Until then, Susan’s life had revolved around the lake - fishing and swimming its waters with her family. The lake had been a special place for her, but not until that day did she begin to realize how formative it would be in her life.
The death of her father took Susan and her family away from Lake Sinclair, but time would eventually draw her back. Her mother remarried another water aficionado, and Susan moved with her family back to Sinclair.
She spent the rest of her childhood years on the shores of the lake, fishing, swimming, and learning to ski in the calm of Sinclair’s many coves and inlets. The water became a part of who she was.
At the end of the 1970s, Georgia Power was finally nearing the end of construction of Wallace Dam, a brand new hydroelectric facility 13 miles east of Eatonton. The project having begun nearly a decade prior, its completion would add 321 megawatts of generating capacity, nearly doubling the amount of electricity available to power the growing state of Georgia. The company needed workers to help manage the project through its later stages, and among those hired to see the new facility to its full realization was a young clerical worker named Susan Davis.
Her intimate knowledge of what would become the sister lake to the newly-forming Oconee gave Susan a unique perspective as the project wound through its final stages. Susan watched as land was cleared, concrete was poured, turbines were installed, and rivers were diverted - finally filling Georgia’s newest lake in 1979. In addition to her intimate connection with Lake Sinclair, Susan had been a part of its sister’s birth - the creation of a new kind of family.
Susan continued her work with Georgia Power throughout the 1980s, working in administration of both Plants Branch and Scherer before joining the company’s land management department, eventually becoming a Recreation Assistant for her native Sinclair in the 1990s.
A unique opportunity presented itself to Susan in the early 2000s. The company found itself in need of someone to manage Oconee’s shores - to be an advocate and protector of its natural beauty. Someone to protect and supervise the miles of shoreline around beautiful Lake Oconee.
They found a perfect match in the person of Susan Davis.
Today, Susan still serves Georgia Power as the Senior Land Management Specialist for Lake Oconee. In her 45th year of service, she feels as if she’s nearing retirement, but finds it difficult to walk away from a job she loves taking care of the landscape that shaped so much of her story.
The next time you take a dip in the cool waters of the lake on a hot Georgia summer day, remember Susan Davis and all the others who make it possible. Because of them, Georgia’s lake country can be a part of all our stories.
WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH
Georgia Power is #PoweredByWomen
March is Women's History Month, and to celebrate we've gathered just a few stories from some of the thousands of women who make Georgia Power what we are today.
Powered by Women
Citizens of Georgia Power celebrates 60 years
By the 1960s, Georgia Power had been providing electricity to the state for nearly 100 years. It hadn’t, however, provided a way for the spouses of the company’s largely male workforce to gather and commiserate.
The first meeting of the newly-formed Women of the Georgia Power Company would change that, and in July of 1962 the organization met for the first time in Macon. Organized originally as a social club, by 1967 the group had organized an educational loan fund to assist employees’ children in paying for college.
The group grew to over 1,000 members by the 80s, and in 1986 the group opened the Georgia Power Family House in order to provide temporary housing for any employee who was forced to relocate to Atlanta for a hospital stay.
Five years later, Electric Kids, Inc. was formed as a way to support children of employees who have passed away. What began as a way for employees' wives to get together every once in a while had transformed itself into three registered charities and a force for good in the State of Georgia.
As the workforce changed and more women moved into the workplace, membership in the Women of Georgia Power shifted from mostly wives to mostly employees, and in 1991 the organization voted to include men for the first time, shortly thereafter changing its name to Citizens of Georgia Power - the name it’s known by today.
As the group celebrates its 60th anniversary, it’s exciting to ponder the impact it will have in the next half century and beyond.
Energy Efficiency
Have you seen our new and improved My Power Usage tool?
Track the patterns in your home or business' energy usage to utilize energy more efficiently and understand your bill.
“ ...it’s a very easy way to answer any questions I might have regarding our energy usage and I don’t have to contact anyone or go back and look through bills.”
– Melissa, Georgia Power Customer
Safety Tip
Snakes alive! Discover which Georgia serpents might be hanging around your property.
It’s said that Saint Patrick once drove all the snakes out of Ireland, which is why you won’t find any serpents in Dublin. What you may not know is that some of those snakes wound up in your crawlspace.
Learn how to figure out which of our slithery friends is hanging out below your house, and how to shore up your entryways if you’d rather not have them hanging around.
Renewable Energy
Let the sunshine in. Find out how everyone can use solar energy.
Spring is finally here, and that means longer days and more sunshine. It's the perfect time to recognize what a wonderful place Georgia is for solar energy!
If you don’t want to waste any sunny days, we have plenty of solar options for your home or business, and we even have a program for those who can’t install solar panels but want to support clean energy.
We want to hear from you!
Please let us know what you think about our online edition of Electric Living magazine. We would also like to hear what you want to see featured in an upcoming issue.