Page 3 - TN811 2023 Issue 1

from the desk of
Bill Turner
I hope you enjoyed a bit of a break in November and December and spent some well-deserved time with your family and friends for the holidays. We wrapped the year with an incoming ticket count of 1,065,688, representing a
3% increase over 2022. The new year is starting off relatively flat, with January up 2% over last January, and February trending in a similar direction. We’re taking advantage of the calm before the storm to plan and prepare for the busy season ahead.
I’m excited to announce a couple of new additions to our Damage Prevention Liaison team at Tennessee 811: Marcus Bartholomew and Dylan Cassady. Marcus will be covering the Middle Tennessee region and Dylan will be covering East Tennessee. Check out the latest Liaison region map, included in this issue, for their contact information and a breakdown of Liaison regions by counties.
We’re proud to offer opportunities for growth within the organization, so
I’m also excited to announce some recent internal promotions. Tina Darnell, formerly a Locate Request Agent (LRA), was promoted to Lead Agent. Caitlin Foster, formerly
an Administrative Assistant, has been promoted to HR Generalist. Meaghan Feeney, formerly a
GIS Specialist, has been promoted to GIS Manager. Ashli Rinus, formerly a Senior LRA, has been promoted to Training Assistant. If you talk to any of these members of our staff, I hope you’ll help me congratulate them.
The legislative session is underway and we’re pursuing three important changes to the Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act. First up, we’re drafting language to address complex or large scale projects that strain the traditional 811 process, leading to unnecessary locate requests and wasted markings. Second, we intend to define electronic or virtual white lining and include it as an alternative to traditional pre-markings for proposed excavation. Third, we’re carefully adjusting the definition of excavation to eliminate a hand digging exemption that allows professional excavators to dig without notifying utilities through Tennessee 811. We’re proud to share that the Underground Utility Damage Enforcement Board is in support of this legislative agenda. We’ll share more info at the Damage Prevention Summit at the end of March, so please plan to join us.
More info on the Summit: www.tennessee.damagepreventionsummit.com Remember to always Call or Click 811 Before You Dig!
Respectfully,
William “Bill” Turner President Tennessee811
Mission Statement
To Provide the
Best Communication, Education and Notification Service to Facilitate Damage Prevention to Underground Utilities.
2023, Issue 1
Tennessee811 • 1