The best coaches know that no single player can take the team to triumph. It takes all teammates working cohesively together to win the game.

New York Knicks president Phil Jackson knows a thing or two about teamwork. The former NBA player and coach led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships and led the Los Angeles Lakers to claim five NBA rings. Add to that his two championships as a player with the Knicks, and he holds the NBA record for the most combined championships as a player and head coach, 13. Someone with that kind of record might dare to take the credit. But not Jackson, who says: “The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.”

At Jackson EMC, we wholeheartedly agree with that line of thinking. It takes the entire team—including our employees, management, board and members—to make our business a success. Whether it’s our linemen depending on each other for safety while working through storms to restore power, or our engineers developing plans for our future power distribution system upgrades, or our contact center working to increase engagement with our members, we know we all depend on each other to get the job done.

Recently, a team of employees at Jackson EMC had an opportunity to work on a project that’s a bit out of the box for us. There are two bird families that like to build their summer nests on a bridge that crosses Lake Lanier, we’ve all enjoyed watching them return each spring for several years.

In two years that bridge is set to be replaced and the Osprey need a new place to call home. Benny Bagwell, engineering and operations coordinator in Gainesville, decided he wanted to help and got involved in building new habitat for the migratory birds. With Benny’s leadership, a team of five linemen boarded a barge on Lake Lanier with a derrick truck to build this new habitat for the birds. Working off a barge is new for us, we’re used to installing power lines, not bird nests. We worked with Scott Bridge Company to set two poles with nest platforms designed by the Audubon Society in a location selected by the DOT and Army Corps of Engineers. We all had a unique role to play and together we accomplished something important for our community and these beautiful birds. You can read more about this project, and watch a video of the install on our website.

Do you have a story to share? Send me an email to chip@ jacksonemc.com