Blue Ridge Bestows Honors on Award-Winning Employees

For Immediate Release

Contact: Renee R. Whitener, Director of Corporate Communications, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, Phone: (828) 758-2383; Pager: 1-800-471-1323; E-mail: Renee Whitener

Boone, North Carolina, (November 8, 2001) – Just as television has the Emmys and music has the Grammy’s, Blue Ridge Electric has its “night for the stars” once a year with its own awards for Spirit, Commitment to Community, and Touchstone Overall Excellence to recognize outstanding employees for their contributions to the cooperative, its subsidiary Blue Ridge Energies, and the communities they serve.

Four very special individuals went down in Blue Ridge history as they received the awards Saturday evening during the employee service awards celebration held at Broyhill Inn and Conference Center in Boone. The awards are truly “peer honors” because the four winners were nominated and selected by co-workers, and had to meet strict criteria established by an employee committee. Nominations for the awards were taken in September, and names of the winners were kept top secret until announced during the Blue Ridge employee service awards celebration.

Winner of the Touchstone
Commitment to Community Award

This is the first year the Touchstone Commitment to Community Award has been given. The first recipient is Darrell Vines, Blue Ridge Energies Lead Service Technician in Caldwell County.

The Touchstone Commitment to Community Award is given to an employee of either Blue Ridge Electric or Blue Ridge Energies who best demonstrates the Touchstone Energy and Blue Ridge value for outstanding leadership in the communities served by the companies. The key to the winner of this award is that they tangibly demonstrate a “servant’s heart and attitude” and are also known for their honesty, integrity, and building morale and team spirit among co-workers as well as within their community.

Vines is described by co-workers as one of the most optimistic individuals they know. He “does whatever it takes to get the job done—even putting his personal life aside”, one co-worker said, including that “if everyone in the world had the personal and work ambition of Darrell, the world would be a better place.”

In addition to donating time to the American Red Cross and United Way, Vine’s community involvement includes serving as a volunteer fireman in the community of Collettsville in Caldwell County. “If any of you know the training, dedication and sacrifice it takes to be a volunteer fireman—and we all have a better feel and appreciation for that after the recent national tragedies—then you know why (Vines) is described as dedicated to his community,” said Doug Johnson, chief executive officer of Blue Ridge Electric, during the awards celebration.

In honor of his recognition, Vines received a hand formed lead crystal award on an engraved brushed metal base. He also was given a cash award.

Winner of the Blue Ridge Spirit Award

Fred Brooks, Crew Leader in Ashe County, is the recipient of the Blue Ridge Spirit Award.

The Spirit Award is given to an employee of either the cooperative or its subsidiary who best demonstrates the heart and soul of the Blue Ridge companies and the mission of service they were founded upon. Exemplifying that “service to people is the greatest work in life” is a key to this award winner. The recipient must also demonstrate an outstanding contribution to meeting company goals and objectives, lend a helping hand to other employees, and be a leader in building team spirit and morale among co-workers.

Co-workers who nominated Brooks said he often goes “above and beyond”, especially when he knows of a hardship or other obstacle someone may be facing. He was recognized for his abilities in training new employees and always willing “to do more than his part.”

One employee said Brooks obviously loves his job and that he is the “total package: loyal, a hard worker, dependable, and friend to everyone.”

In honor of his recognition, Brooks received a hand formed Steuben “Star Stream” crystal award on an engraved black marble base. He also received a cash award.

Two Winners of the
Touchstone Overall Excellence Awards

Two Touchstone Overall Excellence Awards were also announced Saturday. These awards are designed to give special recognition to two employees—one from Blue Ridge Electric and one from Blue Ridge Energies—who demonstrate exceptional customer service, accountability, and operational excellence.

The recipients of this award are selected for meeting strict criteria, including responding to customer needs in a timely manner, finding new and innovative ways of meeting customer and co-worker needs, and helping build relationships with the members and customers served by Blue Ridge Electric and Blue Ridge Energies. Selected winners also demonstrate honesty and integrity, have a strong commitment to their fellow co-workers, and make valuable contributions to the company and co-workers.

Winner of the Blue Ridge Energies Touchstone Overall Excellence Award is Ricky Miller, sales and delivery representative at the Blue Ridge Energies Watauga office.

Miller was described by co-workers who nominated him as a dedicated contributor to Blue Ridge Energies in many ways. One co-worker said Miller goes about his work “quietly, but has helped Blue Ridge Energies meet some very important goals during his time here.” Those goals include helping Blue Ridge Energies develop and implement its first set of safety rules and procedures—a critical goal for a new company. Miller continues to assist the company in the safety area as he serves as a safety committee member.

One co-worker gave Miller high praise and recognition for his productivity and customer relations in having “the highest delivery ratio—delivering the most gallons per mile driven”. Johnson said Miller was especially noted for working in a caring and responsive manner with customers.

In recognition, Miller received an engraved “Celestial” crystal award with stars in motion as a symbol of appreciation as well as a cash award.

The winner of the Blue Ridge Electric Touchstone Overall Excellence Award is Nan Holloway, Consumer Accounting Manager.

Johnson said co-workers described Holloway as “hard working, dedicated, always smiling, always positive.” Most importantly, “she’s always there to help solve problems and never makes excuses if she can’t—she just works to find the solution in a proactive, positive way.”

One fellow employee lovingly described Holloway as a “ghost buster”: “When you’ve got a problem, who are you going to call? Our winner! (Nan Holloway)”

In addition to being a valuable asset to the company and a pleasure to work with, co-workers that what they respect and admire about Holloway is that “she’s as devoted to her friends, family and co-workers as she is to Blue Ridge and her job.”

Holloway was presented with an engraved “Celestial” crystal award displaying a myriad of stars in motion. She also received a cash award.

“The Blue Ridge awards are part of our effort to recognize the valuable contributions our employees make every day to the operations of our companies and to the members and customers of Blue Ridge Electric and Blue Ridge Energies,” said Johnson. “We value all our employees,” added Johnson, who presented the awards during the company’s employee service awards celebration Saturday evening. “It is our intent to honor employees by setting aside a special time each year to recognize those who are truly outstanding in the eyes of their peers for demonstrating the commitment to service that our companies were founded upon.”

Blue Ridge Electric is a not-for-profit electric cooperative serving over 63,000 members in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Wilkes and Alexander counties. Its subsidiary, Blue Ridge Energies, provides propane, heating fuels, wholesale gasoline, and heart products from offices in Lenoir, Boone, West Jefferson, Sparta, and Hickory.