Once at Tri-County, Steve’s number one goal was to earn the confidence of the employees. "Everything we have accomplished was possible because we had confidence in ourselves and each other," he says.
"No matter what the situation was, he was always there," says South District Operations Supervisor Donald Appling. "Steve has been one of the most dedicated employees and is not afraid to get dirty. He’s a little man with a big heart."

In meeting the reliability needs of a fast growing membership, McClendon spearheaded system-wide substation upgrades and implemented the two-way automatic communication system (TWACS) used to read meters, record hourly kWh use, meter tampering and outages. "I feel most challenged and excited about the possibilities we have with technology," says Steve of TWACS. (58158-01)

Mickey Harrelson, professional engineer, tasked with ensuring distribution system compliance required by the Rural Utilities Service acknowledges Steve as "the engineer" responsible for rebuilding the electric power delivery system. "It has been my pleasure to work with such a dedicated and effective engineer." During his tenure, McClendon and his team doubled the capacity of Tri-County’s distribution system, reducing both power outages and line loss. "For every percent you decrease line loss, the EMC saves about $100,000 each year," says Steve. Upon starting in 1999, the system power factor was around 93 percent. Now, it’s 96 percent meaning a reduction in line loss of 3 percent and a $300,000 annual savings for the co-op.                                                                                                              

Putting safety first, Steve lead a safety committee, monthly employee safety meetings and developed an employee safety slogan contest. In doing so, Tri-County maintained Safety Accreditation, qualifying for lower workers’ compensation and insurance rates.

"I wish to personally thank Steve McClendon for the outstanding job of retaining accreditation through the National Rural Electric Safety Accreditation program for Tri-County EMC," says Jim Wright, vice president of Training, Education and Safety of Georgia EMC. "Steve helped take Tri-County to the next level in a fast growing industry."

On Feb. 1, we said goodbye to this person who has made a significant impact on the progression of the cooperative. "He makes me proud to be in the power business," summarizes North District Line Foreman Mike Sasser. <<

Steve McClendon