At Energy Harbor, we’re all about Living with Power, and while we embrace this pillar through our day-to-day business operations, our definition of living with power goes far beyond turning on the lights or heating the home. It also means playing an active role in ensuring our local communities are vibrant, thriving, and, well, powerful. 

2022 Bridgestone Senior Players Golf Championship

We proudly sponsored public seating at the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship. Branded lawn chairs were provided on several of the holes, and we encouraged guests to take them home at the conclusion of the tournament on Sunday. It was so great to be apart of such a fun event in our own backyard.

Zippy and Energy Harbor Spread Some Holiday Cheer

Energy Harbor employees at our headquarters in Akron joined Zippy from The University of Akron to bring some holiday cheer to the students at the Mason Community Learning Center for their annual holiday party provided by Akron Hopes. Energy Harbor "adopted" several classrooms, so each child would receive a present. Fourteen of our headquarters employees went to Mason to pass out gifts and play with the kids.

WIN (Women in Nuclear) for the Holiday Win!

WIN (Women in Nuclear) representatives partnered with Leadership Lake County and Mentor Rotary to be the students’ “hosts” at a holiday party at Lake Metroparks Farmpark. Each volunteer was paired with a student from Mentor School. The pair went shopping for gifts, had a wagon ride, saw a show from Jungle Terry, visited farm animals, and had lunch with Santa.

The Community Involvement Committee sponsors Leadership Lake County and numerous Perry employees are alumni, so the holiday party was a great opportunity reconnect with our roots and make an impact!

“Signs of Hope” unveiled

Energy Harbor’s Community Involvement Committee partnered with Leadership Lake County (LLC) and the local chapter of National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) to design and install "Signs of Hope" throughout Lake Metroparks. These encouraging and inspirational permanent signs serve to ensure mental health support is accessible to the community A simple scan of the QR code located on the sign will get them directly to NAMI’s website. NAMI works to provide advocacy, education, and support and works to raise public awareness so that all individuals and families affected by mental health conditions can lead healthy lives.

Academic Challenge is back!

Energy Harbor partnered with IBEW Local 245 to sponsor the high school quiz show, which made its triumphant return after production went on hiatus due to the pandemic. The half-hour show puts a spotlight on academic excellence and the importance of education in schools across Northwest Ohio and Southeastern Michigan. 

Giving Blood and Saving Lives

The pandemic, coupled with the usually high-demand summer months, has resulted in a blood shortage, explains the American Red Cross, so Energy Harbor Davis-Besse employees rolled up their sleeves Aug. 4 to donate blood. Each pint of blood can help save up to three lives and touch the lives of so many more. We had 19 people donate to save up to 57 lives!! To donate, check out the American Red Cross web site.

(Images have been purchased and do not feature actual Energy Harbor employees)

Partnership with Ohio Governor’s Imagination Library

Akron, Ohio, May 6, 2020 – Energy Harbor announced today it is contributing $100,000 to the Ohio Governor’s Imagination Library. The program promotes early childhood literacy and supports students and their families whose schools have closed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The Imagination Library’s mission is to put more books in the hands of Ohio children and help ensure that every student enters kindergarten ready to succeed.

Davis-Besse Boot Camp: Teacher Edition

Educators from Ottawa County, Ohio, visited Energy Harbor’s Davis-Besse plant during the Ottawa County Improvement Corporation’s Teacher Boot Camp. They learned about career opportunities in nuclear energy. Electrical Maintenance Superintendent Nick Buehler, who led the tour, found himself instructing his former teachers, as well as his daughter’s fifth grade teacher. “The future of nuclear power is in your classrooms,” he told them.

Houston Makes a Kitchen Kit Assembly Line

Energy Harbor employees in our Houston came together to assemble kitchen essentials kits for women in domestic violence shelters and families living at or below the poverty line.  The kits - which include hand-decorated dish towels, can openers, spatulas, and mixing spoons - were distributed by the United Way of Greater Houston and its partners. It was a fun office engagement event that was made even sweeter knowing that we’re bringing some hope to those in a hopeless place. 

Read Across America

The Houston Office joined United Way of Greater Houston at Lantrip Elementary and Buffalo Creek Elementary to read to students in Kindergarten to 4th grade. This was part of United Way’s Read Across America Day: an exciting day of promoting literacy and encouraging students to read for fun.  So proud of our employees for participating and making a difference in these young students' lives!

