Employee Spotlight

Todd Dismuke Foreman

How long have you worked at Marshall-DeKalb EC? This March I will have worked 25 years full time, plus four part-time years.

Describe your primary job. I am foreman of a line crew.

What do you love most about your job? The people I work with and being outside.

Tell us about your family.

I have been married to Stormy Dismuke for 29 years. She is a nurse practitioner who has worked for Shepherd’s Cove Hospice for 23 years, and last January was promoted to CEO. I have three children. My oldest son, Issac, is a teacher and head coach of soccer at Crossville High School. He earned a degree from the University of Alabama in anthropology and Spanish and a minor in Mandarin. He is currently getting his master’s from UAB. Before coming home last year, he taught English in Colombia for six months and China for 2 years. Addison, my middle child, earned a degree in mathematics from JSU. He currently lives in Colorado. During the last two winters, he relocated to Colorado to be a ski instructor, he loves to ski and explore Western states. He plans to go back to school to get his master’s. Our daughter, Jaden, is the youngest. She is currently attending Snead State and playing volleyball. She intends to enter chiropractic school and eventually run her own practice.

Where did you go to high school/college? I graduated from Crossville High School in 1990.

What are your hobbies? I enjoy spending time with friends, traveling, scuba diving and being on my boat on the lake.

Who has inspired you the most to get where you are today? Family has influenced me the most. Where is your favorite lunch spot/what do you do for lunch most days? My favorite lunch spots are our local diners searving meat and veggies.

Where would you go on a dream vacation? Bora Bora so I can scuba dive.

A fun fact about me. I have been a volunteer coach for youth and high school sports for 25 yearsfootball, softball, baseball, basketball. This year, I am excited to be helping my son with soccer at Crossville High School

Do you have a home office? Set equipment like printers and scanners to automatically switch to sleep or energy-saver mode when not in use. In addition to saving energy, the equipment will stay cooler, which will help extend its life. Another way to save in the home office is to use energy efficient lamps for task lighting. Small lamps use less energy than whole-room lighting.

My husband loved to build things out of wood. He built houses, churches and trains. I’m so proud. SUBMITTED by Nyoka Chandler, Guntersville.

I made this for my grandson. My first time building a rocking horse. SUBMITTED by Ray Bell, Newville.

I’ve been wood carving for about 30 years. SUBMITTED by Jerry Cochran, Summerdale.

Stephan H. Scott made this boat from a pine tree that fell on our property after a storm and named the boat after his grandmother. SUBMITTED by Marilyn Scott, Elberta.

One of my ancestors whittled this. All of it is one piece - no pieces of it are separate. SUBMITTED by Rhonda Mosley, Andalusia.

A friend of mine did this woodburning of my dog, Gypsy, from the included picture. SUBMITTED by Susie Burgess, Hartselle.

My Daddy made heart shaped jewelry boxes out of cedar for every female in his family. SUBMITTED by Joyce Pickett, Fitzpatrick.

| Deadline: February 28

Co-ops respond to devastating severe weather

Numerous strong to severe thunderstorms cut through central Alabama on Jan. 12, and several of those storms spawned significant tornadoes, according to the National Weather Service. An EF3 tornado that tracked from Autauga County into western Chambers County had a longtrack path of over 76 miles and was at least 1,500 yards wide; this tornado caused seven fatalities and 16 injuries.

This storm left more than 9,000 Central Alabama EC members without power, and the co-op needed to replace more than 300 poles. Several sister co-ops responded to help Central Alabama with the restoration of power: Dixie EC, Marshall-DeKalb EC, Tallapoosa River EC, Baldwin EMC, Clarke-Washington EMC, Cullman EC, Coosa Valley EC, Black Warrior EMC and Wiregrass EC sent a total of 85 men as well as trucks and materials to the affected areas in Central Alabama’s territory. They were in place by the morning of Jan. 13, and all were released by the evening of Jan. 15.

But several co-ops had their own damage to contend with. Black Warrior EMC, Pioneer EC, Southern Pine EC, Clarke-Washington EMC, Joe Wheeler EMC, South Alabama EC, Pea River EC and others saw large-scale outages from the band of storms that tore through Alabama.

Alabama’s co-ops always stand ready to help sister co-ops both in-state and across the Southeast after a devastating weather event.