Frances Lucas has a passion for training. She is an unsung hero inspired by faith and wisdom.
For more than 20 years, she has created and taught classes for Power Delivery at Alabama Power. She has a gift for listening to employees and identifying their next career step.
Lucas first discovered her skill for training while coordinating the leadership development program. She learned about employee training, mentoring and coaching, then developed a 12-month Professional Enrichment Program (PEP) for all employees to identify and grow their strengths.
“The creativity of coming up with the right way to train and provide teambuilding is the most rewarding part of my job,” said Lucas. “The secret to a great career is enjoying what you do, having opportunities to be creative and pushing yourself to learn and do more.”
As a Power Delivery specialist, she assists with job interviews and new hire orientations, facilitates soft-skill training classes and provides career development assistance to managers and their employees.
“My work is about our people,” said Lucas. Over the years, she has facilitated more than 300 interviews.
Frances Lucas is an Alabama Power unsung hero from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
Lucas is out of her office most of the time working with employees. When she’s not developing training, she’s researching to help others have the information they need to grow in their careers. Working directly with employees gives her the opportunity to answer their questions about professional development classes and online resources.
“Power Delivery is fortunate to have someone like Frances, who works behind the scenes to ensure our employees have what they need to do their jobs safely and effectively, every day,” said Power Delivery Services General Manager Kristie Barton.
Lucas has lived in Birmingham for more than 40 years. She is a working mother with three children and five grandchildren. She starts writing each day around 4 a.m. and has published five devotional journals. She writes about lessons she’s learned and how she is inspired to share them with others.