A message from UTC President and CEO Rusty Williams about the CA wildfires

30 Jan A message from UTC President and CEO Rusty Williams about the CA wildfires

On behalf of everyone at the Utilities Technology Council, I would like to express our deepest sympathy to all those affected by the devastating wildfires that have impacted southern California. Our thoughts are with the individuals, families, and first responders who are experiencing the loss, hardship, and disruption caused by these tragic events.

Since my initial statement regarding the wildfires, I received the dreadful news that several Southern California Edison (SCE) employees lost their homes to the wildfires.

Over the last year, we have built a close-knit relationship with several of the SCE employees. Especially Marjan Rajabi, who accepted the UTC Apex Award on behalf of SCE at the 2024 annual conference in Mobile. Marjan and her colleagues have become an integral part of the planning and preparation for the 2025 conference in Long Beach, CA as SCE stepped into the host utility role. After getting to know her over the last year we have witnessed her hard work, dedication and loyalty to the industry, and overall positive attitude. All this makes it even more difficult to share that she, Darryl Montes, and Kevin Drowns have lost their homes to the wildfires.

We ask you, our members, to consider donating to your SCE colleagues’ recovery and rebuilding efforts.

Marjan Rajabi
https://www.gofundme.com/f/wildfire-completely-destroyed-home-need-clothes

Darryl Montes
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-christine-darryl-after-fire-loss

Kevin Drowns
https://gofund.me/217e5f52

To ensure this effort remains at the forefront, UTC is working to create more opportunities to support the region, and more details will follow as we get closer to the annual conference. Please visit utctelecom.org and continue to read our emails for updates.

Our members are at the heart of everything we do, and we remain steadfast in our dedication to supporting our colleagues and helping them through this difficult moment.

Lastly, thank you to all the brave men and women who have worked and are continuing to work tirelessly to fight these fires and protect our communities.

Sincerely,

Rusty Williams
President and CEO
UTC

If you are a UTC member who needs financial support in the aftermath of the California wildfires or other recent natural disasters that the country has experienced, please share your donation link with us so we can discuss adding it to this list for awareness.