October 2009 • Published for Georgia Power employees and retirees

Articles

It's a big deal! Enterprise Solutions implemented at Georgia Power

Van accident victims getting better

'The Eagle' makes payment processing more efficient

Kilowatt Korner to move business online

Flood brings challenges not usually seen

Club of Hearts comes through for affected employee

ICE Awards honor top thinkers

Company recognizes new teachers with $1,000 grants

Workshops geared to distribution safety

Georgia Power People

In Memoriam

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Club of Hearts comes through for
affected employee

Sean Talley tells his story calmly and methodically, traits that serve him well in assisting customers from all operating companies with power calls as well as fielding emergency calls from 911 operators in his job as a service consultant at the Customer Care Center.

"It was Monday, Sept. 21 at 10 a.m. when I got a call from my wife stating that water was rising from the storm drains," he recalled.

Talley wasn't worried at that point, he said. He has seen flooding before from the two creeks surrounding the Austell subdivision he and his family have lived in for 10 years.

"The water rose in 2004 and came 7 feet from our house. We were told this would never happen again," he said, adding that his subdivision is surrounded by 140-plus acres of floodplain with a 5-foot elevation difference from street level to floodplain level; thus, the family did not have flood insurance.

An hour and half later, Talley's wife, Samia, called and said there was a foot of water in the garage.

"I left work at that time. I wanted to get my girls," said Talley of his daughters, Taylor, 9, and Jordan, 6. "Their school (Clarksdale Elementary) is on the opposite side of the creek, so I knew it was flooding there, too."

Because of the road closures, Talley's normal commute of one hour took over two, with Talley calling the school several times to find out about evacuation.

In the meantime, at his home, the water continued to rise. His wife, unable to exit the subdivision due to the flooded streets, parked her car on a main street. It was ultimately destroyed. She and her mother then began to move photos and belongings to high shelves in the two-story home, thinking the water would never reach that level. They would soon learn otherwise.

As the rains continued, Talley reached his daughters' school in time to see a parking lot full of buses. He was able to find his oldest daughter, but his younger daughter's bus was already en route. He navigated the treacherous roads, picked her up at a nearby middle school, and dropped them off at a friend's home, where the family is still staying.

Talley got his family out through a bedroom window
of the home, with only a few articles of clothing in hand. Inside, the water was over a foot deep. It would eventually reach almost 10 feet in his living room. The entire finished basement and first floor of his home would be destroyed. The street outside would be a remarkable 18 feet under water.

Talley then rushed to rescue his wife and mother-in-law, parking his car behind the subdivision, running through water and jumping fences to get to his home. What he found there shocked him.

"There was 9 feet of water on one side and 11 feet on the other," he said. "I had to rip a panel from our privacy fence to gain access to the house."

Talley got his family out through a bedroom window of the home, with only a few articles of clothing in hand. Inside, the water was over a foot deep – it would eventually reach almost 10 feet in his living room. The entire finished basement and first floor of his home would be destroyed. The street outside would be a remarkable 18 feet under water. Approximately 150 homes out of 180 in his subdivision would be lost. After getting his family to safety, Talley procured the neighborhood club house to be used as a shelter for displaced families.

"I thank the Lord that we are safe," said Talley. "I'm not worried about those material things. Those are nothing. I have my family and that is all that matters."

Back at Georgia Power, Talley's coworker and "advocate," Emerson Cunningham, training instructor, began lining up assistance. He sent Talley information on the Club of Hearts Employee Emergency Fund (EEF), telling him to fill it out and fax it as soon as possible. The EEF fund provides financial assistance to employees who have suffered a hardship.

"Emerson helped me focus and get through the initial cloudiness I felt afterwards," said Talley. "I knew about Club of Hearts and had attended rallies and have given where I could to it, but it was not the first thought in my mind."

Within one day of his application, Club of Hearts responded, with Cunningham hand-delivering a check for $1,000. Talley will receive up to $5,000 once the restoration begins.

"It helped us secure a new place to live," said Talley, who just signed a year's lease on a place for the family to live during the interim. "It helped with our immediate needs such as new jackets for my girls."

"I think the Employee Emergency Fund is one of the strongest demonstrations of Southern Style and who we are at Georgia Power," said Louise Scott, Customer Care Center director. "We are all so lucky to work for a company whose employees are willing to offer their own donations to support other employees, even if we've never met them.  My heart goes out to the Talleys, and we at the Care Center will continue to look for ways to help this wonderful family through this tough time."

"I will always be an advocate of the Club of Hearts because of this," Talley said. "They were so gracious, and I'm very grateful to be a part of a company that helps its employees the way Georgia Power does."