People Behind the Power – at LCEC

By Shannon Williamson 6/8/22

As you have probably heard before, it is hard to find a good employee but it's even harder to keep one. That is not the case here at LCEC… employee Tom Bailey celebrated 50 years in May!

As Tom celebrates his 50th work anniversary, I wanted to gather insight from his perspective of 50 years at the cooperative. From starting LCEC in 1972 in the labor pool to becoming the supervisor of Distribution Design in 2009, he is a wealth of knowledge.

Tom’s favorite things about his job

Tom makes sure everything runs smoothly in his department every day, but the thing he loves most of all is the people he works with. Tom explains how remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic was hard on him because he missed the contact and communication with his co-workers. Now that his department is back in the office, Tom makes it a priority to connect with his teammates every day.

?“I know it sounds cheesy, but one of my favorite parts of my job is getting people their power in a reasonable amount of time,” says Tom. ?

50 years at LCEC

Tom has worked under every CEO that LCEC has had - yes, even the first LCEC CEO; Homer Welch! Tom began LCEC in 1972 and Homer Welch did not retire until 1978.?

As you can expect over the course of 50 years there was a lot of growth and change that Tom witnessed.

• LCEC began serving new territory
• Many new employees
• County-wide growth from residents to businesses
• The LCEC headquarters had to expand with the growth in customers, so a warehouse and service station were built.

Tom first began in the Labor Pool, cutting grass, cleaning up, putting stakes in, etc. Tom moved up quickly in the company, learning new positions as he went. Tom took a position as a groundmen, apprentice lineman, and operator. After 14 years at the company, in 1986 Tom went into the Distribution Services department where he became a supervisor in 2009.

?“You need to be detail-oriented, have determination, and a good work ethic. I believe I learned a lot of that when I was in the Air Force, it taught me to be disciplined.” Tom joined the Air Force when he was 18 with his twin brother, Tim.