Nuclear talks: Akron NAYGN presents opportunities in nuclear energy to local high school

Our Akron North American Young Generation in Nuclear (NAYGN )chapter visited Stow-Munroe Falls Highschool last Thursday to discuss nuclear power generation. Special kudos to Robert DrsekNicholas Spitznagel, and Andrew Borsi for presenting the basics of reactor design; nuclear fission physics and radiation; nuclear power plant safety and resiliency; as well as careers in nuclear energy to Stow-Munroe Falls' STEM students

Annual Day of Caring

In November, the United Way of Lake County with Women United held its annual Day of Caring event. During this day, volunteers visited the homes of low income, disabled and elderly homeowners to do some yard work. Representatives from Perry’s Women in Nuclear partnered with Mentor High School students to lend a hand and some rakes.

Community Building with Habitat for Humanity

Recently our members of our Marketing team and Team Perry teamed up with the Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity to participate in a Community Build in Cleveland’s Buckeye neighborhood. In this season of giving we're proud to have employees that care about continuously improving their communities“Thank you to those who took time out of their busy days to help those most in need,” said Rod Penfield, Site Vice President. “This is what makes [Energy Harbor] so special – the desire to be a part of the community and always lend a helpful hand!

Preserving the history of Summit County and Akron

The Energy Harbor Finance team exhibited true altruism by volunteering to preserve the great history of the Summit County Historical Society of Akron, OH. In addition to being a great teambuilding event, they played an integral part of preserving our community’s historic footprint by helping to enhance properties such as the John Brown House and the Perkins Stone Mansion.

Davis-Besse Turns Annual Girl Scouts’ Derby Digital

Jarrod Nolan, a nuclear engineering specialist at Energy Harbor and Girl Scout troop co-leader, took the Girl Scouts of the USA motto - Be prepared - to heart when the pandemic threatened to cancel the Girl Scouts of Western Ohio's annual Pinewood Derby. He simply took the event virtual.  Thirty-five cars were delivered to the Davis-Besse Energy Education Center for race day, and scouts watched via Facebook Live. Congrats to the winners, and to our proud scout dad, Jarrod, for making the popular event possible.

NOSHA

We promise safety in our mission to provide energy, and our warehouse members know it all too well, and it shows in their work. It’s been over 28 years since the Perry Warehouse has had an OSHA recordable accident, a part of the industry which typically has higher accident rates. Great job team!

Energy Harbor Network for Empowering Women Kicks Off!

Our Network for Empowering Women program is a grassroots effort led and built by employees to further develop ourselves, connect with one another, build a safe and supportive space together, and lift women into Leadership roles. This is a company wide effort, expanding through all our sites focused on positioning Energy Harbor for future success by elevating women into leadership and enhancing the availability and accessibility of professional development opportunities for all employees.

No coal for Perry’s Women in Nuclear (WiN)

Concord Township, Ohio

Perry’s Women In Nuclear (WiN) spread some extra Christmas cheer this year with special needs students from Mentor Elementary Schools. WiN partnered with Leadership Lake County and Mentor Rotary to host students at a Lake Farmparks Christmas party. The students and hosts went on a wagon ride, toured the Farmparks, watched an animal show by Jungle Terry, received gifts from their hosts, and visited with Santa.

Gezo Gets her 100th Win!

Congrats to Jacki Gezo on her 100th win in the Fall 2021 season as coach of Oak Harbor Middle School’s volleyball team! Jacki works in Emergency Response at Energy Harbor’s Davis-Besse plant. Jacki has spent more than 30 years as part of the Oak Harbor Rockets volleyball program, as both player and coach. It’s a rewarding experience that gives back more than one would imagine – especially when it comes to the young women Jacki coaches. “They’ve been there as much for me as hopefully I am for them,” she says. “Practice takes me away from my worries. They’ve helped me get through stuff they probably don’t even realize.”

