Alabama Power’s Broderick Smith: Seeing what needs to be done, and doing it
Broderick Smith, a community relations specialist for Alabama Power, is devoted to serving others, including those in his hometown of Selma. (Jeffrey Williams)
Broderick Smith is among the many caring faces of Alabama Power in cities and towns across the state.
Working in community relations, Smith is firmly connected and committed to Alabama Power’s customers and the communities the company serves. He works to grow and nurture the relationships that allow Alabama Power to contribute to important local programs and initiatives that are helping support communities large and small.
Like so many Alabama Power employees, Smith also devotes his personal time and resources to help make Alabama better. In 2022 he served as president of the Alabama Power Service Organization, or APSO. Comprised of more than 6,300 members across the company’s service territory, APSO volunteers invest in the good works of more than 200 nonprofits and community organizations.
Even during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, APSO volunteers could not be deterred; they found ways to remotely serve community organizations.
During his tenure as APSO president, Broderick supported bringing volunteers back together, responsibly. He and other APSO leaders in the organization’s nine chapters worked closely throughout the year to identify creative and impactful ways to physically reconnect volunteers with their communities, and with nonprofits across the state, to help meet needs that had grown during the crisis.
But not every effort can be so well-planned. On Jan. 12, 2023, an EF2 tornado tore through Broderick’s hometown of Selma. Two dozen people were injured, and many houses and businesses were damaged or destroyed.
In the immediate aftermath, Broderick did not know exactly what to do, but he knew he had to do something. So he conferred with his brother, Tony, an Alabama Power business manager in Gadsden, and APSO Associate Director Andrew Rhodes. Several Alabama Power employees then drove to Selma to lend a hand.
Broderick Smith and other Alabama Power volunteers helped deliver supplies and prepare care packages for people affected by the January 2023 tornado that struck Selma. (Jeffrey Williams)
They organized APSO volunteers to help provide cleaning supplies, water and other nonperishable goods that were trucked in with the help of sister company and partner Mississippi Power. Broderick’s team undertook the logistics of distributing them throughout the community, in coordination with the nonprofit Dallas County Family Resource Center.
In an instant, the people of Selma lost so much. Being able to provide them with daily essentials helped re-instill hope in the community.
There was also an immediate need to take care of those responsible for restoring power. With the help of Latonia Tisdale, Alabama Power’s business office manager in Selma, a staging area for the company’s line personnel was established. It was at this central gathering point that APSO volunteers made sure the crews were fed, so they could focus on the critical work at hand. The volunteers served breakfast, lunch and dinner for several days straight until the restoration work was complete.
Broderick and his co-workers are focused on helping improve the lives of Alabamians through meaningful actions, every day. He and his fellow APSO members are committed to making a direct and positive impact on communities, like storm-ravaged Selma, by answering the call and going above and beyond to help those in need.
To learn more about APSO and Alabama Power employee and retiree volunteerism, please visit powerofgood.com and click on “Volunteers.”
Serving others is in Broderick Smith’s heart. (Jeffrey Williams)
