Ron Whittington is the new media coordinator for JEA.
HIS ROLE?
“My basic responsibilities are responding to media inquiries, being briefed about positive things and finding out about new technologies that JEA is implementing.”
THE POWER INSIDE
“Drive by a water facility. It’s amazing how much technology is in there. Most people on the outside would be pleasantly surprised. JEA tracks water pressure and uses technological initiatives to improve the water supply. They’re thinking far ahead to keep up with the energy and water needs here. I’m impressed and, as a former reporter, I don’t impress to easily.”
WHAT SPECIFICALLY HAS JEA DONE?
“One of the things nationally that you hear is problems with sewer systems and electric grids. They need more megawatts to keep up with the demand. Here, they built more capacity and replaced a lot of the water lines now before they must fix it. Most cities aren’t like that. They wait until the problem is on them. They’ve probably spent more in capital improvements over the last, say, seven years than through the Better Jacksonville Plan. They’ve leveraged their money and invested well.”
WHY JOIN JEA?
“First of all, I enjoyed doing media relations when I worked in Atlanta and when I worked in Dallas. When I moved here last year, I wanted to get back into the corporate environment. I had been consulting for seven years.”
HOW IS THIS JOB BETTER?
“It’s different when you work for a governmental agency. You’re more involved in things that really affect a lot of people. There’s satisfaction in working on something that benefits so many. Energy is an economic development tool, but it’s also something we all need. Intellectually, it’s challenging as well.”
HOW SO?
“You’re introduced to a lot of new technology; some of it is fascinating. In some ways, it’s like being a reporter because you’re dealing with different issues day to day.”
WHAT PROBLEMS DOES HE ADDRESS?
“It could be an issue with tree cutting, power, billing, power plant construction or meeting needs over the next 10, 20 years. Basically, you’re an inside reporter. You’re interviewing people, you’re writing up information, you deal with reporters’ deadlines.”
WEATHER WATCHER
“When there’s emergencies and the reporters are out covering severe storms, I’m working, too, because they’re calling me to find out where the problems are. Whenever it’s windy, it affects my job. When we have bad weather come through, typically we will have outages of some sort — power lines touch trees and circuits cut off.”
HOW DID HE GET HIS START?
“I was the first reporter CNN radio station ever hired. This was when CNN was new. It was neat, especially straight out of college.” In addition to broadcasting reports and anchoring weekend news segments as a general assignment reporter, Whittington also provided the voice talent for commercials and public service announcements.
WHERE DID HE GO TO COLLEGE?
Journalism was Whittington’s major at Georgia State University in Atlanta, his hometown. He graduated with a minor in political science also. “There’s a romance with writing. I always loved to write. In college, I wanted to be Hemingway, covering wars and things like that, but that wasn’t in the cards.”
SEASONED VETERAN
While living in Dallas, Whittington worked as a researcher/reporter for the Fort Worth Business Journal, as the media relations manager for the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce and as the public relations manager for DART, the then-new area rapid transit system for Dallas. Prior to moving to Florida, he served as the public relations liaison between the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority and the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games in the mid-1990s.
WHAT IS HIS SOLUTION FOR TRAFFIC WOES?
“Telecommuting and flex hours at work are a great way to maximumize the highway system and manage transportation.”
BEE-HAG
“My goal is to get JEA on the national radar. BHAG is an acronym we have at JEA. It stands for big, hairy, audacious goal. Our goal is to be No. 1 in customer service within the utility industry.”
A SENSE OF BELONGING
Whittington and his wife Lori Ann live in Jacksonville Beach. They have two daughters, Samantha and Vanessa. When he’s not spending time with the family, Whittington is practicing his tennis swing, scuba diving or listening to classic rock music. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and active with Second Harvest Food Bank. “I used to sing in a couple of bands. About every 10 years I join a band so I’m about due.”
HIS PET PEEVE?
“Malicious folks and gossips. It’s just wasted emotion.”
— by Monica Tsai