and to be able to optimize the entire grid from a resource perspective. We’re also seeing energy efficiencies and “smart” analytics in place relative to the system that enables us to not build that next central station generation facility. You can expect that to continue into the future.”

Cramer also noted that while other companies have made big bets on large generation projects, AEP for the most part has avoided those types of investments.

“We have thousands of smaller projects and we can have more control over these types of projects and adjust to what we’re seeing financially,” Akins said. “It really gives us an opportunity to focus on the ins and outs of those kinds of projects that accumulate to steady earnings and dividend quality for our shareholders.”