Month: April 2023

By Gina DiPietro

Georgia Hummel loves solving problems.

“I was the kid,” she said, “who would tear a flashlight apart just to see how it worked.”

After college, she channeled that curiosity into a career at Duke Energy Indiana, the state’s largest electric supplier.

“I’ve always been an intellectual person,” she said. “So, being a line-worker really suits my personality because I learn something new every day.”

Hummel and other lineworkers build and maintain power lines and equipment that carry about 6,300 megawatts of electricity from a diverse mix of power plants to nearly 890,000 Hoosier homes and businesses.

Also fundamental to Duke Energy’s mission: Attracting a skilled workforce to help the company reach its clean energy goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. That means adding renewables across its six-state footprint while investing in grid upgrades to increase reliability and resiliency, strengthen it against storms, and give customers more options and control over their energy use and tools to save money.

While Duke Energy seeks a diverse workforce, Hummel said people are surprised to learn what she does.

“When I tell people I’m an apprentice lineworker at Duke Energy, they’re like, ‘What? No way!’ So, I absolutely get credit for branching out and doing something unexpected.”

She is detail-oriented and eager to lend a hand, said her supervisor, Dylan Osborne, someone who brings a “different flair” to the crew room and job sites.

“Georgia is great. She understands the work methods, dives right into the material and is very open to learning,” said Osborne, Customer Delivery Operations supervisor at the Greensburg Operations Center in southeastern Indiana.

Hummel considered going to medical school after earning a bachelor’s degree in biology at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.

“Essentially, I was a pre-med student,” she said, “because I wanted to run the bypass machine for heart surgeries.”

As she worked toward that goal in 2021, family friends – all lineworkers – encouraged Hummel to give line work a try.

“I’d seen them in action at lineman rodeos and I was in awe of the energy, the competition. It was fun,” she said. “And they’d always talked about how good of a career it is.”

Hummel knew of a training program, with night classes, not far from the medical research lab where she worked.

“It’ll be a fun little experiment,” Hummel thought as she enrolled in the 16-week lineworker training program at Gateway Community & Technical College in Florence, Ky., which Duke Energy helped establish in 2020.

“Developing lineworkers is key as we build a green grid, improve infrastructure and serve customers,” said Scott Batson, senior vice president and chief distribution officer. “We’re working with community colleges and other organizations across our service areas to train the next generation of lineworkers. And we’re seeing people join the programs from all walks of life.”

From the classroom, where students learned about electricity, to climbing and installing power lines, Hummel loved every minute.

She earned a lineworker certificate and applied to Duke Energy. Her phone rang a few months later, in October 2021.

“I was ecstatic,” Hummel said of the job offer. “I could start my career, something that would set me up to look at houses and start an adult life.”

As a line apprentice, the first step in a lineworker’s career, she is learning the ropes. A typical day might be hooking up service for customers, turning power off or replacing transformers.

“Looking back, I’m glad things happened the way they did,” Hummel said. “I’ve always been an outdoorsy person, so I don’t think I would have been happy in the medical field.”

Knowing that customers rely on lineworkers to make repairs, especially after a storm or power outage, gives Hummel a deeper appreciation for the work.

“There’ve been numerous times that people come outside at three o’clock in the morning to give us a round of applause for getting their lights back on,” she said. “It’s satisfying.”

She also enjoys the camaraderie among her colleagues, a team of nine.

“It’s like having a whole bunch of brothers,” Hummel said. “We have fun, and we joke around with each other, but we also look out for one another.”

She wants others – women especially – to know they, too, can do the job.

“Just because it’s not a common field for women to be interested in, or one that is typically advertised to women, doesn’t mean it’s not a great career for women,” Hummel said.

In two years, she’ll have the knowledge and experience to become a journeyman, a lineworker who can troubleshoot and make repairs.

“I want to be classified as a top-level worker, to show anyone they can do this,” she said. “After 15 or 20 years, I may consider a management or supervisory position, maybe something in health and safety. That’s the great thing about working at Duke Energy. There is so much opportunity to expand and try new things.”

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CALGARY, Alberta, April 13, 2023 /3BL Media/ – Benevity Inc., the leading provider of global corporate purpose software, today released The State of Workplace DEI, which revealed just how high of a priority diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) remains for employees, despite the current economic outlook, and how DEI plays a critical role in attracting and retaining talent.

Recent inflation and unsettling economic realities have weighed on DEI professionals and business leaders alike, with some companies deprioritizing DEI initiatives or cutting DEI roles and budgets. Yet Benevity’s report revealed that nearly two-thirds (62%) of employees believe their companies should dedicate more effort than usual to DEI over the next 12 months given this period of economic uncertainty. The possible consequence of a company not doing so could result in losing a competitive edge in the talent market, the report found.

With all factors including salary and benefits being the same or similar, almost all respondents surveyed (95%) said they weigh a prospective employer’s DEI efforts when choosing between job offers. Three-quarters of employees (78%) maintain they would not consider working for a company that fails to commit significant resources to prioritizing DEI initiatives.

