woodruff electric cooperative edition
Apply now for the Glynn and Mildred Carpenter Scholarship Glynn Carpenter was manager/CEO of Woodruff Electric Cooperative for 34 years. He and his wife, Mildred, both came from humble beginnings in Ashley County. Mr. Carpenter worked in the electric cooperative system for 53 years, retiring in 2003. Both Glynn and Mildred were strong advocates of higher education. Mr. Carpenter recognized the value of education and encouraged his employees, family and acquaintances to better themselves with learning. In honor of Glynn and Mildred Carpenter, the Board of Directors of Woodruff Electric Cooperative established the Glynn and Mildred Carpenter Scholarship Program. 2019 graduating high school seniors may apply to win a $1,000 scholarship. In order to be eligible for the scholarship, the applicant must be a graduate of any public or private high school in the counties of Woodruff, Cross, Monroe, St. Francis, Lee or Phillips or in the town of Des Arc; or be a graduate of home schooling while residing in a household of a Woodruff Electric member. The applicant must also be the child, grandchild or dependent of a Woodruff Electric member. The applicant must be attending a university, college or technical school as a full-time student in the Glynn and Mildred Carpenter Fall of 2019. The entire application must be completed in full, and received with the appropriate supplementary materials, in advance of the application deadline, which is March 18, 2019. Go to www.woodruffelectric.com for more information, complete instructions and the scholarship application forms. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Herbert “Bubba” Endsley retires from Woodruff Electric In September of 1976, Herbert “Bubba” Endsley began his 40year career working for Woodruff Electric Cooperative Corporation. Bubba began as a Groundman on a construction crew. He left for a short period to further his education but returned to the Cooperative family in 1981 as an Apprentice Lineman leading to his taking a Lineman position in 1983. There have been many things that have changed since Bubba first began working for the Cooperative. Some of those changes included the equipment, the metering technology and the many people that he has worked with over the years. One of the best changes that he witnessed while working for the Cooperative was the introduction of multiple bucket trucks for outside operations. “In earlier days, Woodruff had only one bucket truck, but now we have more bucket trucks that can be used to change out transformers using lifting devices called jibs. We had to learn how to use them, but it did not take long to figure out how useful they are for outside operations,” said Bubba. Bubba became a Serviceman in 1984 working out of the Moro District. For many years, Bubba and other servicemen served as the collections department to the Cooperative’s 22
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membership. Remembering those days, Bubba recalled, “It was mostly the same members every month, so we didn’t have any trouble because we knew each other. We only had trouble when someone new came into town. It was a different world than it is now.” In 1999, Bubba was promoted to Working Foreman of a construction line crew and began traveling throughout the service territory working on larger construction projects. “I liked doing that because I went all over the districts. I wasn’t in the same area long and worked with co-workers that I had not worked with before,” said Bubba. He took this opportunity to learn from co-workers and contractors while teaching them tricks of the trade from his knowledge as a serviceman. When asked about what he will miss the most about the co-op, he was quick to reply, “The people I worked with – you work with a bunch of different people, and it is kind of like a big family. There are weeks that you spend more time with your work family than you do your own family.” Bubba has not set his plans for retirement in stone just yet, but he knows of a few projects he plans to accomplish after his retirement. He stated, “I will be working at something, but not a steady job.” He plans to work on his father’s 1965 Chevrolet pickup truck, add a room onto the family cabin, help his nephew farm and still go fishing and hunting “just a little bit.”