Normally, you are opening your copy of the Global 811 Magazine (previously known as the Tennessee811 Magazine) and looking for the Tennessee811 section so you can find and read the next Damage Prevention MVP article. Who is Jason featuring this quarter? I’m being sarcastic, but I hope someone enjoys the articles that I write about some fantastic people. I have been blessed with the opportunity to spotlight some incredible folks throughout not only the Volunteer State but surrounding states as well. Those people do it right when it comes to damage prevention and deserve the accolades. I know there are more people out there who haven’t been featured, and hopefully someone will suggest their name to me in the future. For this article, I will be putting a different spin on the Damage Prevention MVP. I will not be featuring a specific person, but a group of fine folks who live and work in West Tennessee. The article is not about me, but my experiences with my customers in West Tennessee and some of the partnerships we have formed.
In the coming months, I will be transitioning to cover Middle Tennessee in my Liaison role. As I type these words, Tennessee811 is in the process of identifying the next West Tennessee Liaison. I’m sure we will hire a quality individual who will represent Tennessee811 and our stakeholders well. With that, I wanted to pay homage to the great folks of West Tennessee. First, I must give you a little backstory. I’ve covered the Western half of Tennessee since March of 2014, when I was hired by Tennessee811’s Executive Director, Bill Turner, as a Damage Prevention Liaison. At that time, there were only two liaisons covering the entire state. Craig Ingram, who was just recently promoted to Vice President of Operations, and I. Craig covered 48 counties (Middle to East), and I covered 47 counties (Middle to West). We covered a lot of ground, gave a lot of presentations, attended more meetings than we could count, met and interacted with some wonderful people, had some fun, and every day was an adventure! Fast forward a few years later and we broke the state up into 3 territories to make sure we provided excellent customer service to all the stakeholders. Plus, the call volume had increased and covering 95 counties with 2 people was just too much. I kept West Tennessee as part of my territory, giving up some of the Eastern Side of Middle Tennessee. Currently, I cover 32 counties ranging from the Western Half of Middle Tennessee all the way to the Mississippi River.
In my 11 ½ years as the West Tennessee Liaison, I’ve been in every county, most every town and city, on every major highway, and down many backroads. Many of my relationships with customers have turned into friendships. When we are not talking about 811 stuff, we tend to talk about the weather, good spots to eat, sports, fishing, hunting, old cars, traveling, etc. I have customers that I have fished with, hunted with, gone to ball games together, gone out to dinner, been invited over to their house for a meal, etc. Speaking of food, I have eaten too much good food and barbecue to last me a lifetime. My waistline speaks the truth about that. In short, I appreciate the fine folks of West Tennessee for taking this Middle Tennessee guy in as your own. You really have been incredible to work with, and I will miss seeing you multiple times a year. At a WTGA (West Tennessee Gas Association) meeting in July, when I was giving my Tennessee811 update, I paused and Allyson Horner with GCUD asked, “Are you getting choked up, Jason?” Yes, Allyson, I did get choked up. Because I love what I do and the people that I get to work with. The West TN folks are some of the best! I will still be around, so maybe we can reconnect at a conference or event. I was going to try and write about some of the events that we have had, but I would be writing a novel. I have featured some of those events in previous articles, and I encourage you to go online to read those or any of the articles that have been written. You can search Tennessee811 magazine on your web browser or I have included the web address here: https://www.tennessee.811magazines.com/
Do you know someone in your company who fits the bill for a Damage Prevention MVP? What about someone you work with in the field? I would love to spotlight them for our next quarter’s Damage Prevention MVP. Please reach me via email: jfryer@tennessee811.com.