[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 109 (Thursday, July 22, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1400-E1401]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING CHERYL A. THOMPSON FOR HER COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 22, 2010

  Mr. BONNER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize and commend the 
exemplary public service of Cheryl A. Thompson, who recently retired as 
vice president of the Mobile Division of Alabama Power.
  As each of us has personally realized during times of stormy weather, 
there are few things that we depend upon more than electricity. For 
more than a decade, the person who was saddled with the immense 
responsibility of keeping the power on for more than 200,000 households 
and businesses in southwest Alabama has been Cheryl Thompson.
  Madam Speaker, the Gulf Coast is no stranger to bad weather and we've 
had our

[[Page E1401]]

share of hurricanes and tropical storms since 1998, the year that 
Cheryl took the reins of the Mobile Division of Alabama Power. As the 
head of a team of over 400 personnel, she has ensured that we don't 
remain in the dark even when Mother Nature is at her worst.
  Equally important, however, Cheryl has brought much more to our 
community than just her role as the head of the Mobile Division for 
Alabama Power. She is an active supporter of many local organizations 
that enrich our lives and promote jobs.
  Cheryl is past chair and a member of the board of the Industrial 
Development Board of Mobile. She also serves on the boards of the 
Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, the National Maritime Museum of the 
Gulf of Mexico, the executive council of the Mitchell College of 
Business at the University of South Alabama, the Mobile Symphony, and 
is past chairman of Leadership Alabama.
  A native of Alexander City, Alabama, Cheryl holds degrees from Auburn 
University and the University of Alabama. She has completed the 
Advanced Management Program at Templeton University, Oxford, England, 
and the Women in Power Program at Harvard University.
  After joining Alabama Power in 1972, Cheryl worked for more than 2 
decades in the Eastern and Birmingham Divisions in corporate marketing. 
She was named southeast region manager at Georgia Power in 1996, and 
took over Alabama Power's Mobile operations 2 years later.
  Cheryl has been a tremendously positive force in our community and on 
behalf of the many people in South Alabama who have benefited from her 
considerable talents, I join in wishing Cheryl and her wonderful 
husband, Jerry, a well-deserved happy, healthy and prosperous future.

                          ____________________