AEP Retirees & Alumni

In the summer of 1982, a soon-to-be constructed power plant in Hallsville, Texas, offered the promise of opportunity for 30 young men eager to make their mark in the world.

These men joined SWEPCO as apprentice machinists for the H.W. Pirkey Power Plant. Their job entailed repairing and maintaining plant equipment and structures, a trade they learned together as Pirkey was built.

The experience bonded them, and they came to rely on each other for advice, assistance, and encouragement. Forty years later, 12 of these original 30 apprentices will be on hand for the plant’s final operation on March 31, 2023.

“We’ve had a lot of fun and challenging times together,” said Brent Ogden, now the plant’s maintenance superintendent. “We’re one big family, and I know we’ll continue to be lifelong friends even after the plant closes.”

Ogden, who transferred to Turk Power Plant in 2010, planned to retire in March 2022 but reconsidered when he was offered the chance to return to Pirkey for its final year of operation.

“There were several reasons I chose to come back,” he said. “But a big part of it was being with the guys I started with when the plant shuts down.”

Franklin’s Follies

In the early days, the group came to be known as Franklin’s Follies, a nod to their supervisor and later VP of Generation Paul Franklin, who guided their training and first steps in the industry.

“That’s what everyone labeled us because he had to raise a bunch of kids,” Ogden said with a laugh. “I was the oldest at 22.”

Some had heard about the job through family friends while others learned about it in trade classes.

“I was in a class learning how to do industrial electrical wiring when a counselor came in and told us SWEPCO wanted to hire 30 people to send to college to be machinists,” said Wade Hicks, a station machinist. “I’d never stepped foot in a machine shop, but it sounded like something that could be a lifelong career.”

Their first two years on the job were spent in the classroom. The apprentices had on-the-job instruction at a training building on the plant site, as well as machine shop classes at Kilgore College, where they learned drafting and technical physics, among other things.

“We were required to maintain an 85 average in all our classes,” said Ben Craig, maintenance supervisor. “In the summer, we would tear apart old gas plant pumps and check clearances and learn how to do maintenance on them.”

That knowledge transferred to the plant in the fall of 1984 when they began to test the new equipment.

“It was exciting knowing that we were putting this thing online,” Ogden said. “We didn’t know what to expect. At first it was overwhelming to see all this big equipment and know we were going to have to maintain it. But the more we worked on it, the more it became a challenge we took pride in.”

Working together

One of the most memorable of those challenges was the time they repaired a low-pressure (LP) rotor on the steam turbine a few months after the plant began commercial operation.

“We immediately went into doing something that had been planned for the annual warranty inspection,” Craig said. “It was a scramble to get it done, but we were ready.”

He said the thing that made the experience so exciting was that the LP rotor – which rotates the turbine blades – had been off limits during their training days.

“Everyone was eager to tear into this thing because we couldn’t even get near it before,” he said.

Maintenance Supervisor Ricky Morris said they learned a lot from that repair, and it was an experience that helped them navigate future maintenance on LP rotors.

“We got where we could probably pull those blades off with our eyes closed,” he said.

But for Morris, the best memories occurred in the boiler.

He said a tube leak in the boiler could cause quite a bit of damage as it wasn’t detected until an operator heard it.

“Today, we’ve got acoustic monitoring systems that picks those up really quick, but back then, we relied on operators to hear them,” he said. “By the time you got in there, it was a pretty good size wreck, and we’d be in there for a week. It was hard work, but you’d carry on conversations, and we made a lot of good memories inside the boiler.”

Closing a chapter

Throughout the years, these men saw a lot of changes in not just plant maintenance but their own lives.

They started families, gained promotions, and celebrated milestones together over the years.

“Now, we’re the old dogs around the yard,” Craig said. “Not a day goes by that someone comes up with a question, and we say go ask Larry (Garrison), Keith (Bynum) or Ronnie (McBride). SWEPCO did a good a job of hiring good people. Looking back and knowing what we achieved together, it’s remarkable.”

