Father, son working Hurricane Michael storm duty together

Approximately 150 Mississippi Power employees have been a part of the Hurricane Michael restoration effort. Most of them left spouses and children at home in Mississippi as they worked to get the lights back on safely in Florida.

Perhaps no spouse has had more to worry about than Lynn Hall, whose husband Bo and son Colton, are working on this storm team.

“I’m very proud of them both,” Lynn said. “But I don’t ever really get used to them being gone on storm duty. I know when storms are heading our way, they may get called in to work. It’s just a part of our lives.”

Storm duty has been a part of the Hall family’s routine since Bo joined the company as a lineman in the Hattiesburg area 27 years ago. He’s spent the last 12 years as an electric serviceman, working countless storm assignments, including a month in Puerto Rico earlier this year.

Colton, now an electric serviceman in Bay St. Louis, joined Mississippi Power six years ago.

“He was six weeks old when I started working at Mississippi Power, so this is all he’s known about my career,” Bo said. “He was pretty set on working for the power company since he was a little boy.”

“I was brought up with Mississippi Power and I always thought it’d be a great place to work,” Colton said.

As Colton grew up, so did his interest in his father’s line of work. Colton would ask Bo questions about his job or his bucket truck.

Colton spent two summers working as a helper in the substation construction crew; doing anything to get his foot in the door at Mississippi Power.

“It was the best experience you could get,” Colton said. “It was on-the-job, first-hand experience. I’ve been here six years, but it feels longer to me because of how I grew up.”

Colton hired on full-time as a lineman and recently moved into an electric serviceman role.

While he and his father both worked the restoration efforts after a tornado hit Hattiesburg in 2017, they didn’t see each other on the job. Hurricane Michael storm duty is the first major restoration work they’ve done together.

“We’re seeing each other at the staging area every day,” Bo said. “We’re able to eat breakfast and supper together, which has been really nice.”

“It’s been an awesome experience. Not everybody gets to experience something like this and it means a lot to the both of us,” Colton said.

As for Lynn, she’s glad her boys are working together and is ready for them to return home safely.

“I’ve been talking to them just about every day while they’re over there and they’re sending pictures of damage and the work they’re doing,” Lynn said. “I couldn’t be prouder of them. They’re doing what they hoped to do in their careers and it’s rewarding to see them succeed.”

Mississippi Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), produces safe, reliable and environmentally responsible energy for more than 187,000 customers in 23 southeast Mississippi counties. With nearly 160 megawatts of approved solar energy capacity, Mississippi Power is the largest partner in providing renewable energy in the state of Mississippi. Visit our website at mississippipower.com, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

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