Jerry Clemens celebrated his retirement August 20 with fellow employees at Atchison-Holt Electric Cooperative.

The Northwest Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. presented this plaque to Jerry Clemens earlier this year, recognizing his 44 years of outstanding service to Atchison-Holt Electric Cooperative.

Jerry Clemens retired from Atchison-Holt Electric Cooperative, Rock Port, on August 20.

Jerry began his 44-year career at Atchison-Holt Electric Cooperative on May 20, 1976. He started out on the brush crew, helping keep the right-of-way clear of potential hazards that could cause outages.

In 1979, Jerry became the foreman of the brush crew. He was then moved to the construction crew in 1981 as an apprentice lineman, helping build services to members delivering reliable service. Jerry was trained by a veteran group of very knowledgeable employees.

In 1991, Jerry became a working foreman and enjoyed the more difficult projects most. He became Operations Superintendent in 2002 and was still in this position when he retired.

He has supervised construction of many large commercial services as well as residential services. Jerry has also supervised many work plans and the implementation of Atchison-Holt’s automatic meter reading system. He has also volunteered through Atchison-Holt in the community to help install ballfield lights and hang flags throughout the service territory.

Jerry and his wife, Brenda, have two children, Jennifer Clemens and Randy Clemens. They also have one granddaughter, Jessica Francis. Jerry enjoys hunting, fishing, farming, and sports.