In his youth, Dave Callahan saw a future as a professional singer. At age 16 he joined a choir that toured Europe and later studied vocal music education at Heidelberg University.

With careers in the arts limited, Callahan began considering other jobs to help pay the bills. He did electrical work during the summer months and, after a stint as a full-time electrician, he started his career as a line mechanic-D at the Canton South Service Center in 1981.

Forty years later, Callahan is retiring from AEP Ohio. He spent about 20 years as a dispatcher (in Canton) and a dispatching trainer (in Columbus) before being named mutual assistance coordinator in 2004. That experience helped lay the groundwork for his current job as emergency preparedness manager, which he started in 2016.

We talked with Callahan about his career and his plans after he leaves July 6.

What’s your best memory from your time with AEP Ohio?

Doing mutual assistance I got to go to a lot of neat places and meet people from all across the United States. I was able to see and learn from utilities outside AEP. Other than that I will remember all the people I have worked with over the years.

You’ve become a professional storm watcher. Any tips for the amateurs out there?

It’s all about the history and understanding what’s happened before. It’s getting the feel for how weather affects each location across Ohio. I’m studying the weather daily – you have to dig in a little bit and watch the wind charts. In my work I was able to meet with meteorologists and that helped me a lot. Here’s what you need to know: Wind drives our weather.

When a storm hit you were on 24/7. How are you going to spend that time during the next big storm?

When a storm hits I’m going to sit back and watch it and not worry about it. I’m looking forward to not being on the phone so much. My daughter likes to say that it wouldn’t be a holiday unless Dad is on a conference call.

You blossomed into a media star during your time here. What’s the secret to your on-camera gravitas?

Number one, I was knowledgeable about the questions reporters asked me. I knew what I was talking about, I knew the plan. That made it easier. Also, my past music history of performing in front of crowd, of being on stage in front of a thousand people, that’s no big deal to me.

Oh and the fact that I didn’t get a choice helped, too! I was in Grove City after the tornado hit and no one was there to do interviews so they put in front of the camera. The rest is history.

OK, so you’re a good singer – what’s your karaoke go-to?

I don’t know, maybe “Hooked on a Feeling”? Musically I’m probably more inclined to classical stuff, like church hymns or an Italian aria. My wife and I are also into Irish trad music.

Any tips for AEP Ohio’s younger workforce?

It doesn’t matter whether you’re talking to someone at the highest or lowest level of the company – treat everyone the same. You may have your way to do something but that’s not the only way to do it. Everyone works differently. Swallow your pride a little bit and go with the flow.

What are you most looking forward to in your retirement?

I’m looking forward to spending more time with family and my grandkids. My wife and I are moving into our family’s 44-acre family farm in Navarre right next to my daughter and there’s a lot of work to be done on that house. I’ll also do some woodworking, and we have some little trips planned to see the bourbon distilleries in Kentucky. So I’ll stay busy.

AEP announced today that Raja Sundararajan, currently senior vice president, Regulatory and Customer Solutions, will become the company’s executive vice president , External Affairs when Charles Patton retires July 1. He will report to Nick Akins, chairman, president and chief executive officer.

“Charles’ leadership and contributions have been a critical part of our success during his 27 years with the company. He led two different operating companies and held several other key leadership positions, approaching every challenge with thoughtfulness and a collaborative leadership style,” Akins said. “Charles has deftly guided his teams as they have offered new services to customers, achieved positive outcomes with regulators and policy makers, and enhanced the support we offer our customers and communities. We wish him all the best during his well-deserved retirement.”

Sundararajan will lead AEP’s communications and marketing, customer, regulatory, federal public policy, and Ohio government affairs groups. These individuals will report to him:

• Phil Dion, vice president and interim Chief Customer Officer
• Maria Haberman, managing director, Ohio Governmental Affairs
• Anthony P. Kavanagh, senior vice president, Governmental Affairs
• Melissa McHenry, senior vice president, Communications and Marketing
• Matthew Satterwhite, vice president, Regulatory Services.

