Baldwin EMC Honors Three Employees with Power and Hope Awards

Baldwin EMC Engineer Brad Wilson, Chief Executive Officer Karen Moore, Line Technician Bernardo Espinoza and Metering Technician Lee Drake are pictured during the co-op’s recognition of the three men’s heroic effort to save lives.

Baldwin EMC employees Lee Drake, Brad Wilson and Bernardo Espinoza were recently recognized with Baldwin EMC Touchstone Energy Power and Hope Awards for being in the right place at the right time and making the right choices to save three lives.

On a quiet night in February, Baldwin EMC Metering Technician Lee Drake was relaxing at home with his wife when a neighbor came to them in a panic, due to a relative becoming unconscious in her home. Drake and his wife took turns performing CPR and first aid until first responders could arrive.

In the early hours of February 18, Wilson, an engineer for Baldwin EMC, woke up to find his father, Summerdale, Ala., Mayor David Wilson, unresponsive. A Baldwin County 9-1-1 dispatcher was able to coach Wilson and his mother through the process of performing CPR, which kept his father’s heart beating long enough for paramedics to arrive and stabilize him for transport to the hospital, where he made a full recovery.

On Sunday, April 10, Brigette Morin, who works as metering department assistant for Baldwin EMC, participated in an Easter outing along with members of her family, including her then nine-month-old granddaughter Mila. While enjoying a hayride as part of the festivities, baby Mila began to struggle to get something out of her mouth and throat. Morin quickly handed the baby over to Baldwin EMC line technician Bernardo Espinoza, who was seated next to them. Espinoza and his wife Shelby used a combination of first aid skills and parental instincts to remove a piece of foliage from Mila’s mouth, thereby preventing her from choking.

“Employees like Lee, Brad and Bernardo are the type of people who go above and beyond without expecting recognition, but they certainly deserve it,” said Karen Moore, Baldwin EMC’s chief executive officer. “I’m incredibly thankful for their actions and for the opportunity to honor them.”

The Baldwin EMC Touchstone Energy Power and Hope award was introduced in 2007 to honor employees who go above and beyond in an emergency.

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