Wild Idea
A call at 2 in the morning—especially the morning of Thanksgiving—is never a good sign.
Antonon Morgan, a foreman in gas distribution at Memphis Light, Gas and Water, got that call and headed out with his crew to the Memphis Zoo. When he arrived at the Tropical Bird House, it got even worse.
The pipeline supplying essential heat to the building was damaged, and it required immediate repair. But technically, the line wasn’t under MLGW’s jurisdiction, and the zoo wasn’t able to find a plumber with the skills and availability to come out to repair it. As the zoo was faced with the decision to have MLGW cut off natural gas at the main—which would have cut off heat to the entire zoo, including the tropical birds, snakes, big cats and fish that relied on it to survive—Morgan said, “Wait a minute.”
He quickly called his supervisors. “We had to figure out what we can do without losing the entire zoo,” he said.
While the zoo was private, technically it is on city property. Morgan connected with a city official for permission to replace the necessary section of pipe—which would from now on be part of MLGW’s pipeline system.
The other problem was the three-inch pipe itself. No one in Memphis had pipe that size, and the closest city was Jackson, Tennessee—about an hour and a half away. So, while he and his crew monitored the damaged pipe, manager Craig Powers drove to Jackson and back.
Finally, he and his crew installed 30 feet of new pipe, complete with valves.
For Morgan, who has worked in natural gas distribution for nearly 30 years, finding the right solution—not just any solution—even if that meant staying up all night, is just part of who he is. “I started here young with a bunch of older guys. They instilled some stuff in me that I didn’t get then, but now the guys look at me as being the older guy,” he said. “It’s just like I tell them: It’s taking pride in what you do and taking pride in your job. I always like to leave a lasting impression—Antonon Morgan, he’s a professional, he gets things done.” “It’s all about taking care of the customer and our brand reputation,” adds Chandrika Rosser, vice president of gas and water engineering and operations at MLGW. “We want everybody to know that we are agile and flexible, and we want to do the right thing for the customer. That’s what our CEO instills in us: Just do the right thing. So, we delegate that to our employees. At the end of the day, if they need to make a decision—as long as it doesn’t endanger life, safety, property, and we know that they are doing the right thing for the customer—we’re comfortable with them making those decisions.”