8
THE DAVEY BULLETIN
|
November/December 2022
MISSION
HUNDREDS RALLY FOR
HURRICANE IAN RESPONSE
MISSION
Left: A road washed out by
the storm surge.
Right: Davey crews lined up
early in the morning ready
to head out to continue
storm recovery work
in southwest Florida.
Over 400 Davey employees from all four service lines
traveled from throughout the Midwest and East Coast
to Florida to support local Davey crews helping their
communities recover from Hurricane Ian's devastation.
The storm, which made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane
in late September, delivered the most damage in the areas
around Fort Myers on the state's southwest coast.
UTILITIES RELY ON DAVEY EXPERTISE
Juan Avalos, senior supervisor, Florida Power and Light
account (FP&L), said the storm hit the area his crews are
responsible for maintaining for FP&L.
"We were the first line of response," Avalos said. "We know
the area, we know the territory, so we were the first phone
call. We worked directly with FP&L and the same linemen
we work with daily. That made the job easier for everyone."
Avalos also dispatched 15 crews to support FP&L recovery
work on the state's western coast.
Roy Croka, account manager, Tampa Electric and City of
Bartow accounts, said they worked with Tampa Electric to
identify high-priority grids to restore first, including hospitals,
police and fire stations, and other first-responder facilities.
"We view ourselves as first responders as well," Croka said.
"Every storm I've worked you see a lot of recognition to
the first responders and the linemen, but the tree crews
often go unnoticed because we're not the ones turning
the lights back on, even though we work hand-in-hand
with them. We are unsung heroes."
"I'm very proud of the crews' professionalism and
the way they represented Davey," Croka said.
"We all have a job to do. But it's more than
a job when you do storm work. These men
and women leave their families in a time
of disaster to go out to help others."
The Tampa Electric crews were supported
by 85 employees who traveled from
Indiana on the NIPSCO account, and
17 employees sent by the Davey
Tree Surgery Company from the
CenterPoint Energy account.
