Page 9 - Tennessee 811 Magazine 2021 Issue 4

Hunter Wright, 2020 Pro Late Model Rookie of the Year at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway
about the GCUD work atmosphere, “We have a lot of fun around here, but we have a product that can be dangerous. When it’s time to go to work, we go to work and get the job done. Also, you are with the people you work with more than you are the family you live with, and who wants to be miserable in either place?”
Early in 2020 I pitched an idea to Allyson and the GCUD team about doing a safety day in the Trenton area of Gibson County. Little did we know that a global pandemic was going to change how we conducted business for the rest of 2020 and beyond. Fast forwarding to May of 2021, Allyson
“When it’s time to go to work, we go to work and get the job done.”
had taken the concept and turned
it into a true damage prevention event, and she and Sam came to me with the idea of moving forward with the event toward the end of summer. With the help of the Utility Association of Gibson County, a catchy name was coined, “811 in the 731.”
Allyson and her management team took on a lot of the responsibilities
that needed to be covered to make the event happen, but they also received considerable help from their colleagues at other area utilities. With the local connections Allyson and her team have, they secured a venue at the Gibson County Fairgrounds, using the arena
to perform a simulated line strike. The arena needed to be mowed, sprayed for wasps, and generally tidied up. T-shirts were ordered and distributed to the first 100 in attendance. Banners and signage were hung up in the arena. It took a lot of volunteers for acting parts of the program and putting everything together. Allyson gave a lot of credit to everyone involved. “Often, when you put an event on, “she said, “you wish you had more people to help pull it off.
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2021, Issue 4 Tennessee811 • 7