Duke Energy Chapter’s first quarter of 2020 yielded a successful Region II Conference among many other site activities focused on membership drives, after-hours networking, outreach activities, and lunch-n-learns with senior management. Senior management have helped point out career paths and opportunities for advancement not only here at Duke Energy, but also in the industry.

Senior management also acknowledges the value of U.S. WIN. The Duke Energy Chapter of U.S. WIN is an integral part of Duke Energy’s Vision/Mission/Strategy, providing input into three of our seven strategic elements designed to propel us into mid-century operations. We help supply the necessary leadership, advocacy and employee engagement to further our industry. Many of our sites are working in partnership with our NAYGN teammates to leverage our strengths in these areas.

As we defined our site goals for the year and made plans for our chapter’s quarterly professional development series, the COVID-19 pandemic took center stage. Work from Home (WFH) became the new normal and while our activities slowed, we strove to make each encounter meaningful. Our sites now use Microsoft Teams meetings to connect with one another. This significantly increases our ability to share content across our sites. Harris Nuclear Plant started us off by sharing their first in a series of informal chats with a member of site, senior leadership, including Kim Maza. Our Charlotte office followed up with a “Coffee with…” meeting highlighting individuals who have shown leadership in various capacities.

Another way in which we are leveraging our organization during WFH is with a fleet-wide book club. Our initial venture was with The Girls of Atomic City by Denise Kiernan. With the Region II meeting being held in the Oak Ridge area in April, 2019, this was the perfect book to start with! The discussion was made even more special when one of our members recounted the story of her grandmother who was herself a girl of atomic city (though not mentioned by name in the book). Several other members also had family involved in some way with Oak Ridge. We are currently discussing which book to read next.

As we wait to hear when we return to our work locations, we hope everyone is staying healthy and safe. Stay tuned for the next edition to learn which book we chose!