Our cooperative lost a wise and dedicat-ed team member and a loving friend onApril 8 when Richard Berryhill’s battle

with pancreatic cancer ended. He was 66.Spending time with Richard was a lesson in

itself at times, because he was a fountain ofknowledge on many subjects. A selfless helperof others, Richard also encouraged peopleevery chance he had, said his wife, Ira Lou.He loved sharing his knowledge and skills, andwhen cancer was discovered he remained aquiet warrior to the end.

“I wouldn’t take a million dollars for thoselast eight to 10 weeks of his life,” Ira Lou said.“He came home to die and he didn’t complaina single time. He was the bravest person I’veever known.”

Richard leaves a long and wonderful legacy,and he will be greatly missed. He was smartand hard-working, but you never got the feel-ing you were wasting his time. On the job,Richard was comfortable in tough work situa-tions and had a way of inspiring others.

David Creekmore, Richard’s co-worker since1978, considered Richard his best friend. “Hisdedication and sharing of information andknowledge will be long-standing even thoughhe’s gone,” David said.

Keith Queen, Manager, Power Delivery,

credits Richard with instilling in him 30 yearsof knowledge in the 10 years the two workedtogether. Donna Bridges, Engineering Clerk,admired Richard’s brilliance and sense orhumor.

Richard’s co-workers honored him by liningthe entrance to United Memorial Gardens(above) in Dalton when the procession drovepast. Both front doors of the hearse wereemblazoned with the U.S. Army logo com-memorating Richard’s service.

At the time of his death, Richard was a con-tract engineer with us. He had retired in 1999as Manager of Operations, but Richard wasn’tthrough putting his talent to good use andrejoined us in 2003.

In recent years, he served in various engi-neering capacities, including a temporary roleas Field Engineering Supervisor in FortOglethorpe. During his career, Richard workedat Dalton Utilities and Georgia Power beforecoming to our co-op. He started with us in

1978 as a staking engineer and in 1985 wasnamed system engineer. He later served invarious management roles before retiring.Richard’s legacy at NGEMC lives on, howev-er, because his son, Richard Berryhill II, washired by us in 2003 and works as a lineworkerin Calhoun.

Richard was born in Bessemer City, N.C.,and studied engineering at Floyd College,Dalton State College and the University ofTennessee at Chattanooga. Richard joined theArmy in 1960 and spent 30 months in Germany.When he came to Dalton in 1965 to visit afriend, he decided to stay. In 1968, he marriedIra Lou Gowin.

Richard is survived by his wife, Ira Lou;daughters and sons-in-law, Denise and TimDavis of Fairfield, Conn., Monica and CurtMoore of Shelby, N.C., and Paula and SteveBigham of Dalton; sons and daughters-in-law,Richard and Sandra Berryhill, Terry and TraceyChambers, David Feagans and Eyvon Stewart,all of Dalton and Eugene and Kim Chambers ofZephyrhills, Fla.; brother, Tommy Berryhill ofClover, S.C.; sister, Ann Jeffrey of Stanley, N.C.;18 grandchildren, six great-grandchildren,nieces and nephews.

Our thoughts and prayers continue to be withRichard’s family.

2 The Cooperative Grapevine May 2008 3The Cooperative Grapevine May 2008

CO-OP news/views

COOPERATIVE faces COOPERATIVE calendar June 2008Blue: Birthdays Green: Hire dates Red: Training Orange: Holidays Purple: Events

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8

2322 24

15 16 17 18

25 26 27 28

29 30

19 20 21

9 10 11 12 13 14

Larry HaynesJohnny Stevenson

Summer begins

Mark PaceDoug Sane

Chris Putnam, ‘88Kevin Stroup, ‘05Terry Smith, ‘05

Alicia YarberCrew leader training

Barry Weaver

Luke Hentz

Reta Hawkins Kathy Johnson, ‘77 Marshall Hulett, ‘99

Tracy Parker, ‘89Stephanie Holder, ‘05

Huel Thain, ‘95Teresa Tish, ‘74Joey Blalock, ‘02

Rick Mason, ‘89

Barry Weaver, ‘76Shawn Witherspoon,’ 06

Chad Hodges, ‘88Bill Mooney, ‘88

Mike Murdock, ‘88Judy Cochran, ‘04

Anita Vlasis, ‘76Chad Wood, ‘98

Joe MiddletonKim Hefner, ‘93

Adam Dennison, ‘05

Kathy CavinChad Wood

Kathy Cavin, ‘82Father’s Day

Olga Cheo-IglesiasChris Putnam

Richard Wayne Berryhill April 12, 1941Richard Wayne Berryhill April 12, 1941——April 8, 2008April 8, 2008

Richard’s impact on our co-op leaves a lasting legacy

“ ”Richard was really goodat pulling out the best inpeople.

—Donna BridgesFriend and co-worker

To Dan Dye,crew leader inTrion, and familyin the passing ofhis father, William“Bill” Dye onApril 14.

SympathyHawkins hired in HRStephanie Hawkins, recently a

dispatcher, was hired recently ashuman resources clerk start dateundetermined.

Dupree promotedScott Dupree, who works in

Dalton, was promoted to apprenticelineworker level 3 effective April 20.

1st-time winner Medina grabs $25 in puzzle drawing

Across3. Animal which jumped into Randy Hixon'struck recently.6. Earned a perfect score on his computernetworking test.7. Percentage rate available until Sept. 30,2008, on 14 SEER heat pumps financedthrough the Energy Right Heat Pump pro-gram.8. Donating money to wear this item of cloth-ing will raise funds for Operation Round Up.

Down1. Subject of national electrical campaignduring May.2. High school which gave food and funds tohelp needy in Gordon County.4. New electronic payment system that isfree to our customers and can be doneonline or over the phone.5. State where TVA recently bought a gas-fired power plant.

Carlos Medina, customer service rep-resentative in Dalton, won $25 whenhis name was drawn as the winner of

this month’s Ravenous Readers Contest.If you’ve played before and not won, keep

filling out the puzzle and turning it in. Wehave a winner every month and a $100 win-

ner at the end of 2008. Every time you playand correctly answer the puzzle your namegoes into both the monthly drawing and inthe running for the year-end drawing.

Answers are found in this Grapevine andthe May issue of The Current Connection,our newsletter in GEORGIA magazine.

The Carter Hope Center, arecovery assistance residence forthose struggling with addictions,received an $800 grant to helpfund the purchase of computers.A laptop computer will allow staffto be mobile in their work, whichoften requires work-area moves tocomplete tasks. A desktop com-puter for clients will help in the

job-hunt process with applica-tions, communicating withprospective employers, resumes,recovery-related assignments,GED testing, and e-mails to fami-ly. Carter Hope serves all sevencounties in NGEMC’s territory.

Our customers can sign up forOperation Round Up atwww.ngemc.com or at our offices.

GRANTS from front page