Catching up with Bud Klugh

After a successful 35-year career with Georgia Power, Bud Klugh says he couldn’t have imagined working anywhere else. Bud joined Georgia Power in 1986 when he was 20 years old after serving in the Coast Guard reserves and never looked back. He worked his way up to lineman, eventually becoming a crew leader and line crew and Construction supervisor, working in several locations, including Duluth, Athens, Hartwell and North Shallowford. He finished his career in July 2021 as a Distribution supervisor in Gainesville.

He also came out of retirement three years ago to join Georgia Power’s “Eyes on the Wire” program, becoming the first retiree hired to work in the Augusta area to help with the young workforce at Georgia Power. The Eyes on The Wire program began three years ago with interest and input from retirees to help fill the gap and be an additional set of eyes on the ground to meet an increased workload by a younger and much less experienced line crew, according to Clarence Spencer, Safety & Health supervisor. Currently, there are 16 retired employees helping around the state to ensure crews in the field follow safe work practices and return home safely to their families.

Through his program participation, Bud helped Georgia Power crews during the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in the Augusta area, where he provided additional support and guidance in restoration efforts for crews relatively new to the company.

You can watch Bud’s video detailing his work with Helene restoration efforts as part of the Eyes on the Wire program on our Georgia Power Instagram post here.

We caught up with Bud during a recent video call he took from his home in Hart County near the South Carolina border.

What are you up to now?

My wife and I are active in church, and I am a member of Gideons International. We meet every Saturday for Bible meetings and prayer. We are blessed to have seven grandchildren — six boys and one girl — who are close by that we enjoy spending time with, attending a number of their sporting, cheerleading and fishing events. I also enjoy working outside, staying active on our 25 acres.

Although I’ve pulled back a bit this year, I still enjoy participating in the Eyes on the Wire program. It’s great spending time with younger crew members, typically during routine and emergency situations, and helping with issues on the ground. I find it really enjoyable to be a part of this program and help them address any safety concerns or issues that may arise. We retirees know a thing or two, because we have seen a thing or two.

During Helene, I saw the worst damage I have ever seen. When I, and others, arrived in hard-hit Augusta as part of Eyes on the Wire, only one substation was energized in the Augusta area. Our Eyes on the Wire retirees knew what was expected based on our experience and offered suggestions to new crews on how to get lights up and running. It felt like nothing ever changed with our focus on taking care of customers and supporting our linemen.

What was your proudest moment at Georgia Power?

Making lineman is a big milestone as well as making supervisor at our Winder Headquarters office, which really was a special place to work with great teamwork. We used to have a keychain at Georgia Power that said, ‘Save money, make money, satisfy customers and work safely.’ This was a mantra that I carry with me to this day.

I’m also grateful that I never supervised someone that had a serious or life threatening or altering injury. This was something that I didn’t really reflect on until a few days before I retired when I visited all my previous work locations to say goodbye. I prayed for my guys every day and put safety top of mind, so, as I look back, having a role to ensure they returned safely to their families through our focus on safe work practices is really gratifying.

What did you enjoy most about your time at Georgia Power?

I definitely enjoyed working with my fellow employees. It was really satisfying to work with teammates who were striving to achieve the same goal. I enjoyed my time spent with all the line crews and supervisors that I had the pleasure of working with in my 35 years, including close working relationships with Wendell Smith, Clarence Spencer, Tina Brooks and Mike Middleton.

I also enjoyed meeting and developing relationships with a variety of customers over the years, including residential, commercial and industrial, to learn just how vital our Georgia Power services are to them. I received a tremendous amount of satisfaction knowing that our work was crucial to help our customers get their power restored when there was an outage and to help businesses thrive.

Can you share your secrets to success?

I attribute my success to several key principles:

• Surround yourself with good folks, and you be a part of that good as well. This includes speaking up and asking questions as well as creating a great network.
• Work hard, tell the truth, and have a good attitude. Those can take you far. A lot of life boils down to those three things that I learned from a young age.

Looking back, is there anything you would do differently?

Everyone has room for improvement. Georgia Power asks a lot from employees but also rewards us accordingly. It took a lot for me to realize that I didn’t have to be there for every decision. Learn to let go and delegate a bit more to others. Trust your folks. You don’t have to be there and involved in every decision. You can miss a lot of valuable time with your family when you don’t learn to delegate.

I’m happy to see that our company’s approach to work/life balance has improved a lot over the years. Delegating will help you achieve a better work/life balance while providing you with an opportunity to spend more time with your family and loved ones.