General Manager’s Message – May 2025

The Leaning of 2 Trees

The older you get in life, the more you look back and reflect on the people who had a hand in shaping you as a person. I have always been blessed to have people like this at every stage of my life. But there is 1 in particular I want to discuss in this article — Mark Hill.

I met Mark about 35 years ago, when he was still a new data processing manager at South Alabama Electric Cooperative. I was working as a CPA at an accounting firm in Montgomery and was engaged to do a financial audit for the cooperative. That meant Mark and I had several meetings. To say he was energetic would be an understatement. If I had the pep of a koala bear, he was more like a cheetah.

1 day, our discussion ran on into midday, and we decided to get lunch. He offered to drive, and we hopped in his red Honda Prelude. By the time we got from the parking lot to Highway 231, we were already doing the speed limit. He drove through Troy traffic like a well-trained NASCAR driver. I thought, “Wow, this guy is very hungry.” But he drove the same way after lunch. As a new dad, I was just grateful to make it home safely to my wife and daughter

By 1999, I had been working for the co-op for 6 years, and Mark was promoted to office manager, a role that had us working closely together. So closely, in fact, that Mr. Max Davis, the general manager at the time, asked us to move to neighboring offices joined by a solid wood door.

Mr. Davis only had 1 condition. “Fellas,” he told us, “I don’t want to see this door open between these 2 offices. That’s what phones are for.” That was a problem since our jobs often required us to look at data on each other’s screens. So, we developed what we called “The Budweiser Hot Seat.”

If Mark needed to visit my office, he’d sit in the hot seat in front of the computer while I kept lookout through the cracked door. If I saw Mr. Davis coming, I would say his name, and Mark would spring out of the hot seat, back into his office, and ease the door shut.

We thought our plan was bulletproof, but looking back, I’m sure Mr. Davis knew. That door gave me another insight into Mark’s character, though. I would often hear members come into his office extremely upset about a high bill and leave so calm that they offered him a mess of peas as thanks. It was an offer Mark never took them up on since he doesn’t eat garden food like peas.

I can honestly say I’ve never seen Mark get angry on the job. It’s a characteristic I try to emulate but fail almost daily. About a year ago, he walked into my office and said, “Big Guy, I need to talk to you.” He shared his plan to retire, and I couldn’t help thinking about the friend and mentor I would be losing, rather than what was best for him.

Over the last 30 years, we have been like 2 trees in the forest starting to fall at the same time. Leaning against each other, holding each other up. To be honest, I think my tree leaned more on his than the other way around. I’m going to miss his mentorship and his support, but most of all I will miss his daily friendship.

So, “Big Guy,” enjoy your retirement with your family. When I need someone to lean on, I’ll just have to go to the golf course or chase you down at the beach to lean on you again. Happy retirement to my friend, Mark Hill.