When Wayne Mitchell first joined South Alabama Electric Cooperative 42 years ago, it looked a little different than it does today. There were no computers in the office, no cellphones to communicate in the field and fewer bucket trucks to give linemen a lift.

“They climbed poles a lot more back in those days, because we only had a few bucket trucks,” Mitchell says. “I think my first day was when the cooperative got its third bucket truck. Now we have nine or 10.”

Now retired, Mitchell arrived at the cooperative after he’d worked on the railroad and in trucking. His first assignment at SAEC was clearing rights of way before joining a construction crew. From there, he moved indoors, drawing up work orders with help from Grady Motes, who was the operations superintendent at the time.

“I was under him in the construction department, so I learned how to do staking for power lines and file work orders,” Mitchell says. “He taught me a lot.”

Mitchell went on to become service supervisor and then a staking engineer before being named construction superintendent. His final position was manager of stores, where he was responsible for maintaining an inventory of materials like the wire, poles and transformers SAEC crews need to do their job.

“Everything has become more mechanized than when I started,” he says. “We have a lot of bucket trucks and digger derricks. Part of my job was to oversee that fleet of vehicles and make sure they were maintained.”

For all the pride Mitchell takes in having helped the cooperative develop its modern fleet, he still feels his greatest accomplishments were marrying his wife, Cindy, and starting his own family. Their daughter, Blakely, lives in Dothan with her husband, Nathan Ellis, and their twin boys, Barron and Sellers. Their son, Britton, lives in Troy with his wife, Amanda, and their daughters, Harper and Madison.

In retirement, Mitchell is looking forward to spending more time with them and his mother, Brunese, who turned 90 in February. But after more than 40 years serving SAEC’s members, he may need to get used to choosing what to do with his time.

“I really haven’t figured out what I want to do yet,” Mitchell says. “It still feels like I’m just taking some time off. I’m looking forward to spending more time with my grandchildren, hunting and playing golf. But it will just be nice to be able to do it when I want to do it.”

For coach Mario White, Pike Liberal Arts’ AISA AAA title was about more than football. When he left his position at the University of Alabama as a strength and conditioning coach under Scott Cochran and special assistant to Nick Saban, he knew his first head coaching position was part of a bigger plan.

“I honestly believe God put us together for a reason,” White says. “Last year was the 50th anniversary of Pike Liberal Arts. It was the year Rep. John Lewis — ‘The Boy from Troy’ — passed away, and our country was going through a lot with the George Floyd protests. So we had an opportunity to show the world that if some young black and white boys in Alabama can come together to achieve something great, so can everybody else.”

The Patriots’ faith met a stern test in the championship game, where they faced off against a Glenwood team that had handed them a 26-7 loss late in the season. But after a few restless nights, White found peace the Sunday before the big game.

“I told the boys we need to get ready and put it in God’s hands,” he says. “So that afternoon in the weight room and all week, we were calm and collected. I didn’t raise my voice to yell and neither did any of the boys.”

After a back-and-forth half that ended with the teams tied 21-21, White saw the light come on in the eyes of his players, including his son and quarterback, Mayes White, who, despite being committed to play baseball at Florida State next season, couldn’t pass up the opportunity to play football for his dad.

Mayes went on to break the tie in the third quarter with a 95-yard touchdown run that led the Patriots to a 38-21 victory over the Gators. And while his dad may have been nervous about his son getting injured playing football, their moment of celebration after the game made it all worth it.

“For us to hold that trophy together and to have that moment together is something I’ll never forget for the rest of my life,” White says. “Now I’m just his dad and his fan.”

Putting in the Work

Trailing at halftime of the biggest game of the season would be a concern for most teams. But Crenshaw Christian Academy and coach Wayne Grant were confident they had their AISA Class A title opponents right where they wanted them. After all, it wasn’t the first time they had come from behind that season.

“The biggest thing we emphasize all the time is being in better physical condition than anyone we play,” Grant says. “So at halftime we were trailing, but about where we needed to be. I saw that our opponent wasn’t running as well as they did at the beginning of the game, so I told the team the second half would be in our favor if we stuck to the plan and stayed away from mistakes.”

The Cougars met rival Abbeville Christian Academy in the championship game and went into halftime trailing 14-6. But two quick touchdowns off of turnovers early in the second half put Crenshaw back in control. The Generals regained a brief 20-19 lead toward the end of the third quarter but could barely move the ball in the final 18 minutes of the game, totaling just 40 yards and three first downs while Crenshaw pulled away to a 40-20 lead.

