Each year, Sumter Utilities honors exemplary employees with the President’s Safety Professional of the Year award. Crews who complete all four quarters of the year with zero safety incidents become eligible and are then selected by leadership for going above and beyond in their attention to safety.

This year’s banquet was held on June 12 in Columbia, South Carolina with a sporting clays tournament, dinner, dancing, and encouraging words from leadership to celebrate these amazing gentlemen.

Our 2024 Safety Professionals of the Year are: 

Crew 841

Clarence M Lee, Foreman

Edward R Knowlton, A-Lineman

Logan C Daniels, A-Lineman

Dylan M Browder, C-Lineman

Turner D Singletary, Operator

Crew 76

Wilhelm B Shipes, Foreman

Reinaldo L Gonzalez-Robles, B-Lineman

Garrett C Parker, C-Lineman

Randy A Storay, Operator

Crew 409

Sebastian T Burgess, Foreman

Codey B Driggers, Groundman

Thomas J Young, Groundman

At the 2025 Quanta Services President’s Meeting, four of our outstanding employees were awarded the Quanta High Impact Award for their bravery and dedication in the field. The High Impact Awards are an opportunity for our parent company to give thanks to the incredible people who make Quanta Services the remarkable company that it is. The people at Quanta do exceptional things every day, but some rise above the challenges, expectations, and limitations to truly make the world a better place, which warrants this recognition.

We are so proud of Randall Taylor, Randall Ledford, Romeo Petre, and Ronald Michaux for this outstanding achievement. Read their stories below.

Pictured above: Duke Austin, Karl Studer, Romeo Petre, Ronald Michaux, Redgie Probst, and Scot Fluharty.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, the Biltmore Village area of Asheville, North Carolina was devastated by flooding. Romeo and Ronald had been driving along a muddy, flooded road when they noticed an older, fragile man who was trapped in dangerously deep mud up to his chest, unable to move. Romeo and Ronald called 9-1-1 and sprang into action. They waded a few feet into the mud themselves to assist the man, pulling him to safety and transporting him to the top of a nearby bridge where first responders could help him.

Pictured above: Duke Austin, Karl Studer, Randall Ledford, Randy Taylor, Redgie Probst, and Scot Fluharty.

On Feb 7, 2024, Randy and Randall’s crews served as first responders to a vehicle incident on Middle Burningtown Road. After placing a preventive control on the distribution overhead line so the crews could perform their work safely, they heard a loud noise followed by a horn. They quickly descended a steep embankment to find a car overturned in a creek with a man trapped inside. One crew member radioed for assistance while another ran to find a signal and call 9-1-1. Despite the freezing water, crew members waded into the creek to attempt to shake the vehicle and open the door. One got into the car to hold the driver’s head above the rising water while the crew then brought the utility line truck to the scene, using the winch and nylon straps to partially lift the car and gain access. Randy was standing on the bridge, directing the crews on what to do. Once they confirmed the driver had not sustained any major injuries, they cut the seatbelt to remove him from the car and brought the driver to a Sumter Utilities truck to warm up until EMS arrived.

Randy and Randall led their crews well and demonstrated quick thinking and a remarkable response to someone in distress.

The training yard at our Sumter, SC Headquarters has seen a lot of activity recently, as the Mobile Transbanker from Quanta Services has been on-site to support additional training efforts.

The Mobile Transbanker training is a two-day course that teaches line workers how to bank transformers through a live, low-voltage exercise. It mimics the experience they will have in the field, but minimizes the risk to allow them to fail safely. In early February, crews that regularly work on the Duke Energy and Dominion Energy systems participated in the training. This Spring, the training trailer will travel throughout North and South Carolina to visit Sumter Utilities crews as part of a wide-reaching training effort in 2025.

It’s resources like these, provided by our parent company Quanta Services, that support our goal of having the best trained workforce in the industry. We’re grateful for every opportunity to gain additional knowledge and skills so we can continue to fail safely.

To learn more about our approach to training, click here, or email Mitch Johnson.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, hundreds of Sumter Utilities linemen were deployed all along the East and Gulf coasts to support customers in restoring power. These brave crews left their families and homes to go live in man camps while they worked to clear debris, change out poles and get the power back on for the numerous affected communities.

