Catching up with Earl Spell

Following in his father’s footsteps, Earl Spell joined the Georgia Power family and built his own legacy that continues to leave a lasting mark on the company's quality assurance processes and his community.

Raised in a Georgia Power family, Earl was inspired at a young age by his father, who served as  superintendent at Georgia Power’s Plant Mitchell and Plant Arkwright. After a summer internship at Georgia Power and graduating from Valdosta State College in 1972, Earl officially began his career at Georgia Power's Plant Hatch in 1972 as a documentation supervisor in the old GPC Production department, which housed all the generating plants.

While at Georgia Power, he held a variety of positions in quality assurance, including in the Nuclear Quality Assurance department, Plant Scherer's Construction Quality Assurance department, the Southern Nuclear Readiness Review Unit 1 Task Force, and the Plant Vogtle Quality Assurance department. Earl transferred to the Forest Park Repair Shop in 1986, where he drew upon his experience to develop the necessary procedures and framework to develop a comprehensive Quality Assurance (QA) program in just 18 months that met Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requirements to support Plants Hatch, Vogtle, and Farley. He retired in 2009 as a Quality Assurance specialist in Forest Park. 

During his career, Earl also served his local communities by supporting local recreation programs, including holding leadership positions with the Baxley-Appling County Recreation Commission and the Peachtree City Recreation Commission. Earl was recognized by the Georgia Parks and Recreation Association as Volunteer of the Year in 1999. 

We caught up with Earl recently at a West Georgia Ambassadors’ meeting, where he remains active. 

What are you up to now?

Well, when I first retired, I found out about our retiree Ambassadors chapters. I’ve met a lot of friends through the Ambassadors and become involved.  I was even part of the state board of ambassadors and served as a former president of the Metro South Chapter. My wife, Theresa (Tree) current serves as the recording secretary for the West Georgia chapter, and we regularly attend meetings.

Tree and I have three beautiful children between us and four grandchildren who keep us busy. My family enjoys spending time together and being competitive in games like volleyball.  We host several family and community events throughout the year on our property in Sharpsburg. In April, we host a family fishing tournament with immediate family and cousins. We also enjoy dressing up for Halloween in our Day of the Dead costumes, which is something that local Newnan residents also look forward to every year.  

I am also enjoying keeping up with my team, Georgia Tech, and attending football games. I have been a Tech fan since I was only 7 years old when I had a chance to meet Coach Bobby Dodd.  

Earl and family dressed up for annual "Day of the Dead" party.

Earl with family at a Georgia Tech game.

Tree and I have also enjoyed participating in several important community service projects over the years, including the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation 60-mile walks, the Huntington’s Disease Foundation, and “Teed up for a Cure,” Tree’s golf tournament to support breast cancer research. It ended in 2024 after 20 years and raised an average of $16,000 a year without a true corporate sponsor.”

What was your proudest moment at Georgia Power?

My proudest achievement was developing the Quality Assurance program at the Repair Shop, which continues to this day. The thing that differentiated our nuclear motors from other operating plants was environmental qualifications. Our small team created a Quality Assurance program for rewinding and reconditioning motors that would be subjected to harsh environments at a nuclear power plant.  

Earl and Tree with grandson, Levi, at a recent Ambassadors meeting.

Sometimes a replacement motor may not be available. If you send a motor to be recommissioned, you pay a premium to get it expedited. So, this program offered a great alternative. There is more reliability and cost savings than having to go to external manufacturers. Depending on the reconditioning cycle and motor failures, we did maybe 20 or so a year. We would guarantee that motor’s performance after 40 years based on specific materials and resins used.

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

The main thing I enjoyed was working with the people. My dad retired from Georgia Power and said, "I will not miss the job as much as I miss the people." He was a plant manager at Mitchell and at Arkwright. He later retired in March 1972 after 37 years at Georgia Power.

We have a commonality of values by virtue of working at Georgia Power. It is the people that have made this company and the relationships. And through the Ambassadors, I met people I would have never had the opportunity to meet, so I’m grateful for that experience. 

Can you share your secrets to success?

Being flexible is key and applying what you know to what needs to be done within certain parameters.

Earl with family at Christmas.

When I was adjusting a nuclear QA program for the Repair Shop, the main thing was designing operations, materials, systems, and everything involved in a big QA program that would apply to the Repair Shop. I would think to myself, ‘How do you take that and make it work in a smaller scope?’ It took a coordinated effort from the Repair Shop management, GPC Engineering, and several other supportive groups. You also must be detail-oriented and stay on top of all the requirements.

Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently? 

I wouldn’t have done anything differently. You respond, react, and recover. I am the man I am today because of what I experienced. Things work out for a reason. You have some regrets here and there, but when you look back on it, if it did not kill you, it made you stronger. I had a successful career and am extremely grateful for my family (being married in 2003) and my career. I would not trade it for the world.