The win earned Crenshaw’s first state title since 1997 and is Grant’s sixth as a head coach after years of success at Pike County High School. While the Cougars came close during his first two seasons in charge, reaching the finals in 2018 and the semifinals in 2019, Grant credits the 2020 championship run to learning from those experiences.

“I had several players who were sophomores when I came here two years ago,” Grant says. “This year, they had the experience of being in those games. They knew my terminology, and they knew how to adjust to situations when I would coach them on the sidelines. That played a big role in us winning this year.”

Grant is proud to get Crenshaw back to winning ways after more than 20 years. But his greatest hope is that his players and the school community that supported them will carry that championship mentality with them in their day-to-day life.

“When players are winners on the field, they’re also winners in the classroom,” Grant says. “They do things in the classroom that champions would do, and they do things in the hall that champions would do. Winning goes a long way to helping everyone at the school learn about discipline, study habits and everything in life.”

SAEC General Manager David Bailey met Johnny Garrett during preparation for the cooperative’s 2020 annual meeting. The drive-thru meeting was a change to the traditional format, and Garrett was eager to help out wherever he could.

“We had to do a lot of preparation for the roads and set up tents. Johnny was always there willing to help,” says Bailey. “He was out there with his tractor one evening smoothing the paths for members to drive on, and I said to myself, ‘He would be an excellent trustee for the members of the cooperative.’”

Shortly thereafter, the board’s search committee voted unanimously for Garrett to fill the seat vacated by Bill Hixon to represent members in District 1. By November, he was sitting in on his first meeting of the board of trustees.

Garrett is no stranger to local leadership. He has been an active member of the Pike County Cattlemen’s Association for almost 20 years. He has served on the board for 18 of those years, acting as president for three of them. He has also served as treasurer for 14 years and continues to fill that role today.

Now retired after nearly 50 years in the grocery business, Garrett tends to the cows and hay fields on his farm when he isn’t giving back to his community. It’s a schedule that keeps him busy, but he has never been afraid of hard work.

“I pride myself on never giving up and staying at something until I get it solved,” says Garrett. “You learn that fast on the farm. There are so many things to do and some of them you may not know how to do. But if you keep trying, you’ll figure it out.”

Garrett also enjoys reading novels, taking the occasional fishing break and spending time with his wife of 55 years, their three kids, 10 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

It was his desire to serve his family, friends and the community he loves that ultimately drove Garrett to join the SAEC board. And while Bailey values Garrett’s leadership experience and keen mind for business, it’s that desire to serve he believes is most valuable.

“The most important thing our search committee looks for in a candidate is a servant heart, a humble spirit and the willingness to do what’s right for the membership of the cooperative,” says Bailey. “I think it’s that attitude that will make him a great trustee for SAEC.”

Staying on top of the latest news and events can be challenging. But thanks to the SAEC app, keeping pace with your cooperative has never been easier. The app links you to everything you need to know about the latest cooperative news, outage updates and the status of your own electric account.

• My account — View your account information and manage account settings.
• Pay now — Make a payment wherever and whenever you want.
• Messages — Get important information from SAEC about your account or the electric system.
• View outages — See where currently reported outages are and if an outage has been reported in your area.
• Report outage — Let us know about a new outage in your area.
• Contact us — Quickly find our phone number and directions to the office.
• Follow us — Visit our Facebook page for even more news and updates about your cooperative.

The SAEC app is available at the App Store and the Google Play Store.

Students at Goshen Elementary have greater access to STEM education than ever before starting in the 2021 to 2022 school year. Pike County Schools is expanding its science, technology, engineering and math programming on the campus, ensuring that important learning tools are available to all students.

“We’ve had STEM academies that started in fifth grade and then the full-blown academy in 10th grade. But those are competitive programs where students have to apply to get in,” says Jennifer Lee, who is in her first year as principal after two years as assistant principal. “We wanted something that would carry over to more than the handful of students in each grade chosen for that.”

With the expanded program, all Goshen students from kindergarten on will be able to benefit from the county’s STEM resources. That includes access to a full STEM learning lab complete with computers, 3D printers and 3D microscopes to inspire them.

In addition to the STEM program, the elementary school also plans to develop a new walking trail and to bring a therapy dog to campus as part of its efforts to create a comfortable learning environment for all students. Lee is also thankful for the school’s strong partnership with South Alabama Electric Cooperative.

“Our students have attended programs put on by SAEC,” she says. “And, of course, they’ve provided scholarships and even donated items to our programs in the past.”

Goshen High School Assistant Principal Dr. Jamie Rich hopes to expand on the STEM skills students learn in the elementary school with valuable hands-on educational opportunities. With six years of experience as the director of Goshen and Pike County’s Agricultural Academy, Rich knows a thing or two about the benefits of those programs.

