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John with the Saskia II, at Herrington
Lake Marina, Lake Herrington, Kentucky |
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10.08
On John R. Twitchell, IEEE-USA
Vice President of Career and Member Services
By Georgia C. Stelluto
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Q |
Tell us a little
about you and your family, John. |
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A |
My wife Susan and I are both native
Floridians, which is something of a
rarity in our age group. We were high
school classmates, and we each earned
our undergraduate degrees from the
University of Florida. Our two children,
Charles and Elizabeth, also graduated
from the University of Florida, so we
are a family of GATORS. Charles is in
Palo Alto working in the computer
industry, and Elizabeth is a program
manager for a non-profit in Chicago. We
maintain our Florida roots through
Susan’s mother and my parents who all
still live in Vero Beach. My mother was
a teacher and later a school
psychologist so education was an
important priority in my family. My
father worked in a power plant, so I
grew up around power systems and always
knew I would be an engineer. Most of my
career has been spent in public power
(municipal and cooperative power
companies), and I have been fortunate to
have a rich and varied background in the
electric utility industry working in
generation, transmission, planning,
operations, and fuels.
I have been involved in IEEE since I
was an undergraduate student. I think
IEEE has made a difference in my career
by helping me keep up to date with
technology and introducing me to
numerous very interesting people. IEEE
has also provided me with a strong
thread that has brought me long-time
professional friends and worthwhile
projects aimed at furthering the
profession and encouraging young
leaders.
Like most engineers, I have an
abundance of hobbies. I am a pilot, a
history buff, and a civil war
re-enactor. I also shoot black powder
firearms, reload my own ammunition, and
enjoy cruising in our 26-foot boat.
There are several other hobbies I would
take up if I had the time. |
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Q |
What is the best
thing about living in Kentucky? |
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A |
Susan and I have been in Kentucky for a
little over two years, and have found it
to be a great experience. It turns out
that Kentucky is one of those little
known gems in the country. The state is
beautiful, not too crowded, and everyone
we have encountered has been friendly to
a fault. It only took us 15 minutes to
register two cars in Lexington; try that
in Atlanta! We frequently note that
Lexington is the same size Tampa was
when we moved there in 1977; but we hope
Lexington doesn’t grow as fast as Tampa
did. Kentuckians love their state, their
horses, their bourbon, and their
basketball. We have the bourbon part
down; we’re working on the horses, but
still root for the GATORS in basketball.
Many of the engineers at my company,
East Kentucky Power Cooperative,
graduated from the University of
Kentucky’s engineering program. They are
top-notch professionals and match up
well with engineers from anywhere. |
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Q |
What did you “want to be” when you
grew up? |
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A |
I really wanted to be an
airline pilot, but my vision kept me
from flying in the military which was
the only way at the time to obtain the
training and experience to be a
commercial pilot. By the time I was a
freshman in high school I knew from
growing up around power systems that I
was going to be an electrical engineer,
and I am fortunate to be “what I wanted
to be” when I grew up. When I was 18 I
earned my private pilot license, so I
still met my objective to fly. Since
then I’ve owned portions of 3 small
planes and added an instrument rating to
my license. |
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Q |
Which historical figure do you most
identify with, and why? |
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A |
I have always admired Roscoe Turner, the
famous race pilot from the 1920s and
30s. Roscoe was very talented, but his
resources were often limited. He had to
use ingenuity and in some cases no
little amount of guile to get the
airplanes he needed to set the many
speed records he earned. He was always
focused on his goals and pursued them
relentlessly. |
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Q |
What is your idea of “perfect
happiness”? |
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A |
That feeling of accomplishment one gets
by doing something that results in a new
facility or a process that benefits the
public. In one of my jobs I did a lot of
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and
standards work. I came home one Friday
evening realizing that my accomplishment
for the week was drafting and filing a
20-page document with FERC. Even though
this resulted in a relatively
significant ruling that impacted
renewable generation, it didn’t give me
a warm feeling. Now, my work results in
the generation of megawatts,
construction of transmission,
generation, and substation facilities,
and the mentoring of younger engineers.
Reflecting back on the workweek on
Friday evenings is now much more
satisfying. |
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Q |
What is your greatest fear? |
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A |
My wife says I’m either too obtuse to
recognize my own fears or too stubborn
to admit to them. However, I’m really
afraid that our profession is not
stepping up to solve many of the
problems facing our economy and our
energy future. We are letting people and
organizations not well qualified take
the lead on defining our future. |
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Q |
Who is your favorite hero of fiction? |
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A |
Marmaduke (the engineer, not the dog)!
For the readers not in the power
industry or too young to have read the
stories, Marmaduke was a crusty power
systems engineer who could debug the
most obscure energy system problems by
just walking into a plant, listening and
observing. |
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Q |
What is your most distinctive
characteristic? |
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A |
A calm demeanor. I find that taking a
deep breath and gritting my teeth from
time to time is more productive than a
heated exchange. In addition, I learned
early in my marriage the two magic words
that keep things calm on the home front
— “Yes, dear.” |
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Q |
Which words or phrases do you most
overuse? |
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A |
Besides, “Yes, dear!” I do my best to
avoid the catch phrases of the day. I’m
not always successful. |
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Q |
What is your motto? |
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A |
Thanks to science fiction author Robert
Heinlein, TANSTAAFL, or “there ain’t no
such thing as a free lunch.” |
Georgia C. Stelluto is IEEE-USA's publishing
manager, managing editor of IEEE-USA Today's
Engineer Digest, and editor and manager of
IEEE-USA's
e-book publishing program.
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