Electric cooperatives recognize several with awards

May 2, 2025

Alabama Living Magazine

Photos By Allison Law

The Alabama Rural Electric Association of Cooperatives, which publishes Alabama Living, presented several awards at its 78th Annual Meeting in April. AREA Board Chairman Vince Johnson and President and CEO Karl Rayborn were on hand to present the awards.

Former U.S. Congressman Jerry Carl received the AREA Chairman’s Award from AREA Board Chairman Vince Johnson, CEO of Southern Pine EC, right. The congressman was instrumental in securing FEMA funding for Southern Pine at a critical time following damage to the cooperative’s service area from Hurricane Sally in 2020.

AREA Statewide Safety Specialist Jeff Whatley and Laura Stewart, manager of the AREA Education and Training Program, were given the Jack Jenkins Cooperative Employee Citizenship Award. The award is given to cooperative employees who have gone above and beyond the normal call of duty. Whatley and Stewart have spent long hours coordinating the logistics of multiple crews within and outside the state as part of the mutual aid response of the state’s cooperatives during times of severe weather.

LaRue Shaver, center, accepts the AREA Eminent Service Award on behalf of her late husband, Jimmy Shaver, for his outstanding contributions to the rural electrification program in Alabama. South Alabama EC General Manager David Bailey, right, gave a moving tribute to Shaver, who served 41 years on the SAEC board. He was also a member of the AREA and PowerSouth boards. AREA President and CEO Karl Rayborn, left, members of the SAEC board and Shaver’s family members were also on hand for the award.

Karen Moore, third from left, was honored with the Ted Jackson Pathfinder Award, presented for extraordinary service on behalf of the electric cooperatives, and whose life has had a profound and lasting effect on the foundations of the rural electrification program in Alabama. Moore was the CEO of Baldwin EMC for 10 years, having served the cooperative for 20 years, and serving a total of 30 years in the utility industry. While at Baldwin, she navigated unprecedented changes and challenges including hurricanes, a pandemic, global supply chain issues, workforce shortages and an economic recession. On hand to congratulate her on the award were members of the Baldwin EMC board, from left, Aubury Fuller, Carolyn Doughty, Joseph Coleman, Tommie Werneth, Robert Kaiser and Peggy Vanover Barnes.

Todd Stacy, founder and publisher of the Alabama Daily News and host of Alabama Public Television’s “Capitol Journal,” was given the 2025 Alabama Media Excellence Award. Stacy was recognized for his willingness to give his audience the facts about energy policy and the impact it will have on electric cooperatives, and his generosity in speaking to statewide audiences at AREA’s meetings and on local cooperative podcasts. He has also been a loyal supporter of Alabama Living through advertising and being a top source for news stories.

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Award-winning Alabama Living is the official statewide publication of the electric cooperatives in Alabama and the largest magazine of its type in the state, reaching some 400,000 electric cooperative consumers.

Electric cooperatives recognize several with awards

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