This holiday season, I have a lot to be thankful for. I have a brilliant and patient wife, two mischievous daughters, and a steady job at Davis-Besse Power Station in Ohio. Like many who work at Besse (and our sister plant at Perry), I'm also thankful for all the work that Generation Atomic did this year to protect my job and our plants.
But I am extra thankful for the work done by Gen A because of how they did much of that work: with volunteers like me. From discussing the most important topics in nuclear policy at a symposium in Columbus to putting out live fires and petting goats at the Davis-Besse Safety Day, every time I have said "Hey, I have an idea," Gen Atomic has been there to say "let's see what we can do." It has been so much fun that I wanted to be the one to ask you to sign up to be a volunteer like me.
The process has been so exciting and rewarding, I wrote a guest blog post detailing my experience as a volunteer with Gen A. Please check it out! And, if you haven't, consider donating to the Generation Atomic "Atomic Winter" year end fundraising campaign.
Don't Give Up The Ship,
John Greenwood
Sandusky, OH


Generation Atomic
http://www.generationatomic.org/

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Generation Atomic · 421 Queen Ave N, Minneapolis, MN 55405, United States 

John Greenwood of Davis-Besse on Volunteering with Generation Atomic

John Greenwood

December 18, 2017

It’s hard to believe it was just March when I found myself in the Small City Taphouse in Sandusky, OH. This group was blowing through on their way to DC to participate in the March for Science and had all of an afternoon to find the place where they would be basing their operations for the next month. These guys were nuts. Grant sat on my right side tapping away at his computer monitor while Eric darted from topic to topic on my left; Tay could no sooner sit down and reach for his water then his phone would ring and he’d be back outside pacing the sidewalks.

I have always had a curiosity for politics and I passed on my two cents that afternoon -- at least what I thought I knew. I concluded with what I considered the routine thing you do with activists  and said, “You guys should…” and a list of suggestions. To my surprise, they started calling me back:
“Hey John, you know how you said we should…. Can you….?”
And that is why I think everyone should volunteer for Generation Atomic: because your efforts make a difference.

Whether it’s tabling at an event, making a call to a legislator, or writing a guest-post (like this one) for the Gen A blog, any time and talent given -- big or small -- is always deeply appreciated by the staff at Generation Atomic.
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Myself, I felt drawn to get more and more involved. Everytime I would call Gen A, any suggestion was met with “Let’s see what we can do.” I was part of the team, and there was no idea too crazy.
Hundred-person rally at a local brewery? -- No problem.
Over 300 at a symposium at the State House in Columbus?

 -- Gen A ran the logistics on 24 hours notice.
Can we get postcards and phone scripts for the plants? -- We had an event up in three days… and bought lunch.

My personal favorite is the origin story of the first-ever car show at a nuclear site: The Davis-Besse Nuclear Safety Day. That day doesn’t happen without Tay geeking out with Tonia Hatcher about beer coozies at county fairs. Tonia was a force of nature for three months gathering support and building that event, she just wouldn’t take no for an answer -- and we always had her back.

And that is what it means when I say to “volunteer” for Gen A. Picking up a call or answering an email when an opportunity comes your way -- and having someone there on the other end of the line or to answer an email when you have an idea or need help. That’s why I think everyone should sign up as a Gen A volunteer.

I look around at this time of year and am very thankful. I see my two little girls playing together and am reminded how lucky they are that they will have each other as friends, co-princesses, conspirators, and sisters so they never have to get in trouble alone. This year, I did and said a lot more in defense of atomic energy than I previously thought possible. Now I know how much more there is to do. What has made this all fun for me is that I haven’t had to risk going it alone -- the guys at Gen Atomic have been right there shoulder to shoulder with me.

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