Energy Harbor Celebrates the End of Summer 2021

Concord Township, Ohio

Energy Harbor celebrated the end of Summer 2021 on August 5th at the finale concert of Concord Township’s "Concord Jams" Summer Series. All evening, the DJs rocked, the fireworks popped, and the arts & crafts sparkled for a night of good family fun! All summer long Perry Power Plant employees volunteered at every Thursday concert, but the finale concert was extra special as Energy Harbor lit up the sky with a sponsored firework show. Thanks to our employees for getting involved in their towns and neighboring cities. 

Energy Harbor’s Matt Mizuk Leads 5 to Junior Olympics

Saftey is the first rule of marksmanship, and the first thing Coach Matt Muzik teaches his young athletes, many of whom have qualified for the Junior Olympics. Muzik, an Energy Harbor Davis-Besse plant employee, and his team were recently featured in the Fremont News Messenger and on WTOL 11

Perry North American Young Generation in Nuclear

Energy Harbor applauds Matt Messenger, Chris Paradiso, Phil Kehn and Kyle Krcmar. The Perry North American Young Generation in Nuclear (NAGYN) officers were awarded NAGYN’s 2020 Excellence Award in May. The team organized Energy Harbor’s first fleetwide NAYGN conference. The two-day event included professional development sessions, team building, and a Q&A forum with executive leadership.

(Images have been purchased and do not feature actual Energy Harbor employees)

B-C-S Schools and Energy Harbor Collaborate to Honor Seniors

May 14, 2020 - The Benton-Carroll-Salem School District is partnering with the district’s largest employer to recognize the accomplishments of the Oak Harbor High School Class of 2020. Energy Harbor’s Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station is working with the school to put congratulatory signs in the front yard of every Oak Harbor High School 2020 graduate.

1st Annual Energy Harbor Charity Golf Classic

It was a beautiful day at Fowler's Mill Golf Course and an even better day to raise money! The NAGYN groups at each site put together a golf fundraiser to raise funds for each of their select charities: Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation  (Beaver Valley), Salvation Army (Davis-Besse), Mobile Meals (Akron/DOC), and Womensafe (Perry). We had36 TEAMS of employees and brokers playing a four-player scramble, along with five skill-shot challenges, and over $20,000 was raised! And special congrats to Team 5A aka Nick Cicero, Chance Proverbs, Scott Schroeder, and Frank Travaglione, C.E.M. on their win of the scramble!

Pens for Painesville

One of our key pillars of community is advancing an educated workforce by supporting professional development and literacy, so we were happy to support the Salvation Army with a $5,000 donation to aid in their efforts to provide supplies to the students of Painesville. Here’s to a great school year!

Energy Harbor 2022 United Way Campaign

Our 2022 United Way campaign was an overwhelming success. More than 450 of us participated and together we raised over $258,000. With company match, we'll be providing over $516,000, surpassing our 2021 campaign. Once again, the Energy Harbor team has demonstrated an amazing spirit of sharing and a willingness to share our gifts with those in our communities that need it most.

Old Cars but a Record Number of New Faces

Davis-Besse had record attendance at their fourth Community Day and Car Show this October! Nearly 5,000 people came to the plant Saturday, including around 400 car enthusiasts shared their toys. It was a great time to connect with our community neighbors and raise money for GRANDlove.

400 Meals to Haven of Rest Ministries

In 2022, our employees raised approximately $2,500 to cover the cost of holiday meals served by the Haven of Rest Ministries shelter across the street from our headquarters in Akron. The Energy Harbor Community Impact Committee fund matched this for a grand total donation of $5,000, which will help Haven of Rest to serve over 400 meals at their Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. Special thanks to Devin Skelton for coordinating all the fundraising and David Hamilton for presenting the gift to Haven of Rest.

No such thing as too many cooks in the kitchen

Our Community Impact Committee partnered with the North Hill Development Corporation to provide a grant for their community. This grant will contribute to the elevation of culinary artists of color at the NoHi enterprises and expand cultural programs connecting North Hill residents. To support this organization, you can visit the NoHi Pop-Up location at 778 North Maine Street, Akron, OH 44310.

2023 Harvest for Hunger Campaign

Harvest for Hunger campaign is one of the largest annual, community-wide food and funds drives in the nation, and we kicked off our campaign last week! In 2022 we raised a total of $73,500 across all of our sites for local food banks, and in 2023 we surpassed that total with over $75,000 in employee donations! 

