From Alltricity Network Executive Director, Ken Wilmot

Happy October! As we kick off the final quarter of 2024, it is a busy time as the Alltricity Network team and the Education Committees are looking forward to a handful of great events to round out the year, including the Distribution Engineering & Planning Workshop (October 15th-16th in Kansas City, MO), a Unity in Leadership Webinar (October 17th), the November 2024 Safety Roundtable (November 6th in Austin, TX), and the Generation Renewables Conference (November 13th in Kansas City, MO) - all excellent opportunities to earn 2024 continuing education credits. We are also excitedly planning for a full slate of events in 2025 featuring quality speakers and relevant topics made for members, by members – many of which will be announced soon. As always, feel free to reach out with any topics or events you’d like to see on the Alltricity Network calendar, and we wish you all a happy and productive Q4!

2024 ALLTRICITY NETWORK FALL CONVENTION RECAP

Thank you to all the participants and speakers who braved through the heat and humidity in the heart of Texas to join us at the 2024 Alltricity Network Fall Convention! It was wonderful to see so many colleague friends connect and share knowledge about today’s top concerns in the electric utility industry. We had an excellent time with you all!

Our Fall Convention works because our members help us drive the content and we are calling on you once again! Please mark the calendar for the 2025 Fall Convention Planning Session on November 20th, 2024 in Englewood, CO, or virtually via Teams, to help us plan for next year’s event. You can start by identifying potential trends, topics, and possible speakers for consideration. More detailed venue information will be shared soon and please mark your calendar for the 2025 Fall Convention taking place September 30th-October 2nd, 2025 at the Thompson Dallas Hotel in Dallas, TX.

Review Your Favorite Presentation

To all that registered for the convention, I encourage you to scan your list of speakers/topics from the event and revisit those speaker presentations. Presentation recordings and PDFs (that we have permission to share, which is most) from the 2024 Fall Convention are now available on the Fall Convention app! You can access the app from your browser here or via the App Store here or Google Play Store here. Login using the email address you registered for the conference with. Please let us know if you need any assistance logging in. Whether it is one you heard or one you missed, I am confident you will gain new insights and valuable information.

Alltricity Network Service Awards

Awarded at the Fall Convention, Alltricity Network service awards provide the opportunity to recognize key members for their contributions to our association and industry. This year, we honored 7 individuals with Alltricity Network’s top service awards.

• 2024 Alltricity Network Distinguished Leadership Award - Barry Ingold, retired Chief Operating Officer, Tri-State Generation & Transmission Association; received Alltricity Network’s highest honor. This award recognizes an individual that has demonstrated significant contributions to the electric energy industry, their respective organization and an advocate for the Alltricity Network Mission.
• Alltricity Network’s Industry Leadership Award - Given to "individuals whose leadership has made an impact within their organizations,” the 2024 recipients are Francis Ashu, Vice President of Member Services, United Power; Rachel Grillot, Director of Solution Consulting, Copperleaf; Susan Hunter, Vice President of Energy Resources, Tri-State Generation & Transmission Association; and Justin Lee, Senior Manager of Transmission Planning, Salt River Project.
• 2024 Alltricity Network Honorary Life Member Award - Alltricity Network also conferred this award for those "whose knowledge and accomplishments in the electric energy field entitle him/her to special recognition,” to Rick Putnicki, retired Executive Director, RMEL/Alltricity Network and Jill Tietjen, President & CEO, Technically Speaking, Inc.

Congratulations to all 2024 Alltricity Network Award Winners and thank you for your dedication to the electric utility industry!

Passing of the Gavel

We are thrilled to announce that Josh Johnson, Vice President at Black & Veatch, has been named the incoming Alltricity Network Board President for the 2024-2025 term! An accomplished leader in the electric energy industry, Josh currently serves as the Technology Segment Leader and Integrated Facilities Solutions & Execution Portfolio Leader, where his strategic vision and dedication to innovation are shaping the advancements in energy intensive industries.

Under Josh’s leadership, Alltricity Network members can look forward to a year filled with growth, collaboration, and the continued advancement of Alltricity Network’s mission: Preparing the electric utility industry for the future through education and networking. His commitment to driving progress will help us navigate the opportunities and challenges ahead with confidence and success.

We wish to express our deepest appreciation for the outgoing 2023-2024 Alltricity Network Board President, Lisa Barbato, Chief Systems Planning & Projects Officer at Colorado Springs Utilities. During her term, Lisa’s key accomplishments include overseeing the search for a new Alltricity Network Executive Director; the implementation of the dues restructuring, which hadn’t been changed since 1995; and ushering in the new name, logo, and overall rebrand for the association. Lisa’s successful leadership as Alltricity Network Board President demonstrates her steadfast dedication to achieving excellence in the electric energy industry. Thank you again, Lisa!

Scholarship Fundraising & Auction

Golf outing participants started the generous donations through the purchase mulligans in support of the Alltricity Scholarship Foundation fund. The next evening, the attendees joined in on an evening of live music, food and friendly competitive bidding at the Alltricity Scholarship Foundation silent and live auction. I am pleased to share we raised over $24,000 in support of scholarships for the next generation of electric industry professionals! A sincere thank-you to all those individuals and organizations who donated items and bid on items leading up to and during the auction evening.

Post Convention Survey

Please take a few moments to complete the Fall Convention Survey if you haven’t already. Your feedback is extremely important to us and will directly impact planning for the 2025 Fall Convention and all future Alltricity Network events. 

ALLTRICITY NETWORK’S UPCOMING EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCES & WORKSHOPS

Mark your calendars! We are already looking ahead to next year and are pleased to share that the dates and location have been finalized for both of Alltricity Network’s signature events:

• 2025 Spring Management, Engineering, & Operations Conference: May 5th-7th, 2025 | Dallas Thompson Hotel | Dallas, TX
• 2025 Fall Convention: September 29th-October 1st, 2025 | Loews Kansas City Hotel | Kansas City, MO

Additional event information including the preliminary topics, registration, and hotel block details will be shared soon!

Please visit the Alltricity Network Events and Education Calendar webpage for the most up-to-date list of offerings, and reference the below Upcoming Event List in this newsletter to learn more and register. Our Education Committees, made up of Alltricity Network Members, strives to organize timely, relevant, and thoughtful educational and networking events, and we are looking forward to a full year of these opportunities curated by our members, for our members. We hope to see you soon at an upcoming event!  

ALLTRICITY NETWORK AS YOUR RESOURCE

As always, please consider Alltricity Network a resource for you and your organization. Please share those development opportunities with your peers, workgroups and your professional network! Also, do not hesitate to reach out to us with topics or workshops you would deem beneficial to our industry.