Alabama Power will be calling attention to some of its vital professionals during National Engineers Week Feb. 17-23.

Multiple departments will be holding breakfasts, lunches and other activities to recognize the week, held to coincide with the birthday of America’s first famous engineer, George Washington.

“Engineers are the backbone of our company,” said Scott Moore, senior vice president of Power Delivery at Alabama Power. “This week, we reflect on the many ways they provide the technical know-how and expertise to keep an electric utility up and running.”

Alabama Power relies on a number of engineering disciplines for its daily operations. (Alabama NewsCenter file)

The National Society of Professional Engineers started the celebration in 1951 to promote a well-educated, diverse engineering work force in the United States. National Engineers Week has grown to a coalition of 70 engineering, education and cultural societies, and more than 50 corporations and government agencies.

Alabama Power engineers have a strong presence in professional organizations. Arthur Fisher, with the substation engineering unit of Southern Company Services, is vice president of the Birmingham Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers and has been nominated for the Distinguished Service Award of the Engineering Council of Birmingham (ECOB).

Carl Jackson, with SCS Research and Development in the Renewables, Energy Storage and Distributed Generation group, has been nominated for Young Engineer of the Year by the ECOB. Jackson and Fisher are advisers for the Future Engineers of America program, mentoring high school students considering a career in engineering.

Alabama Power employees engage high schoolers through LEAP (Linemen, Engineers and Apprentice Programs) – a work force development effort informing ninth-grade through 12th-grade students about job opportunities. LEAP’s annual showcase event is Career Day in March, when ninth-graders from the Birmingham area tour the 12^th Street Headquarters to see exhibits about what it’s like to work at an electric utility.

iCan is an initiative to introduce middle-school girls to the field. Three separate events for girls in the Trussville School System throughout 2018 saw them learn about civil engineering by building a shoe; touring the company’s storm center; seeing electric vehicles up close; and making slime to learn about chemical engineering.