Special Edition: Carol Boatright

On January 28, Georgia Power dedicated the new Corporate Media Center (CMC) at the company’s headquarters in honor of Carol Boatright, a Georgia Power retiree and pioneer in emergency nuclear communications who passed away in 2025. The newly redesigned space is part of Georgia Power’s communications function and is dedicated to emergency response. Georgia Power’s President and CEO Kim Greene, along with Carol’s husband, Earl, and Georgia Power Corporate Affairs employees and former colleagues were on hand to mark the occasion and to remember Carol.

Carol’s distinguished 34-year career began in 1982 when she joined the Corporate Communication department as a senior communications specialist. In the years that followed, Carol became Georgia Power’s first nuclear emergency communications coordinator, spearheading the company’s nuclear emergency preparedness plan and transforming it into the successful program it is today.

Setting the standard for success

Carol’s vision and dedication to excellence went beyond Georgia Power, directly contributing to Southern Company’s unparalleled success in preparing for and responding to nuclear emergencies.

In fact, the six key nuclear management procedures she co-authored in 2005 were so comprehensive they formed the blueprint for Southern Company’s nuclear public response program and have led to its recognition as an industry leader.

Carol was known for displaying grace and calm under fire during quarterly nuclear drills at Plants Hatch and Vogtle that involved a tremendous amount of coordination and planning with company leadership and local, state, and federal emergency response agencies. In addition to overseeing Georgia’s nuclear communications, she also assisted communications staff at Plant Farley in Alabama with its emergency planning. While Carol’s role in managing nuclear communications was extremely demanding and time consuming, she also held a hectic, full-time position in Media Relations, where she served as company spokesperson, educating and informing the news media and public about Georgia Power issues and positions; led media training workshops for company managers throughout Georgia; and prepared executives for interviews. After a distinguished 34-year career, Carol retired in 2017.

Leading with compassion

“Carol’s role was a pioneering one that required calm under pressure, a willingness to learn, and a deep commitment to the safety of our customers and communities,” said Georgia Power President, Chairman, and CEO Kim Greene during the dedication ceremony. “Her work shaped the programs, standards, and culture of nuclear communications readiness we rely on today, and her legacy lives on in the people she influenced. I’m honored to help dedicate our Corporate Media Center to her memory.”

“Carol was a kind soul, a servant leader who cared about her job and those who worked with her,” said Jacob Hawkins, director of Public Relations and Crisis Communications and former colleague. “She quietly managed all of our emergency nuclear communications for years and was loved by many. I was honored and blessed to know her. You can tell a lot about a company and a culture that celebrates and recognizes the impact of people who have made a difference. People like Carol.”

Carol’s husband, Earl, said:

"Carol was such an unassuming, modest person that she would have been embarrassed and so humbled having an event like this honoring her. At the same time, she would be so gratified to receive it from colleagues she admired and respected so much. She was a caring, compassionate and very humble person who just led by example. I think this is why she had the respect of so many of her colleagues. Carol just wanted to be obliging and supportive to everybody.

Carol was extremely proud to work at Georgia Power and felt privileged for the good fortune. She also was a person of strong faith who had a serious passion for animal welfare and volunteered many hours to the local humane society and other organizations."

Going forward, the following words on the entry hallway of the new CMC are permanent reminders of Carol’s legacy to all who enter:

"A proud lifelong Georgian, born and raised in Atlanta, Carol devoted her 30-plus-year career to Georgia Power with passion, integrity and excellence. Beginning in Corporate Communications in 1982, she went on to become the company’s first nuclear emergency communications coordinator, shaping Georgia Power’s preparedness program and setting the standard for Southern Company’s industry-leading emergency public response procedures.

Her calm leadership, tireless work ethic and grace under pressure earned the respect of colleagues across the company and beyond. Carol’s contributions to nuclear communications and media relations, as well as her mentorship and kindness, continue to inspire all who had the privilege of working with her.

Carol’s legacy endures in the programs she built, in this Corporate Media Center dedicated to her memory and the countless lives she touched. Her influence continues to guide and inspire all who follow in her footsteps, reminding us that true excellence is measured not only by achievement, but by the grace and compassion with which one serves others."