ATC’s Party for the Planet hits 10-year mark with various activities

If you didn’t get to the Milwaukee County Zoo on May 16-17, you missed a few things – not to mention the beautiful weather! For the 10th year, ATC sponsored the Zoological Society of Milwaukee’s event called Party for the Planet. This “green” event celebrates our planet and commemorates Migratory Bird Day and Earth Day. ATC featured three different activities this year.

At the Northwestern Mutual Family Fun Farm, nationally renowned horticulturist, author and radio/TV host Melinda Myers assisted children in planting a low-growing, native species butterfly garden. Melinda is ATC’s spokesperson for the Grow Smart program, which helps educate landowners about planting low-growing, native species – especially in the transmission line right-of-way. The Grow Smart Butterfly & Pollinator Garden is in the shape of a butterfly and will become a permanent exhibition garden at the Zoo that will attract pollinators and birds for years to come.

In the US Bank Building Gathering Place (the Zoo’s main entrance), ATC volunteers staffed a booth that educated visitors about pollinators. Kids and adults played Name that Pollinator game, learned about different types of pollinators and picked up their free common milkweed seed packets – along with a few other goodies.

Meanwhile, near the southern shore of Lake Evinrude on the Zoo’s grounds, a local Cub Scout pack from Bay View assisted the Zoo’s forestry crew and other volunteers in planting more than 40 trees. In the coming months, a total of 100 trees will be planted. This is the second year that ATC has granted funding to the Zoological Society of Milwaukee, which is used to remove damaged vegetation and invasive species and replace them with native trees and shrubs within the Zoo’s 200 acres. Restoration of the area near the lake helps diversify the plant and animal species, improve air quality, reduce the Zoo’s carbon footprint and enhance the beauty of the grounds.

All of these activities – including ATC’s sponsorship, the weather and the many Zoo-goers and participants -- made the weekend’s event quite the party.

 

 

Love, ATC style

 

American Transmission Co. employees love their jobs.

So much so that we were recently chosen as one of the People’s Picks: 15 Great Workplaces in Manufacturing & Production by Great Place to Work®’s Great Rated!™ and named a top 25 workplace on FORTUNE magazine’s 2014 Best Small & Medium Workplaces list in 2014.

“I love the people at ATC,” said Lisa in human resources. “I look forward to coming into work every day because I get to work with people who are open to new ideas and challenges, and who also like to have fun."

Teresa in real estate echoes the love of camaraderie. “I love working at ATC because of my stellar colleagues, many of whom are also dear friends. I also love our project team approach—it is very rewarding to be a part of a team because we support each other through the challenges and successes. It is nice to know that you are never alone and out on a limb—there is a great support system here.”

Many employees love that they get to play a role in helping keep the lights on in their communities.

Kathy, regulatory, says she loves working at ATC for many reasons, but especially our role in ensuring the delivery of safe and reliable electricity. “It’s a collaborative workplace filled with talented, smart and competent people. ATC also strongly supports a work-life balance.”



Alissa, corporate communications, loves heart hands.
She also loves that we were named a Great Place to Work,
and wears her pride on her sleeves.







Eric, team leader-asset applications and GIS, loves that his team
managed to look like a rock band while touring a substation.





Todd, transmission planning, loves
working a little PhotoShop magic
on a Y-frame structure.

 



Pete, routing and siting, loves working on projects
that help ensure reliable electricity to places like
the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ATC donation brings technology to Eastbrook Academy

Computers that once were used by American Transmission Co. employees who design the electric transmission grid now are being used by students at Eastbrook Academy - an academically strong private Milwaukee, Wis. school that educates 400 economically and socially diverse students from different cultural backgrounds in grades K4 through 12.

In 2013, Eastbrook was seeking a donation of computer equipment to expand its computer lab and provide a modern classroom for its students.

ATC facility assistant and parent of an Eastbrook student, Rita Brown, saw a posting for the donation request and brought the request to the attention of Cerise Reed, ATC senior desktop administrator, to see if there was a possibility for ATC to fulfill it. Reed followed up with her team, and over the next year, computers that reached the end of the ATC lifecycle were donated to Eastbrook. ATC donated 19 desktop computers and 25 laptops, along with an LCD projector, which greatly expanded Eastbrook’s computer lab.

Frank Lee, Eastbrook’s IT director, said, “The donation has helped the school immensely…it has pushed (the students) into a more 21st Century technology classroom.”

A group of middle-school children use the computers during their English Composition class for peer-editing, “which is much more difficult when you’re doing it in paper and pencil,” according to their teacher, Lisa Johnston.

We’re happy to have been able to fulfill the needs of Eastbrook’s computer lab and to see that the students are both enjoying them, and using them to develop new skills in an academically challenging environment.

To learn more about Eastbrook Academy and its powerful academic programs, click here.

ATC named one of the nation’s top workplaces

American Transmission Co. ranks as one of the nation’s top workplaces, having been chosen as one of the People’s Picks: 15 Great Workplaces in Manufacturing and Production by Great Place to Work®’s Great Rated!^TM. This honor comes after ATC last fall was named one of the top 25 best workplaces in the United States on FORTUNE magazine’s 2014 Best Small and Medium Workplaces list.

The 15 Great Workplaces in Manufacturing and Production is a “best of the best” ranking. Of the 600 companies surveyed by Great Place to Work®, 44 were in the Manufacturing and Production category. ATC and the other 14 winning companies were selected based on the evaluations of nearly 34,000 employees from companies across the country who were surveyed to get their assessment of their workplaces and employers. Employers were evaluated through Great Place to Work®’s Trust Index^© survey, and the companies with the highest levels of trust, camaraderie and pride among their employees are the ones that rank on this list.

“We are honored to again be named among the best places to work in the country,” said ATC President and CEO John Procario. “We strive to be the employer of choice for talented and dedicated people."

The full category in which ATC participated was Manufacturing and Production/Energy Distribution, as it was the established category that came closest to encompassing ATC’s unique business model as a transmission-only utility. Pewaukee, Wis.-based ATC, with 650 employees, was formed in 2001 as the first multi-state, transmission-only utility in the country.

FORTUNE Magazine published the complete list of People’s Picks: 15 Great Workplaces in Manufacturing and Production. Click here for the entire list and here for ATC’s Great Rated!^TM profile.

Power above and below

Safety classes raise awareness for those working near power lines

American Transmission Co. owns and operates a high-voltage electric transmission system made up of overhead and underground power lines and facilities.

To ensure worker safety, anyone doing excavation or construction needs to take the proper steps to locate power lines and plan ahead to complete the work at a safe distance from the lines.

ATC practices and promotes safety. Diggers Hotline provides excavator safety meetings to educate contractors, excavators, municipal workers and utility workers about safe work practices near power lines. ATC partners with Diggers Hotline at these meetings to promote awareness, provide information and answer questions about working safely near our facilities. Meetings started earlier this month and run through April 2015.

Click here to learn more about the program.