1,060 Sumter employees provided 250,000 man hours to support the restoration efforts, and it didn’t go unnoticed! Kindergarten through 5th grade students at Guyton Elementary in Guyton, Georgia took time this fall to learn about the role of linemen and other emergency workers in their art class. They recognized the sacrifice that our crews made, and shared dozens of cards and kind words with us via the mail.

Thank you, Guyton Elementary! We are so thankful for your support.

This October, Liberty STEAM Charter School invited Sumter Utilities to join Dr. McDonald’s 3rd-grade class for their 2nd annual “STEAM Day”—and we were thrilled to participate! This year’s event focused on hands-on learning and real-world problem-solving, as students took on the challenge of designing model additions to their school, from food courts and arcades to a swimming pool.

Director of Training, Mitch Johnson and Madelyn Charlton joined the young scholars, guiding them through the process of connecting wires from an existing underground transformer to a new one. Their goal? Powering their new addition by flipping a switch to light it up—a signal that their model was successfully connected to the transformer.

Mitch also gave students a glimpse into the utility world by demonstrating different grades of wire and showing examples of underground transformer boxes. Dr. McDonald even donned our rubber gloves and sleeves, showcasing the critical role of PPE in our industry. As a special highlight, we brought an excavator to demonstrate the machines used to dig underground trenches and install heavy wiring.

Each 3rd-grade class then presented their ideas and learnings to school board members on November 8th, and while we did not win this year, the class was filled with pride over all they had accomplished. When Mitch and Madelyn returned to celebrate the completion of the project, all of the students shouted, “Mitch!” greeting him with excitement.

We’re grateful to Liberty STEAM Charter School for this ongoing partnership and the opportunity to help inspire the next generation of innovators!

The Capacity Model will give you the ability to save a life. Do you believe that?

Nate Singer, a Superintendent in the Georgia Region, recently shared a personal story to remind us of the importance of safety and preparedness in our work. A husband and father of four, Nate emphasizes the personal nature of our Capacity Model. He believes that without the ability to handle failure, we risk serious consequences.

A couple of weeks ago, there was a fatal wreck at the end of my driveway which is in a blind curve, usual traffic speed is 65mph. I jumped in my truck and got to the road. I got out and saw something that I hope no one ever has to see. The 18-year-old young man that recently graduated high school this past May (I found out later), had crossed the center line and hit a motor home head on, causing the motor home to basically go through the car. 911 was called and I called to my wife and told her not to come down or let our boys come down. That sight will haunt me for the rest of my life, experiences affect us all and help make us who we are…

 

For about 3 hours I watched from house as the responders showed up, moved around, painted lines as they investigated the scene, later watching as the mother of the young man got to the scene, I could feel the hurt inside my walls. The collision was so terrible that responders could not remove him from the car, they put a tarp over the car covering the young man, picked it up with a wrecker, driving away with him still inside the car. After 3 hours, the traffic cleared, and it was as if nothing had ever happened out there. I sat there on my porch afterwards staring at the road in thought and watching as everyone else’s life just continued on out there, driving over markings that had no meaning to them.

 

One of the seven principles of human performance is “Context Influences Behavior”. This means that we as humans do what they do for a reason given the situation. As I sat in thought, I wondered what exactly that reason was for the young man that caused him to cross the center line… He could have been a cell phone, he could have been speeding, he could have been eating, he could have been late to a job, it could have been several things we take for granted doing while operating a vehicle because we are lucky.

 

Another of the seven principles of human performance is “Incidents Stem from Normal Deviations” …. He could have not been doing absolutely anything other than driving, maybe on a wrong road, and or just complacent in his own thoughts of his life… no matter what it was, it did not deserve to take his life. This young man doesn’t get the opportunity to learn from whatever the failure was…

 

Every day we get away things, we get that opportunity, to be better than we were yesterday. We don’t get better by doing things the same way, and expecting different results. We will have to fail at times to have the ability to be better, but it only works if we are still here, to have the opportunity to get better, because we failed safely. That’s what the Capacity Model represents, building the capacity to have the ability to absorb harm when we do fail, and fail safely. It is up to everyone to make a difference as you lead your crew into work each day. Every day you build capacity in your job and send your crew home for the day, you save their life. Set the tone, be the leader of your team, and encourage your team to use the capacity model on every job, no matter how big or small. Nothing out there deserves the opportunity to hurt anyone or take a life. Everyone goes home – every day. The capacity model is not small talk, it is the talk.

Thank you, Nate, for making The Capacity Model personal, and thus prioritizing safety in all you do.