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THE TAYLOR COUNTY (Ga.) NEWS, Friday, August 3, 1N2 25Yearsof Community Service September, 1962, will mark the beginning of another quarter of a century of serving the rural people of our county, and surrounding areas, bringing light into the darkness, by the Flint Electric Membership Corporation. For it was on September 8, 1937, that the first 20 miles of line was energized and 40 consumers received electricity to light their homes and operate farm and home equipment. This equipment usually consited of refrigerators, irons, washing machines or radios in contrast with the numbers of machines found in and around the farm home today. The real beginning however was on March 21,1937, when George Young, Emory Parr Sr., Floyd Jarrell, J. Howard Neisler and Leonard Cooper applied for a charter as incorporators of the rural electric cooperative to be known as Taylor County Electric Membership Corporation, On April 23, the charter was granted and organization set up. May 28 was the memorable day when bids were opened for the first construction and G. L. Cooper was elected temporary project manager. This first loan was not to exceed $50,000 and the line was constructed in Crowell community with plans to ultimately serve 90 rural families. Miss Louise Waters, now Mrs. Woodfin Hinton, was hired on Sentember 5 as the first stenographer and bookkeeper. The second employee was Miss Louise Hill in the position of Secretary and Bookkeeper. She went to work on January 1, 1938. Sam Hobbs was employed in February as the first maintainence man. July 23, 1937, was moving day and first office was set up in the old First National Bank building at the comer of Winston and Talbot Streets. The minutes of the meetings of the offical board members shows that the work rapidly mushroomed. December 4,1937, "Considered extension of lines to Pottervllle." December 18, "considered ex tending lines to Tazewell,” December 21, "special meeting to discuss extension into Macon County", April 1, 1938, "Houston, Peach and Crawford Counties were admitted," July 27, "Con sidered adding Chattachoochee and Talbot Counties. In September, 1938, the growth had been so raid that the board was increased from 5 to 11 members to represent the other sections of the cooperative. Wyatt D. Kersey was employed as assistant superintendent in November, 1938 and E. W. Johnson became meter setter. Mr. Johnson is now a board member from Macon County. Another interesting bit found here was that B. L. McDaniel is now Vice President and since elected on the board he has missed one board meeting in his 18 years service and that was because the roads were washed out. In April, 1939, the city of Reynolds donated a lot for an office which would also include storage space. By the end of that year there were 1428 consumers. Taylor County Electric Membership Corporation became out- S. J. Tankersley, General Manager dated and the members voted in January, 1941, to name the corpo ration Flint Electric Membership Cooperative. World War II almost halted construction. Lines in Chattahoo chee County were sold to the Sumter EMC and part of the Mus cogee lines were sold to Fort Benning. With the end of the war, and exodus of consumers from Warner Robins began and every one expected to have a ghost town in Middle Georgia. The war end brought materials back on the market however and lines in other areas began to expand. By the end of '46, 690 miles of line were in use whereas the same time in '47 there were 1185 miles of line. With the new decade came war again and Warner Robins really boomed. In 1950, Flint became the first and only cooperative in Georgia to ever build a Transmission Line - from Pottervllle to Charing. This was sold to Georgia Power Company in 1953. The office was remodeled in 1949 to meet expanding needs and a shop building was built in 1951. In 1952 a system study was made which revealed 8,000 as the ultimate membership. The utility building was added in 1953 but by 1955 it was realized that even with remodeling and enlarging, the office would "split its seams" in a few years. It was at this time that the new building became a dream. After 2 years of work by the architect, 1960 dawned to find the new headquarters building ready for construction. Almost a year was needed for construction work and furnishing the beautiful and efficient building. No one really appreciates the lovely colors used in the lobby more than those who pause to look, while they wait for the person they need to see. Miss Amelia Fletcher is largely responsible for the decorative theme, and the building’s planners used the CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE -and some members of the "Flint Family” > . ■ " - - ■ - Utility Building Kitty Beeland, Communications and Radio Operator Old Head Quarters Building Marion Newsom, Secretary to Manager Cost Accounting, Ellen Pye, General Accounting Louise Waters, Head of Billing Dept., standing Clerks; Janet Patterson, General Accounting Clerk; Cathryne Burdeshaw, Cashier; and Audrey Henry Hobbs, Work Order Supplies Clerk; and John Gaultney, General Accounting Clerk, Mangham, who heads the department. Terry Bishop, Clerk Typist; Jimmie Windham, Reproduction Clerk, and a portion of the Reproduction and Printing department Barbara^ParkS L Home Service Representative, of the new building. and D Ann G I r , iggS ' ^etary to Power Use Department James Jones, Machine Attendant, and Reba Harrison, key punch operator Frances Towson, Personel and Insurance Clerk Q ave Montfort, Field Party Chief Robert Cosey, Warehouseman J. S. Smith, Foreman Meter Department Roy Montgomery, Senior Electrician Polly McDaniel Mechanic Margaret Saunders General Accounting Clerk, and A. C. Borders, Service Manager Lawrence Cook, Head of Right of Way Kelma Lashley, Draftsman, and in the back ground Sam Beale of Southern Engineering our consulting engineers.