A total of 21 Duke Energy employees – five individuals and two teams – were honored with the 2011 James B. Duke Award. Duke Energy’s highest employee award recognizes accomplishments that create superior and sustainable value for our customers, employees, communities and/or investors.
The award is named for James B. Duke (1856-1925), the noted tobacco and electric power industrialist, and a co-founder of Duke Energy.
The following 2011 winners were nominated and selected by their peers for accomplishments performed in 2010:
- The Cherokee-Swain Tie Station Team – Fred Alexander, Brian Franklin, Matt Peshel and Randy Veltri – was honored for the siting of a new tie station in western North Carolina. The team negotiated with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to avoid visibility from a piece of sacred Cherokee property.
- The Jocassee Hydro Team – Carol Goolsby, Greg Lewis, Eddie Duncan, Jeff Hulsey, Reggie King, Chad Luce, Barry Cain, Chris Rogers, Eric Bush, Steve Windham, Richard Land and Phil Garrett – was honored for identifying and resolving a mechanical issue before it could cause extensive damage at the hydro station.
- Tim Ansell was honored for process improvements related to the company’s combined-cycle natural gas fleet – decreasing startup durations and reducing natural gas usage.
- Jenny Bulach, who has a child with cystic fibrosis, was honored for her local and national work to raise money and awareness to combat the disease.
- Mike Butler was honored for his work to help the people of Haiti recover from 2010’s devastating earthquake. He was also honored for a lifesaving event during his most recent stay in the country.
- Stuart Heishman was honored for his economic development work to attract such companies as American Express, Apple, and Facebook to the Carolinas.
- Lee Taylor was honored for his efforts to help lower overall power outages and for process improvements to reduce interruptions to customers.