January 3, 1994: A young Kimberley Rodgers walked into her first day at her new job at Wayne-White Electric Cooperative, wondering what the future would hold.
January 8, 2026: She walked out as a retired woman after 32 years of service at that same place.
In January 1994, the Dallas Cowboys won the Super Bowl, the movie Four Weddings and a Funeral premiered, a gallon of gas was $1.11, and bills at Wayne-White Electric were still processed by hand.
Spending her whole career on the billing side of things, Kim experienced many updates and changes in billing technology in her 32 years: going from manual, hand-written meter readings and bills, to being able to complete the whole process by computer.
Kim reflected on the fact that technology and the computer systems have made a big difference in the efficiency of her job in her time working at Wayne-White Electric. Not only did it make the billing process more efficient, but outage situations were improved as well.
She remembered when all of their communications during outages were done by the radios instead of by phones as they are now. When mapping outages, they spread a large map out on the table and took the data coming in by phone to pinpoint where the outages were and where the issues might be.
When asked what a favorite memory from working at Wayne-White Electric was, she reminisced about when she was pregnant with her youngest son, Eric. “They threw me a diaper party, and seeing those linemen carry in diapers and gifts was overwhelming.”
As far as her plans for retirement, the first thing Kim is looking forward to is sleeping in. Kim is also excited to start traveling with family and friends.
When she is not traveling, she is looking forward to being able to spend more time with family, including her husband Andy and their adult children: Kara (Jared), Matthew (Kristyn), Joseph (Katelyn), and Eric. She is really looking forward to watching and helping more often with her six grandchildren: Karlee, Liana, Renli, Rory, Everly, and Eli.
We thank Kim for her many years of service and dedication to Wayne-White Electric and our members, and we wish her nothing but the best in her retirement!