TVA Senior Vice President of Customer Service Set to Retire
December 19, 2002
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After 43 years of service, TVA Senior Vice President of Customer Service Dick Tallent, who helped build and maintain strong working relationships with distributors of TVA power, will retire in January.
“Dick Tallent was committed to helping TVA achieve excellence in customer service, and he knew that we must first understand and meet our customers’ needs in order for TVA to be ready for competition,” says TVA Chairman Glenn L. McCullough, Jr. “Thanks to him, distributors of TVA power and TVA have a stronger business relationship, which benefits the people of the Tennessee Valley.”
Tallent has served in the top Customer Service post since December 1996. He was the north area vice president for Customer Service from 1991 to 1996.
“Over the years, Dick logged a lot of road hours traveling across TVA’s seven-state region to personally meet with TVA’s 158 power distributors when issues arose,” says TVA’s Executive Vice President of Customer Service and Marketing, Mark Medford. “Dick would go wherever and do whatever it took to make sure TVA’s customers’ needs were being met.”
Whether it was the 1994 ice storm that hit the Southeat or various tornado strikes, Tallent led TVA’s quick response to distributors, finding out what they needed to get power restored.
Tallent began his career at TVA in 1959 as a co-op student. He graduated from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville in 1963 with a bachelor’s in electrical engineering and earned a master’s in electrical engineering from UT in 1972. He worked in a variety of positions in the Division of Power System Operations, including extended periods as assistant chief of the Power Supply and System Dispatching branches and Chief of the Technical Support Branch. Tallent was also Manager of Transmission.
John Marshall, TVA’s new Senior Vice President of Customer Service, has been working alongside Tallent over the past several months to ensure a smooth transition for customers and employees. Marshall joins TVA with more than 26 years of utility industry experience, having most recently served as president of Duquesne Light Company in Pittsburgh.
TVA is the nation’s largest public power producer, and its power system is self-financed. TVA provides power to large industries and 158 power distributors that serve 8.3 million consumers in seven southeastern states.
Media Contact:
Lucha Ramey, Knoxville (865-632-8385) or TVA News Bureau, Knoxville (865-632-6000)
