Terry Ballenger has called it a career.  Ballenger retired as Senior Vice President of Communications at the end of December, notching over 55 years of service to Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative.

Ballenger is one of the only employees to have worked for all three co-op presidents, witnessing societal, regional, and company shifts across five decades.

From authoring storm outage reports for media members on a typewriter to diligently hand-recording board meeting reports to lobbying for co-ops across the state in Columbia, Ballenger has done — and seen— it all. Before he cleaned out his office, Ballenger reflected on his remarkable career in the following interview.

Q: What led you to Blue Ridge?

TB: I grew up in Easley, across the street from A.J. Hurt, who was our first CEO. His oldest son was about two years younger than me. I got to know the family well because we’d spend time at each other’s homes. Both of my older brothers had summer jobs at the co-op, so I thought I’d try the same thing. I did that for seven summers from high school through college. I graduated from the University of Georgia, and I told Mr. Hurt I’d like to come work here as a staff assistant, but that, if I felt the call to seminary after one year, I would leave. That never happened, and I stayed here. I’m glad I did. It’s been a wonderful experience.

Q: Who influenced you the most in your career?

TB: I could point to several people. We had an engineer that worked here for a long time named Red Hinton. Just a prince of a fellow. He was honest, compassionate, and a very talented man. He stood up for us in a lot of situations. Wayne Turner, too. He oversaw the warehouses. He was a super guy. We lived by the Golden Rule and told the truth about our work.

Q: What’s something you value about Blue Ridge?

TB: The co-op has maintained a high standard through the years and hires quality, honest people. I see that still happening today. I like the people who work here. In 55 years, I can’t recall having an argument or a rough conversation with anybody. It’s a stable environment.

Q: Can you point to a few changes that have improved the co-op over the years?

TB: Technology. Our engineering folks stay on the cutting edge of it, and it’s been a real plus. Another change has been on the broadband (Upcountry Fiber) front. I tip my hat to Jim Lovinggood every day for that. He had the vision of what that could mean to us, and it’s going to bring a lot of great things in the years to come. I’m just gratified with what’s happened already, and I think the best is yet to come as far as broadband is concerned. Something that hasn’t changed is our employees’ pride in delivering quality service. I think we go above and beyond in that category. We take it hard when there’s an outage. We try our best to get it on as fast as we can. Everybody’s intent on doing their job to try to give the best possible service to folks. I like the fact that we haven’t changed in how involved we are in the community.

Q: Your favorite Blue Ridge Fest performance?

TB: As far as doing a good show? Jay and the Americans, with “This Magic Moment.” The people responded to them. Gosh, there were so many. Those guys stood out. The Drifters were good. They even sang “White Christmas” in the middle of the summer. Ben E. King was so good. I worked backstage quite a bit, and they were good folks, very down to earth.

Q: Besides Hurricane Helene, what’s another storm that sticks out to you?

TB: The blizzard of March 1993. We got hit hard.

Q: What kept you at Blue Ridge?

TB: I just enjoyed it. I liked where I lived, and I grew up in Easley. The atmosphere here, you can’t beat it. People are kind to each other. They enjoy a good joke. People will sympathize with you when you’re grieving or down about something. It is a thoughtful group of people, and I wouldn’t trade anything for the experience. It’s just been outstanding.

Q: How important was it to have your wife’s support?

TB: I don’t think I could have survived if it wasn’t for Greer. She’s been very supportive. I think she’s ready to have me home with her full-time now, so, hopefully, I’ll live a few years longer so she can have her wish.

Q: How do you want people to remember you?

TB: Well, I don’t know. Maybe a straight arrow, but with a good sense of humor. In some ways, this organization’s my baby. I want to see it grow and prosper, doing well after I’m gone. I hope it’ll be one of the strongest businesses in the whole Upstate. I just have a lot of confidence in what’s coming in the years ahead. I hope to live and see some of it.