1. O
ur cooperative lost a wise and dedicat-
ed team member and a loving friend on
April 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 of
knowledge on many subjects. A selfless helper
of others, Richard also encouraged people
every chance he had, said his wife, Ira Lou.
He loved sharing his knowledge and skills, and
when cancer was discovered he remained a
quiet warrior to the end.
“I wouldn’t take a million dollars for those
last eight to 10 weeks of his life,” Ira Lou said.
“He came home to die and he didn’t complain
a single time. He was the bravest person I’ve
ever known.”
Richard leaves a long and wonderful legacy,
and he will be greatly missed. He was smart
and 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 since
1978, considered Richard his best friend. “His
dedication and sharing of information and
knowledge will be long-standing even though
he’s gone,” David said.
Keith Queen, Manager, Power Delivery,
credits Richard with instilling in him 30 years
of knowledge in the 10 years the two worked
together. Donna Bridges, Engineering Clerk,
admired Richard’s brilliance and sense or
humor.
Richard’s co-workers honored him by lining
the entrance to United Memorial Gardens
(above) in Dalton when the procession drove
past. Both front doors of the hearse were
emblazoned 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 1999
as Manager of Operations, but Richard wasn’t
through putting his talent to good use and
rejoined us in 2003.
In recent years, he served in various engi-
neering capacities, including a temporary role
as Field Engineering Supervisor in Fort
Oglethorpe. During his career, Richard worked
at Dalton Utilities and Georgia Power before
coming to our co-op. He started with us in
1978 as a staking engineer and in 1985 was
named system engineer. He later served in
various management roles before retiring.
Richard’s legacy at NGEMC lives on, howev-
er, because his son, Richard Berryhill II, was
hired by us in 2003 and works as a lineworker
in Calhoun.
Richard was born in Bessemer City, N.C.,
and studied engineering at Floyd College,
Dalton State College and the University of
Tennessee at Chattanooga. Richard joined the
Army in 1960 and spent 30 months in Germany.
When he came to Dalton in 1965 to visit a
friend, he decided to stay. In 1968, he married
Ira Lou Gowin.
Richard is survived by his wife, Ira Lou;
daughters and sons-in-law, Denise and Tim
Davis of Fairfield, Conn., Monica and Curt
Moore of Shelby, N.C., and Paula and Steve
Bigham of Dalton; sons and daughters-in-law,
Richard and Sandra Berryhill, Terry and Tracey
Chambers, David Feagans and Eyvon Stewart,
all of Dalton and Eugene and Kim Chambers of
Zephyrhills, Fla.; brother, Tommy Berryhill of
Clover, S.C.; sister, Ann Jeffrey of Stanley, N.C.;
18 grandchildren, six great-grandchildren,
nieces and nephews.
Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with
Richard’s family.
2 The Cooperative Grapevine May 2008 3The Cooperative Grapevine May 2008
CO-OP news/views
COOPERATIVE faces COOPERATIVE calendar June 2008
Blue: 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 Haynes
Johnny Stevenson
Summer begins
Mark Pace
Doug Sane
Chris Putnam, ‘88
Kevin Stroup, ‘05
Terry Smith, ‘05
Alicia YarberCrew leader training
Barry Weaver
Luke Hentz
Reta Hawkins Kathy Johnson, ‘77 Marshall Hulett, ‘99
Tracy Parker, ‘89
Stephanie Holder, ‘05
Huel Thain, ‘95Teresa Tish, ‘74
Joey Blalock, ‘02
Rick Mason, ‘89
Barry Weaver, ‘76
Shawn Witherspoon,’ 06
Chad Hodges, ‘88
Bill Mooney, ‘88
Mike Murdock, ‘88
Judy Cochran, ‘04
Anita Vlasis, ‘76
Chad Wood, ‘98
Joe Middleton
Kim Hefner, ‘93
Adam Dennison, ‘05
Kathy Cavin
Chad Wood
Kathy Cavin, ‘82
Father’s Day
Olga Cheo-Iglesias
Chris 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 good
at pulling out the best in
people.
—Donna Bridges
Friend and co-worker
To Dan Dye,
crew leader in
Trion, and family
in the passing of
his father, William
“Bill” Dye on
April 14.
SympathyHawkins hired in HR
Stephanie Hawkins, recently a
dispatcher, was hired recently as
human resources clerk start date
undetermined.
Dupree promoted
Scott Dupree, who works in
Dalton, was promoted to apprentice
lineworker level 3 effective April 20.
1st-time winner Medina grabs $25 in puzzle drawing
Across
3. Animal which jumped into Randy Hixon's
truck recently.
6. Earned a perfect score on his computer
networking test.
7. Percentage rate available until Sept. 30,
2008, on 14 SEER heat pumps financed
through the Energy Right Heat Pump pro-
gram.
8. Donating money to wear this item of cloth-
ing will raise funds for Operation Round Up.
Down
1. Subject of national electrical campaign
during May.
2. High school which gave food and funds to
help needy in Gordon County.
4. New electronic payment system that is
free to our customers and can be done
online or over the phone.
5. State where TVA recently bought a gas-
fired power plant.
C
arlos Medina, customer service rep-
resentative in Dalton, won $25 when
his 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. We
have a winner every month and a $100 win-
ner at the end of 2008. Every time you play
and correctly answer the puzzle your name
goes into both the monthly drawing and in
the running for the year-end drawing.
Answers are found in this Grapevine and
the May issue of The Current Connection,
our newsletter in GEORGIA magazine.
The Carter Hope Center, a
recovery assistance residence for
those struggling with addictions,
received an $800 grant to help
fund the purchase of computers.
A laptop computer will allow staff
to be mobile in their work, which
often requires work-area moves to
complete tasks. A desktop com-
puter for clients will help in the
job-hunt process with applica-
tions, communicating with
prospective employers, resumes,
recovery-related assignments,
GED testing, and e-mails to fami-
ly. Carter Hope serves all seven
counties in NGEMC’s territory.
Our customers can sign up for
Operation Round Up at
www.ngemc.com or at our offices.
GRANTSfrom front page