Catching Up with Walter Dukes Sr.

Walter Dukes, Sr., is living proof of the success one can have by working hard and taking advantage of the many career opportunities available at Georgia Power. Throughout his 34 years with the company, Walter held a number of leadership roles across different departments, becoming known for his own personal brand of servant leadership. Throughout his career, he demonstrated Georgia Power’s commitment to being a “citizen wherever we serve,” as well as an exemplary leader.

A native of Waynesboro, Walter is one of 12 children and grew up on a farm, where he learned the value of hard work. He graduated from Georgia Tech with an electrical engineering degree. After interning with Georgia Power, he joined the company in 1981 as a construction engineer at Plant Vogtle where he supported the plant’s expansion. He later moved on to hold roles as distribution engineer, operations supervisor, and Area manager for the East Region.

Ed Holcombe, vice president of Legislative Affairs at the time, took notice of his special leadership and relationship-building qualities through his time in Waynesboro and encouraged him to apply for a job as lobbyist. After encouragement from his wife, Mary, he accepted the role as a lobbyist in Legislative Affairs in 1994 and moved his family from Waynesboro to Atlanta. The move, he says, opened up a lot of opportunities for him professionally, but also for his family, as his son with Down’s Syndrome was able to get much better access to quality support services.

After four years as a lobbyist, he held positions of Southwest Region manager, Region Distribution manager and East Region manager (later changed to Region vice president). In 2010, Craig Barrs appointed him as vice president of the Land department. He retired as senior vice president of Region Operations in Atlanta in 2015.

Upon retirement in 2015, he launched his own foundation to help support those either in the ministry or looking to join the ministry. Today, he is serving as full-time pastor at Bethel Family Christian Church in Decatur.

We caught up with Walter recently in Gwinnett County.

What are you up to now?

I’m a full-time pastor at Bethel Family Christian Church in Decatur and a board member for Exceptional Futures for kids with special needs. I’ve also been pretty active serving on a number of boards since retirement.

Mary and I have enjoyed some traveling as well, and we enjoyed visiting Israel as part of our ministry.  Right now, I’m focused on growing people and developing leaders. The goal is to train people in the ministry to replace me, or you might call it “disciplining.”

And I enjoy spending time with my family, three children and five grandchildren and one new great grandchild.

Going forward, I want to focus more on growing the ENABLE Foundation, which I started in 2015 right after retirement to develop and support individuals for the ministry. To date, we have been able to help approximately 50 organizations and individuals, including providing All God’s Little Children in Guyana with computers and scholarships for students preparing for the ministry, as well as helping those currently in the ministry who may be on the edge of burn out.

What was your proudest moment at Georgia Power?

Receiving the Citizen of the Year Award in the late 1980s while in Waynesboro was a full circle moment for me given that it was my hometown. I wasn’t a leader at the time in terms of my title and was an engineer, but I loved giving back to the local community and helping others. Georgia Power gave me that opportunity to support the local community, and I took advantage of it by mentoring and speaking with local schools and volunteering with various civic clubs. It was a big deal and one of the highlights of my career.

Also, having my son, Walt, come to work for the company is really gratifying. He has been with the company for about 17 years, and currently he is a Distribution manager based in Alpharetta.

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

Without a doubt, I enjoyed the people the most. Building relationships is who we are at Georgia Power, both inside and outside, and being a citizen wherever we serve. We were a family during my career, and I still stay in touch with some former colleagues. I talk a lot with former Georgia Power employees who are currently in the ministry, including Lisa Smith and Dexter Rowland. We had a very close-knit leadership team in Augusta, and we still meet today as our schedules allow. And Jennifer Whitmire, my administrative assistant in the Land Department, still calls or sends a card for my birthday each year.

Although Ed Holcombe retired and passed away, he had a huge impact on my life. In fact, Dexter Rowland and I gave Ed’s and his wife’s eulogies. Ed saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself. In fact, when I really heeded the call to join the ministry in the late 1990s, Ed actually called my former Region Manager Marshall Conner, who counseled and encouraged me to continue working at Georgia Power while serving as a local pastor. I was blessed to have other colleagues and mentors as well, including Lamont Houston, Jim Manley and Mickey Brown.

Can you share your secrets to success?

I always loved leading with both my head and heart. As a leader, successfully balancing between these two can help achieve success. Much of my career involved being a leader and impacting people’s lives, and you have to be able to sleep with your decisions.

Also, just be yourself and have no regrets. Authenticity can go a long way.

Looking back, is there anything you would do differently?

I can’t think of a single thing I would’ve done differently. All things worked out for a reason. I owe a debt of gratitude to many colleagues along the way who either encouraged me to get out of my comfort zone or just supported me. For example, my coworkers really were responsible for getting me my first supervisor job in Waynesboro. Other leaders I’ve mentioned, as well, saw something in me. So, my advice is to just take advantage of those opportunities that are provided and make the most of it. At the end of the day, you won’t have any regrets.