GUC Crews Assist Florida Residents
(November 2005)

Hurricane Wilma hit Florida residents on October 24, 2005, leaving millions of residents without electricity. A crew of 26 GUC Electric Department employees with 10 bucket trucks, 3 line trucks, 5 pickups and 1 van left on October 25.  The GUC team was joined by two employees from Lewis Tree Service and crews from Winterville and Kinston.

Crews worked 16 hour days for nearly 3 weeks to restore power for the grateful residents. Work was done in the Boca Raton and Pampano Beach area. “Even though the work was hard,” said Garland Warren, Underground Electric Crew Leader, “the smiles and tears on the faces of the people who were getting their electricity back was worth any discomfort I experienced.” 

Area residents were very appreciative of the assistance GUC provided. Several wrote letters to The Daily Reflector. “We shall ever be grateful for your crew’s hard work,” Boca Raton resident William A. Coup wrote. “We know they are away from their families and that their families miss them. Thank you for such a magnificent group of workers. You may be sure that we will never forget them for their sacrifice.” In a story about the crews, The Daily Reflector reported that Jessica Gorall, a Greenville native, was pleasantly surprised when she saw the GUC trucks in her Boca Raton neighborhood. “When we got power back we were thrilled,” she said.

This trip was the only call for assistance GUC received this hurricane season. It was also the longest deployment, at 19 days.  “Our crews were required to improvise and perform tasks never asked of them before,” said Jeff Byrd, Electric Distribution Engineer.

The following employees went to Florida: Tim Butler, Ervin Hardee, J.C. Haddock, Bobby Adams, Keith Gaskins, Casey Jones, Jeffery Williams, Todd Peele, Wesley Smith, Ryan Hardee, Mike Ashley, Kevin Willoughby, Mark Howery, Mike McGowan, Steve Turner, Gavin Smith, Tim Hannah, Jeremy Page, Joe Patterson, James Forest, Brad Cobb, Danny Mills, Jeff Stokes, Garland Warren, Chris Corey, Jeff Oakley, Connie McGowan, and Jeff Byrd.