SERVICE ANNIVERSARIES

Ray Baker - 20 years

Tree Trimmer Ray Baker recently celebrated 20 years with Greenville Utilities. Ray works on a Line Clearing Crew that keeps the trees and vegetation near our power lines and right-of-ways cut back and maintained to help prevent outages, and makes it easier for crews to do their work. Tree Trimmers work on a three-year cycle and are careful about how they do their jobs based on what species of tree they're working on.

Ray started with GUC in Load Management before transferring to the Line Clearing Section of the Electric Department. "I used to work for a company building boats, but started trying to get a job with GUC in 1982," said Ray. "I finally landed a job at GUC in 1996 and enjoy working here."

In his spare time, Ray likes working odd jobs, hunting, fishing, and spending time with his family. He and his wife have three children ranging in age from 11 to 25, in addition to one grandson and another grandson on the way.

Shannon Oakley - 20 years

Customer Contact Representative I Shannon Oakley has celebrated 20 years with Greenville Utilities. She works in the Credit and Collections Section of the Customer Relations Department, assisting our customers with pay plans, pay arrangements, and a variety of other things. She also works closely with the Revenue Section. In addition, Shannon works with the Pitt County Department of Social Services and local churches to help our customers. "It's very rewarding when you see a payment pledge come in for a customer you have been trying to help," said Shannon. She also worked on the OPTICS (Optimizing Processes and Technology to Improve Customer Service) Navigate Core Team to implement our new Customer Care & Billing system. "I was exposed to other departments' business processes and was able to learn more of what they do," she said. "It was a wonderful experience."

In her spare time, Shannon enjoys spending time with family, reading, and going to the movies, beach, and mountains.  

Wendy Todd - 20 years

Wendy Todd in the Customer Relations Department recently celebrated 20 years with Greenville Utilities. Until the launch of the Navigate Customer Care & Billing (CC&B) project, Wendy was the Billing Supervisor who oversaw the billing process for all our residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Her experience with rate updates, special billing projects, Budget Billing program, billing adjustments, and the monthly meter reading and billing schedules helped tremendously with the CC&B project. Now her expertise is being directed towards ongoing enhancements to CC&B.

Wendy enjoys working with co-workers, as well as with customers. "Every customer is different, therefore every day and every interaction is different," she said. "We have to respect and be prepared for each unique situation, whether the customer is internal or external." Wendy and her husband, Garland, live in Greenville with their Cocker Spaniel, Maggie. In her free time, she enjoys swimming, cooking, sewing, watching movies, and spending time with family and friends.  

15 years

Alan Payne, WTP Distribution Water Quality Technician

5 years

Joshua Setzer, Water Resources Pipe Layer III

NEW HIRES

Katherine Carruth, Water Treatment Plant Operator I

Donald Wilson, Fleet Master Mechanic

PROMOTIONS

Eric Norris, Electric Communications Technician
Don Sullivan, Water Treatment Plant Maintenance Mechanic III
Bradley Burroughs, Electric Engineering Assistant I
Tyler Nichols, Electric Engineering Assistant I
Paul Bunch, Gas Systems Technician III
Brian Greer, Lighthouse Facilitator
Stephen Leggett, Electric Tree Trimmer II

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to Accounting Systems Analyst Heather Manning and her husband, James, on the birth of their daughter, Hailey Dawn.

SYMPATHIES

Our deepest sympathies are extended to Gas Service Worker John Sheppard and his family on the death of his grandmother, Virginia Radford.

Our condolences go to retiree Juanita Corbett on the passing of her husband, Larry R. Corbett.

Our sympathies also go to Gas Engineering Assistant Cherlyn Barrett and Billing Specialist Lizette Brown on the passing of their mother, Alice Lee Ward-Brown.

Our condolences are extended to Meter Technician Mark Mills and his family on the death of his mother, Mavis Boyd Mills.

THANK YOUS

Betsy Reid called in a compliment for Gas Systems Crew Leader Bobby Green. She said Bobby was very pleasant and polite, and she expressed her appreciation for all that GUC does to respond to emergencies.

Ms. Dickens called in a compliment for Customer Contact Representative Emily Cruse. She said that she is going through a tough time and was so thankful that Emily went above and beyond the call of duty to help out.

Travis Davis called to compliment Customer Contact Representative Sean Smith for help with Mr. Davis' account.  Sean also received a compliment from Larisa Harrison. "He remained calm and was extremely helpful with my online account issues," she said. "Sean's confidence helped me feel much better."

Archie Smith called to compliment Gas Service Worker Tony Richards on the great job that Tony did when he arrived to check the pressure on Mr. Smith's gas meter. He said that Tony was most helpful in discovering busted water pipes and shutting off the water per the Water Department's request. "I am very grateful for Tony's assistance," said Mr. Smith.

Kayla Caviness sent an email complimenting Customer Contact Representative Gretchen Maloney. "Gretchen was very pleasant to speak with over the phone and went above and beyond with providing me with the utility history for one of our apartment units," she wrote. "Thanks for everything y'all do at GUC!"

Holly Wynn sent a thank you email to Customer Relations Administrative Assistant LeAnne Wetherington for LeAnne's assistance with a utility history report. "You are amazing to have responded with this report in less than 24 hours," she wrote. "I'm sure GUC is blessed to have you on their team!"