“Raja brings a wealth of experience to the executive leadership team,” Akins said. “He has demonstrated a keen understanding of the unique regulatory and policy challenges of our industry during his nearly two decades with AEP, holding key leadership roles in commercial operations, corporate finance, regulatory and transmission. He also served as president of AEP Ohio. Raja’s array of experiences and his technical expertise will provide valuable insights as we continue our transition to a clean energy future.”

Sundararajan joined AEP in 2002. His most recent prior role was as president and chief operating officer for AEP Ohio. He has also served as vice president, Regulatory Services, leading AEP’s regulatory activities before state commissions and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. He was also vice president, Transmission Asset Strategy and Policy; managing director, Transmission Business Strategy; managing director of Market Risk; and has held management positions in Treasury and Corporate Finance.

Sundararajan has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology. He also has a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Maryland, a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Michigan and he completed the Executive MBA program at the University of Virginia. Sundararajan serves as a board member of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and United Way of Central Ohio.

The Women’s International Network of Utility Professionals (WiNUP) Annual Conference will be held in Little Rock, Arkansas. Many development opportunities are offered to attendees through the annual conference, which is supported in part by AEP.

As a presenting sponsor of the conference, six AEP employees / retirees will be awarded free conference registration. Winners of the free registrations will be responsible for all other expenses, including travel and hotel.

• Your completed application must be received by June 24, 2022. Winners will be notified by June 30, 2022.
• Applicants must be a current AEP employee or AEP retiree.
• You do not need to be a WiNUP member to apply.
• Applicants must have approval to attend the conference before submitting the application if not using personal time.

More conference highlights and hotel information are available at WINUP.org.

If you are interested, please complete and submit the application: C-1 2022 conf sponsorship application updated (002)

WiNUP is an association dedicated to providing professional development, networking and mentoring for women in the utility and energy industries.  Founded as the Electrical Women’s Roundtable in New York in 1923, WiNUP currently has more than 600 members.

Shane Lies has been named senior vice president and chief nuclear officer of Cook Nuclear Plant, effective July 1. Lies will succeed Joel Gebbie, who has announced plans to retire after 36 years with the company.   Barton added, “Joel’s extensive experience, industry knowledge and focus on the culture necessary to support operational excellence has ensured Cook’s ability to generate clean, reliable power for the customers of Indiana Michigan Power. He developed an incredibly talented leadership team that is well-prepared to continue Cook’s legacy of excellence. We thank him for his significant contributions and leadership within the industry, as well as his service to Cook and AEP. We wish Joel all the best in his well-deserved retirement.”“Shane brings a deep understanding of the industry, nuclear operations and an appreciation for the culture needed to support nuclear excellence. Since joining Cook 26 years ago, he has developed deep knowledge of Cook Plant operations and built strong relationships with Cook employees, industry stakeholders and the surrounding communities,” said Lisa Barton, executive vice president and chief operating officer. “He has demonstrated his passion for operational excellence, reliability and ensuring that safety remains the top priority. As he transitions into his new role, I know his team will ensure that Cook continues to deliver clean, reliable energy to customers in Michigan and Indiana.”

“Kelly brings strong technical expertise and a shared commitment to safety, continuous improvement and is well prepared to continue to drive excellence in Cook’s operations and develop the Cook team as site vice president,” Barton said.Lies will report to Barton. His replacement as site vice president will be Kelly Ferneau, currently Cook’s plant manager.

Scott Dailey, operations director, has been named Cook’s new plant manager.

Lies joined AEP in 1996 as a system engineer at Cook and has served in numerous roles, including engineering vice president and plant manager. Lies has a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Kansas State University.

Ferneau joined AEP in 2013 as an operations work control manager at Cook and has served as director of operations in addition to her current role. She has held numerous roles in nuclear power generation since 1990. Ferneau holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Trine University and has held a senior reactor operator license.

Dailey joined AEP in 1999 as production supervisor for Cook’s Maintenance department and has served in numerous roles.