Page 8 - Tennessee 811 Magazine 2021 Issue 4

I’ve been writing for the Tennessee 811 magazine for the past three years. If you’ve read a few of my articles during that time, you’ve probably realized that I enjoy sharing the stories of our partners across the Volunteer State who demonstrate a passion for damage prevention. My pieces have covered excavators, locators, and utilities and I’ve covered great folks in the western, middle, and eastern grand divisions. Despite that broad representation, I’ve yet to feature the story of one of the many strong women making their mark in this largely male- dominated industry. So, without further ado, let’s correct that mistake.
Let me introduce you to Allyson Horner, the general manager at Gibson County Utility District (GCUD). On September 1st she celebrated her one- year anniversary in the general manager role, but she has been with the gas company for more than 21 years. Before coming to GCUD, Allyson worked at
the local Co-op and at a CPA firm. She got her degree from the University
of Tennessee at Martin in agriculture business. Allyson started with GCUD in 2000 as an accounting clerk and worked her way up to the role of chief financial officer. She made a point of learning
as much as she could about the gas industry along the way, and she wanted to express gratitude to two individuals
that helped her along that journey: Randy Russom and Sam Locke. Randy is the operations/assistant manager for GCUD and Sam is the asset protection/ measurement manager. “Both men
are very knowledgeable and are great teachers,” said Allyson.
Ultimately, Allyson wants everyone
to know that her success comes from her entire 49-person team. If you have ever interacted with any of those nice folks at GCUD, you can instantly tell that their workplace has a family-
like atmosphere. The employees have bought into Allyson’s positive energy and leadership, and they work well with each other. Allyson told me this
Damage
Prevention MVP: Allyson Horner
By Jason Fryer,
Damage Prevention Liaison Tennessee811
6 • Tennessee811 2021, Issue 4