News Release
Contact: Barry Dillon
Phone: 770-2707835
Email: barry.dillon@gatrans.com
Georgia Transmission Promotes David Van Winkle to Vice President
TUCKER, Ga., (April 3, 2006) - Dunwoody resident David Van Winkle has been promoted to vice president of operations and maintenance at Georgia Transmission Corp. (GTC), a company that builds and maintains electric transmission facilities for the state's electric membership cooperatives (EMCs).
Since joining Tucker-based Oglethorpe Power Corp. in 1984 as a co-op student in transmission maintenance, Mr. Van Winkle has progressed through several engineering and managerial roles. Georgia Transmission was created as the electric transmission arm of the EMCs in 1997, when Oglethorpe Power was separated into three not-for-profit companies. EMCs provide power to nearly half the state's residents. Electric transmission refers to high-voltage power lines and substations that carry power from plants and other generation sources to the EMCs that deliver the power to customers over local distribution power lines.
In his new position, Mr. Van Winkle will oversee substation maintenance, transmission line maintenance and electronic maintenance functions. He will continue managing GTC's operations and maintenance contacts and participating in statewide transmission planning and operations with the state's other utilities. Mr. Van Winkle has served as GTC's transmission manager of Integrated Transmission System contracts since May of 2005.
When selecting him for the newly created post, Georgia Transmission's CEO Mike Smith said, "David is a role model for the intellect and work ethic we value. He is seasoned, yet he remains open to new people, new ideas and new ways of doing business. In addition to solid experience in systems maintenance, electronics maintenance and substation maintenance, David has a strong reputation in the industry and with the electric co-ops we serve."
He earned a bachelor's degree in agricultural engineering from the University of Georgia and a master's degree in business administration from Georgia State University. Mr. Van Winkle and his wife Kristie have three children.
About Georgia Transmission Corp: Georgia Transmission, a not-for-profit company, plans, builds and maintains nearly 2,700 miles of electric power lines and 580 substations that transmit power to the state's electric membership cooperatives (EMCs). EMCs provide electricity to about 4.2 million people in 157 of the state's 159 counties. Georgia Transmission, owned by 39 of the state's 42 EMCs, invests more than $100 million in new electric transmission facilities each year to keep pace with Georgia's growing energy demand. www.gatrans.com
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