After 31 years of service to Alabama Power Company, Julia Harwell Segars has announced her retirement, effective July 1.

Segars has spent the past 11 years serving as the company’s Eastern Division vice president, which includes 12 counties in East Alabama.

“Over the course of her career, Julia Segars has exemplified a strong commitment to customer satisfaction, our employees and the enhancement of the communities we serve,” said Greg Barker, Alabama Power executive vice president. “She has taken ownership of improving the state by leading various economic development and volunteer projects across many communities in East Alabama. Julia will be missed for her role as dedicated mentor and trusted friend to many.”

Segars graduated magna cum laude from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism. She began her career with Alabama Power in 1986 as a Public Relations employee in Birmingham. She served in various capacities including writer, media spokesperson and editor of the company’s employee magazine before being promoted to manager of employee communications and services.

As her career progressed, she broadened her company experience by working in roles of increasing responsibility including leadership development coordinator; workforce development manager; and vice president and chief information officer for Alabama Power, Southern Nuclear and Southern Company Services in Birmingham.

Segars said she is most proud of developing and mentoring fellow employees throughout her career, and in helping East Alabama move toward regional cooperation in its approach to economic development.

“Both of these things are important ways we expand opportunities, either in helping our employees grow and mature in their careers, or in helping bring new jobs and businesses to our region for our customers,” Segars said. “I have been blessed with so many wonderful mentors and opportunities during my career at Alabama Power. I hope I have been successful at ‘paying it forward’ to make a positive difference in the lives of others.”

Segars has served on the boards of various business, civic and governmental organizations. Currently, she is vice chair of the Calhoun County Economic Development Council and chair of the Longleaf Botanical Gardens Advisory Board. She also serves as a director for the Jacksonville State University Foundation, Knox Concert Series and the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind Foundation.

She was 2013 chairman of the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce and was a founding member of G.E.T.T. Moving East Alabama, one of four organizations named 2013 Citizen of the Year by the Anniston Star for organizing municipal candidate forums in 2012.

She is a graduate of the International Women’s Forum Leadership Foundation fellows program, Leadership Alabama and Momentum, a statewide development program for women leaders. She is a member of the Anniston Rotary Club, Calhoun County’s Women’s Executive Network and a founding member of Etowah County’s First Friday Forum for executive women.

Segars has served on the McClellan Development Authority, the Alabama Women’s Commission and the advisory councils for the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Information Systems department and Auburn University’s Management Information Systems department. She is past president of the University of Alabama’s Capstone Communication Society and also has served as a director of the Girl Scouts of North-Central Alabama. In 2012 she received the Girl Scouts’ Frances E. Couch Lifetime Achievement Award. The Boy Scouts of America Greater Alabama Council awarded her the Heart of an Eagle Award in 2016 in recognition of her community service.

After retirement, Segars plans to continue residing in Anniston with her husband, Frank, and spending more time with their four children and four grandchildren. She also looks forward to pursuing writing, painting and other creative projects, as well as staying active in the community. 

Alabama Power, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Company, (NYSE:SO), provides reliable, affordable electricity to more than 1.4 million customers across the state. To learn more, please visit www.alabamapower.com.