“We offer several short-term certificate programs in welding, nursing, paralegal, mechatronics and several other fields,” he says. “Many people know about the First in Flight program that offers flight training. That’s been extremely popular.”

Last year, in the Agricultural Academy alone, four students earned short-term certificates and two earned Associate of Science degrees. That program is the result of partnerships with Enterprise State Community College for core classes and Wallace State Community College of Hanceville for agricultural classes.

“We have also developed a great partnership with Troy University for these programs,” says Rich. “The main thing is we try to provide students with hands-on training in career fields so they can see what they might want to do when they graduate.”

Wayne Farms had a few things on its wish list when it came to choosing a home for a major plant expansion in 2017. It had to be somewhere the poultry producer had an established presence, access to transportation and a ready workforce, and strong electric partners.

“In this business electricity is critical,” says Area Complex Manager Brad Williams. “We can’t just stop. We’re working with a perishable product, and we’d be out of business if we did that. So it was a top priority to have a developed relationship with electric providers like South Alabama Electric and PowerSouth.”

With all those considerations in play, Coffee County was the clear choice for Wayne Farms’ new processing plant. The company broke ground on the $110 million project in December 2017, and the new facility opened in May 2018, creating 400 new jobs.

“It has had a huge impact for Wayne Farms and South Alabama,” Williams says. “We increased our production in Enterprise by 40%, meaning that our three locations in South Alabama now make up about a third of the company’s production.”

The new processing plant was also designed from the ground up for a new premium product line: Naked Truth Chicken. While Wayne Farms has traditionally provided high-quality chicken to popular chains like Chick-fil-A and Zaxby’s, the Naked Truth brand is available directly to consumers at high-end stores like Whole Foods.

“We developed the new brand based on what our customers were interested in purchasing, such as chicken raised with stricter animal welfare standards and an all-natural, antibiotic-free diet,” Williams says. “The new plant gives us an opportunity to distribute a brand under our own name.”

Nothing but the truth

For Naked Truth Chicken to meet those high standards, Wayne Farms had to rethink its process, from the chicken houses to the final product. It starts with farming partners across South Alabama who ensure their birds are getting natural light and a vegetable diet free of any animal byproducts.

From there, the birds are transported to the plant by trailer in large drawers. Then, they are unloaded onto a conveyor belt that automatically unstacks each container. Using a mix of carbon dioxide and oxygen, employees humanely incapacitate the birds before moving them to a second conveyor for the next stage of processing.

Once the birds have been slaughtered, the feathers have been removed and edible parts of the animal have been separated, each is washed and inspected by Wayne Farms employees and USDA officials. After being chilled for an hour, the chicken is then hung for automatic weighing and grading.

“That technology looks at each piece for flaws or issues with the meat,” Williams says. “From there, we can take each bird and put it on one of three different lines, depending on its size and what we want the finished product to be.”

Afterward, Wayne Farms uses smart technology to debone the birds and put them through an X-ray scanner. If any bones are detected, those pieces are checked by hand. When cleared, the meats can either be packaged fresh or moved on for further processing, such as cutting them into shapes suitable for nuggets or sandwiches.

To do this, the facility uses a computerized portioner that cuts the meat with a high-powered water jet. Each of these machines can cut approximately 100 pieces per minute. Then each piece is either marinated or packaged fresh, ready to be frozen and delivered across the country that day.

Feeding Growth

As the production standards at the Enterprise plant have increased, so has Wayne Farms’ need to work with reliable poultry farmers. Williams estimates the company is partnered with hundreds of local farm families across South Alabama. And the higher standards for Naked Truth Chicken give them even more responsibility.

“A big part of their job is to make sure that commitment to animal welfare happens,” Williams says. “They have to make sure they’re on top of the nutrition, the equipment for feeding and the environment. So it’s very important for us to work with people we can trust.”

The new project meant expanding the company’s longtime relationships with its farm families, like the Shelleys at Beaver Creek Farm in Henry County, and creating new partnerships with others, like the Snellgroves in Coffee County. The Snellgroves began growing chickens for Wayne Farms in 2015.

Williams estimates that Wayne Farms’ growth has led to approximately $60 million invested by local farms throughout South Alabama. These investments contribute to a $9 million increase to local farm payrolls each year. In addition, the company bought 3 million bushels of corn from local farms last year for its feed mill in Ozark.

“The economic impact has been huge for the area, and it just shows our commitment to the local community,” Williams says. “We’re proud to do it because we have worked with so many great farmers as long as we’ve been in this state — great people who are pillars of the community and the backbone of Alabama. We’re proud to work with them.”