(Jasper, GA) Amicalola EMC is pleased to announce that 128 high school seniors from across the cooperative’s service area were each awarded a $1,000 scholarship at the annual youth awards banquet held on March 28 at Chattahoochee Technical College. Scholarships were awarded based upon grade point average, SAT/ACT scores and financial need.

In addition, four students were named as 2023 delegates on the Washington Youth Tour, an all-expense-paid leadership experience sponsored by Georgia’s electric membership cooperatives, including Amicalola EMC.

Olivia Claire Shull (Gilmer High), Warren Read Fernandez (Pickens High), Mac Allen Blackwell (Cherokee High) and Heather Bradford Fernandez (Pickens High) were carefully selected through an application process that included an essay, a letter of recommendation and a face to face interview with the Amicalola EMC selection committee. In addition to the trip, they will each receive a $750 scholarship.  Three runners up with each receive a $500 scholarship.

Since 1965, the tour has helped promising student leaders to become exceptional young adults. According to Todd Payne, CEO, Amicalola EMC, the Youth Tour was established to inspire the next generation of leaders. This year’s tour, which takes place June 15-22, offers opportunities for students to meet policymakers, tour historic monuments and participate in leadership experiences, all while making new friends from across the state and the nation.

“Preparing the next generation of leaders is crucial to ensuring our community, state and nation will be in good hands,” says Mr. Payne. “We see the tour as a way to kindle the spark of leadership in high schoolers by showing them they belong among those willing to step up in service to others.”

Collin Ulm of Cherokee High was chosen by Georgia EMC as one of two statewide winners to participate in this year’s tour. He was selected through an essay contest reserved for children and grandchildren of EMC employees and directors.

Delegates will join with over 100 other Georgia high school students who have been selected by their local EMCs to form the Georgia delegation. They will gather in Atlanta on June 15 to kick off the tour, spending time getting to know each other before departing for Washington D.C.

When the group arrives in D.C., participants tour historic locations like Mount Vernon, explore museums and monuments and meet with their elected officials to discuss the issues that are important back home. Georgia’s tour delegates will convene with more than 1,800 youth representing electric cooperatives across the nation and exchange views concerning local and national issues.

Amicalola EMC is a consumer-owned cooperative providing electricity and related services to over 54,000 members in portions of Bartow, Cherokee, Dawson, Fannin, Forsyth, Gilmer, Gordon, Lumpkin, Murray and Pickens counties.

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We are down to 3159 members without power, down from 6000+ after the storm first passed through.  Crews are continuing to work and we thank you for your patience as we work to restore all power as soon as is safely possible.

Friday, March 3 – 4:00 p.m.

As the storms crossed our service area, the high winds brought down trees and power lines.  Currently, we have 6271 members out of power across portions of eight counties.

Very important: Please stay away from any downed power lines!  Always assume they are still energized.  Call 911 first, then call one of our outage numbers to report:  706-253-0359 OR 706-276-0359 or 706-864-0359.

We have reports of trees in the roadways on Hwy 108, Chatsworth Hwy, Hwy 136 in Pickens & Dawson, Hwy 53 West, Hwy 52 East, Big Creek Road and many other areas.

All our crews and contract crews are working and all power will be restored as soon as is safely possible.

Amicalola EMC was created on February 10, 1940.

President Roosevelt created the REA (Rural Electrification Administration) on May 11, 1935 with Executive Order No. 7037, under powers granted by the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935. The goal of the REA was to bring electricity to America’s rural areas.

At this time, the farmers and residents of the rural areas in our communities were still without electricity, although the businesses and homes in town had already begun to receive power.  This single factor is what drove the creation of the REA, and in 1940 the creation of Amicalola Electric Membership Corporation.

For a $5 membership fee, rural residents could join the cooperative and as soon as their homes were wired, they could begin to receive electricity.

Today, 83 years later, Amicalola EMC is still a not-for-profit electric cooperative providing electricity and related services to over 54,000 locations in portions of ten north Georgia counties, which include Bartow, Cherokee, Dawson, Fannin, Forsyth, Gilmer, Gordon, Lumpkin, Murray and Pickens counties.

Owned by those we serve, our mission remains the same,  to provide safe, reliable and affordable electricity to our members.

Amicalola EMC, and other utility companies, routinely perform power pole inspection and maintenance programs.  This is done to reduce replacement costs, extend the life of the poles and to increase the safety and reliability of the electric system.

Starting now and continuing for the next couple of months, pole inspections will be taking place in Pickens County, beginning in the Camp Road area.

Inspections are being conducted by McCullough Utilities. A sign identifying them as a “Contractor for Amicalola EMC” will be visible on the vehicles.

Maintenance projects like these help us keep the lights on. Amicalola EMC members should not be inconvenienced in any way. Please contact Member Service at 706-253-5200 for more information.

Amicalola EMC received the 2022 Business of the Year at the Gilmer Chamber Annual GALA on Saturday, January 28.  We are pleased to accept this award on behalf of our board of directors, our management staff and all employees. Also shown is Jill Chastain, recognized as an outgoing member of the board of directors.

We currently have approx. 30 members out of power due to a construction contractor accidently digging into our line off Marion Spence Road in Cherokee County.  This outage is unrelated to the current outages caused by weather.  We have a crew assigned and the power will be restored as soon as is safely possible.  Thank you for your patience.

As the gusty winds arrived in our service area, so did scattered power outages as trees came down on power lines.  Outage calls started coming in around 2:45 a.m. Shortly thereafter, our crews began working.  Currently, there are 1246 members without power, scattered across Fannin, Gilmer, Lumpkin and Pickens counties.

A broken pole near Tamarac Drive in Bent Tree, Pickens County caused an outage affecting 268 members; all but 50 of those have been restored.  Our crews will continue working until all power has been restored.  Please remember to stay away from downed power lines and always assume they are still energized.