Energy Harbor partners with ACCESS to cover housing application fees

Energy Harbor presented a $10,000 donation to ACCESS, an organization that has been serving women and children experiencing homelessness in the Akron community since 1983. In a recent study of their residents, ACCESS found that these women were spending on average $350 on housing application fees. Our donation will be used to alleviate the financial burden of the journey that their residents face in the journey between homelessness and permanent housing. We're so proud to help combat homelessness in our own backyard.

Let there be (backup) lights!

After raising nearly $100,000 for a new generator, the Ronald McDonald House in Akron ran into some serious supply chain issues. They soon found their project funds were $35,000 short of what was actually needed to purchase the generator. We're proud to say we could step in to help support RMDH and to ensure they always have the power to provide for the hospital needs and stays of local families in need.

Harvest for NO Hunger – Energy Harbor raises over $100K for local Food Banks

The 2022 Harvest for Hunger campaign concluded with a total of $102,930 raised across all of our locations. This year’s campaign was a great blend of digital fundraising (big shoutoutto Davis-Besse’s CyberGrants program) and site events. Notable events included Perry’s Harvest for Hunger 4K Fun Run and Cornhole Tournament and Akron NAGYN’s cookout featured here. The Energy Harbor employee response was amazing, but a special kudos goes to Davis-Besse employees, who raised more than any other EH site with over $36K in donations. 

Energy Harbor is a proud supporter of Footprints Center for Autism

Energy Harbor’s Community Involvement Committee was the presenting sponsor of the Footprints Center for Autism annual “A Blue Carpet Affair” event for the second year. The event included a large basket raffle and an inclusive fashion show that featured children of all abilities from our community. We’re proud to support the Blue Carpet Affair and FCA’s mission to improve the lives of individuals with autism everywhere.

Sing in the Spring

Energy Harbor’s Site VP, Terry Brown, presented a $6,000 check from the Energy Harbor Community Involvement Committee to Toledo Choral Society to support their free Spring Concert. For over 100 years, the Toledo Choral Society  has contributed to the cultural development of Toledo by making high quality choral music and performance accessible to all in the community. Energy Harbor had previously sponsored the group’s Christmas concert. 

Toys for Toledo’s Tots thanks to Davis-Besse employees

The holidays were made a little happier thanks to Toys for Tots donations from Davis-Besse employees. Donations were delivered before Christmas to the Salvation Army

 

United Way awards Energy Harbor with Campaign of the Year

Energy Harbor was awarded Campaign of the Year from Beaver County United Way, after setting the record for the largest contribution from a single campaign. Beaver Valley employees contributed $56,775 and Energy Harbor matched 100% of those employee donations for a total contribution of over $113,000 to Beaver County United Way. Our other two nuclear plants, Perry and Davis-Besse, as well as our corporate headquarters in Akron also had notable employee contributions of over $30,000 each. Congratulations to Beaver Valley for the Campaign of the Year award. We’re so proud of all of our employees’ impressive contributions and dedication to improving their communities.

Energy Harbor Supports Leadership Akron

Energy Harbor presented a $10,000 check to Leadership Akron, a non-profit focused on creating a better and stronger Akron by empowering its local leaders to broaden their community impact. It provides the necessary tools and skills workshops to help our leaders create diverse and inclusive workplaces as well as a thriving community overall. We're proud to not only support this organization but to have several members of our own leadership go through the Leadership Akron program themselves.

Annual Harvest for Hunger Campaign

This year’s campaign was more heavily focused on digital fundraising efforts and the Energy Harbor response has been amazing. Together nearly 1,000 of us teamed up to raise donated $114,639 to Harvest for Hunger, which could provide more than 128,000 meals to Ohioans in need. Kudos to our Davis-Besse employees, who led the way in total contributions with $41,808 for Toledo SeaGate Food Bank. Honorable mentions to Perry and Beaver-Valley employees, who raised $26,323 and $24,624 respectively, benefitting the Greater Cleveland Food Bank and Salvation Army.

Davis-Besse’s Harvest for Hunger contributes nearly $42,000

Energy Harbor’s Davis-Besse nuclear power plant employees chose a Toledo-based organization as the primary recipient of its latest Harvest for Hunger Campaign.  Every year Energy Harbor employees across their various plants and offices raise money for local food banks in an attempt to eliminate food scarcity in their communities.