To further understand employee sentiment toward DEI initiatives, Benevity surveyed an audience of 1,000 full-time U.S. employees, which was reflective of U.S. census data at the time of fielding, January 25 through February 2, 2023. Other key findings from the study include:

Employees expect employers to maintain DEI support regardless of the economic landscape: 90% of employees say they have personally benefited from DEI initiatives at work, and employees are eager for leadership to continue prioritizing DEI work.Amid the tight labor market, DEI plays a major role in attracting and retaining talent: The vast majority (87%) of respondents agree they would feel more loyal to a company with a proven track record of prioritizing DEI, and more than 90% say that companies with strong DEI commitments are more trustworthy to customers and employees.Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) foster more inclusive workplaces while building stronger businesses: 92% of employees agree that ERGs help unify the workplace, and 91% say ERGs have a greater impact on inclusivity than traditional DEI and unconscious bias training.

“In 2020, the global pandemic and racial justice movement motivated many businesses to invest in their DEI initiatives. Now, we’re seeing employees expecting companies to commit even more time, energy and resources to this effort,” said Sona Khosla, Benevity’s Chief Impact Officer. “Even amid the current economic backdrop, business leaders should continue to prioritize this work as it helps create a sense of community, contributes to employee well-being, combats attrition and builds trust with employees and customers.”

To learn more about how companies can create greater impact and employee engagement through their DEI investments, read The State of Workplace DEI here.

Learn more about Benevity Impact Labs’ research and data here.

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About Benevity 
Benevity, a certified B Corporation, is the leader in global corporate purpose software, providing the only integrated suite of community investment and employee, customer and nonprofit engagement solutions. Recognized as one of Fortune’s Impact 20, Benevity offers cloud solutions that power purpose for many iconic brands in ways that better attract, retain and engage today’s diverse workforce, embed social action into their customer experiences and positively impact their communities. With software that is available in 22 languages, Benevity has processed more than $12 billion in donations and 56 million hours of volunteering time to support 418,000 nonprofits worldwide. The company’s solutions have also facilitated 900,000 micro-actions and awarded 1.2 million grants worth $18 billion. For more information, visit benevity.com.

Media Contact 
Maggie Crouch│Walker Sands, for Benevity│benevity-pr@walkersands.com

FISHERS, Ind., April 13, 2023 /3BL Media/ – Land Betterment Corporation (“Land Betterment” or the “Company”), an environmental solutions company fostering positive impact through upcycling former coal mining sites to create sustainable community development and job creation, is pleased to announce that Woodall’s Campground Magazine featured ekō Solutions’ newly unveiled Gateway Park Model which is now available for sale.

The full story in Woodall’s Campground Magazine about ekō Solutions’ Gateway Park Model, a state of the art eco-friendly repurposed shipping container dwelling can be seen here. 

To learn more about ekō Solutions’ commercial and residential offerings, please click on “Buy eko!”

About Woodall’s Campground Magazine

Woodall’s Campground Magazine (WCM) has been a staple in the outdoor hospitality industry since the 1930’s. A business-to-business publication, WCM covers the RV park, campground and glamping segments like no other news source in the industry. While its monthly print magazine continues to be extremely popular, WCM has also launched a website, WoodallsCM.com, and is active on YouTube, LinkedIn & Facebook, with thousands of followers that depend on WCM to keep them up-to-date on daily news that impacts the industry. WCM is also the host of the popular podcast/video show “WCM’s Park Update,” which is aired at 3 p.m. EST every Tuesday. To learn more about Woodall’s Campground Magazine visit their website – www.woodallscm.com

About ekō Solutions

ekō Solutions, a Land Betterment company, is a sustainable development company utilizing innovative, low-cost, container-based structures to provide durable, high-end solutions to the building marketplace while also maintaining the ability to be utilized in a mobile environment. ekō Solutions uses innovative ecological structures to replace legacy inefficient and ineffective methods of living, growing and working. The sustainable craftsmanship of our structures is what separates us from the alternatives. Our structures are suitable for residential, crisis, recovery, commercial and recreation use. For more information visit ekosolutionsllc.com and connect with ekō Solutions on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About Land Betterment Corporation

Land Betterment Corporation, an Indiana Benefit Corporation and Pending B-Corp, is an environmental solutions company focused on fostering a positive impact through upcycling former coal mining sites to create sustainable community development and job creation.  The Company utilizes a complete solution-based lifecycle program to restore and rehabilitate the environment and revitalize communities in need of change and opportunity. Land Betterment accomplishes this by identifying un-reclaimed, run-down and neglected coal mining sites, fixing the environment through reclamation and remediation, and then repurposing the land to support a sustainable business that serves the community.  Land Betterment firmly believes that with real solutions it is possible for restoration of impacted areas to live side-by-side long term employment, while building sustainable and safe surroundings for communities and our planet.  For more information visit landbetterment.com or connect with the Company on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other important factors that could cause the Company’s actual results, performance, or achievements or industry results to differ materially from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.  These statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Land Betterment Corporation’s control.  The words “believes”, “may”, “will”, “should”, “would”, “could”, “continue”, “seeks”, “anticipates”, “plans”, “expects”, “intends”, “estimates”, or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words.  Any forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date of this release.  The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.  The Company cannot assure you that the projected results or events will be achieved.

Company Contacts:

Mark LaVerghetta
317.537.0492 ext. 0
Chief Governance Officer, Corporate Finance
info@landbetterment.com

Stephanie Conzelman
207.205.0790
Stakeholder Engagement Director
info@landbetterment.com