BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - April 23, 2008 - Alabama Power Company Vice President of Corporate Relations Julian H. Smith Jr. has announced he will retire June 2.  Smith has had oversight of both governmental affairs and community relations since 2000.  He joined the company in 1974 in the construction department at Greene County Steam Plant and has held positions of increasing responsibility.  He moved to governmental affairs in 1982, with responsibility for federal affairs, to include leading the legislative team that successfully lobbied for passage of the 1986 federal hydro relicensing bill.  He was promoted to vice president of governmental affairs in 1991 and assumed his current, expanded position in 2000.

“Julian is well-recognized in Washington, D.C., and Montgomery as a highly effective advocate, and our company has benefited enormously from his expertise and tireless work,” said Mark Crosswhite, executive vice president of external affairs.  “It is with mixed emotion that we receive the news of his retirement, but are sincerely happy that he has achieved his retirement with distinction and broad affection from his colleagues, associates and friends.”

Smith has been active in politics since 1958.   He served as corporate liaison to former Gov. Don Siegelman.  He was appointed to the Delta Regional Authority (2001), the Alabama Commission on Physical Fitness (2001), and was corporate liaison for the creation of the Alabama Black Belt Community Foundation.

He serves on the board of trustees for Marion Military Institute.  He is an alum of Leadership Birmingham (1993) and served on the 1996 Birmingham Soccer Organizing Committee and numerous committees for the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce.   The Alabama Jaycees named him among the “Four Outstanding Young Men of Alabama” (1981).

His successor has not yet been named.

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.

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Media Contact: Carrie Kurlander, Alabama Power Corporate Communications, (205) 257.4155