October 2023: In The Community

October 2023: In The Community

October 31, 2023

Senior Center 
Jonathan Sergeant (Energy Services) spent the morning of October 3rd at the West Greenville Senior Wellness Center discussing energy savings tips for winter.

Wellcome Middle School
Environmental Control Officer Deanna Castellow represented GUC at the STEM and Engineering Fair at Wellcome Middle School on October 5th by educating students about the various positions at GUC.

National Night Out
GUC was one of the many participants of the Greenville Police Department’s National Night Out event, an initiative to build a relationship between the community and local law enforcement. This year it was held on October 3rd at Greenville’s Town Common. There were games, activities, vendors, touch-a-truck area, and food trucks available for the community to enjoy. Thank you to Caitlyn McLawhorn (Finance), Cameron Britton (Public Information), and Carl Smith, Ron Davenport, Paul Edwards, and Durk Tyson with the Gas Department for representing GUC during the event!

Better Skills, Better Jobs Fair
Our Human Resources staff assisted community partners with planning the “Better Skills, Better Jobs Fair” that took place on October 5th at the Greenville Convention Center. The job fair included up to 120 area business and industry partners, PCC, ECU, apprenticeship programs, and other human resources representatives. Many thanks to the following employees for representing GUC on the event planning committee or at the event: Cort Bazemore, Valencia Brantley, Leah Herring, Richie Shreves, Juanita Sims, Aracely Smith, and Tracy Williams with HR, as well as Jacob Swink (Electric).

Tennis Ball Drop
Our Electric Department assisted the J.H. Rose High School ladies’ tennis team with their annual breast cancer ball drop on October 9th. This event raises money for Cancer Services of Eastern North Carolina as well as for the Liz Upton student scholarship fund. Liz Upton was the school’s tennis coach for many years before losing her battle to breast cancer. Thank you to Electric Troubleshooter Crew Leaders Jason Gaskins and Matthew Craft for operating the bucket truck for this event.

ECU College of Business
Thank you to Jessica Hardy, Caitlyn McLawhorn, and Brandie Whitehurst in Finance for representing GUC at ECU’s College of Business Fall Career Networking event on October 19th.

Freeboot Friday
One GUC bucket truck returned to Freeboot Friday at Uptown Greenville on October 20th in addition to one exciting new addition - a virtual bucket truck driving experience provided by Pike Electric! We also provided a booth full of GUC branded giveaways. Thank you to Bradley Hardee and Chandler Fornes with Electric for providing the bucket rides. Thank you also to the following who helped with harnessing riders (virtually and in reality), handing out giveaways, and talking with customers: Eban Kea (IT), Caitlyn McLawhorn (Finance), and Cameron Britton, Emily Garner, and Erin Walton (Pub Info).

ECU Kid’s Zone
As part of our “Powering the Pirates” partnership with ECU Athletics, GUC is a sponsor of the Kids Zone at ECU home football games. The Kids Zone is an area inside the stadium, close to Gate 2, where children can play various games. There are also a couple of tents with televisions and a GUC-sponsored cell phone charging station. Public Information staffs a table in the Zone, handing out GUC-branded giveaways and talking with people about our organization. Thank you to Tyler Reynolds (IT) for representing us during the October home games. Be sure to stop by our table in the Kids' Zone as the season continues!

Heart Walk 
Thank you to our GUC American Heart Association (AHA) Heart Walk team captains, team members, and donors who raised $6,416 for the AHA in October (as of 10/29). GUC ranked as the top group donor out of 21 organizations and companies in our area. Through the participation of GUC teams and other community teams, the Greenville AHA Heart Walk raised $46,776. Thank you to the following captains for organizing teams: Todd Cannon (IT) of “Tech Walkers,” LeAnne Wetherington (Customer Relations) of “Pedominators,” and Jeff McCauley (Finance) of “Healthy Heart Crusaders.” Walkers who served on each team included: Cort Bazemore (HR), Linda Clark (Pub Info), Seth Shoneman (Energy Services), Shannon Oakley (Customer Relations), Emily Smith (Customer Relations), and Katelyn Waters (Customer Relations) on “Pedominators;” and Andy Anderson, Aaron Johnson, and Eban Kea (IT) on “Tech Walkers.” Thank you also to Chief Financial Officer Jeff McCauley for serving as the chair for the Greenville event’s Executive Team, and for rallying together the community (and GUC teams) for this cause. GUC was a sponsor for this year’s event.