The Georgia Electric Membership Corporation (GEMC) has a new class of Management Development Program graduates as of Friday, November 30, according to Walt McBride, Vinson Institute faculty member. "This class was made up of 15 participants from Sawnee EMC, Shapping Shoals EMC, Carroll EMC, and Jefferson Energy," reports McBride, who coordinated the training.

Successful completion of the Management Development Program involves completing a self-directed learning project that improves the operations of the participant's organization. "The work completed by members of this class reflects commitment and creativity," says McBride. Projects covered a range of issues, including streamlining processes for crew loading and unloading and overtime work scheduling as well as developing a thermal inspection program that results in energy savings to customers.

"The results-oriented aspect of the Management Development Program is reflected in our ability to calculate a combined expected return on investment for the sponsoring organization. In the case of these EMCs, that amount is more than $500,000," McBride concludes.