Each October, we celebrate Customer Service Week as a way to recognize our employees’ dedication to supporting our customers. To highlight the important work these employees do each day, our department spotlight this month is Billing and Customer Service. Under the leadership of Curtis Popp, Vice President of Customer Operations, and Director Jeff Ford, Customer and Billing Services includes the Contact Center, Billing and Receivables Management, Performance Assurance, and User Experience.

In this letter to all employees, President & CEO Jeffrey Harrison recaps his State of the Trust address, sharing progress we've made and behaviors we must demonstrate to fully achieve One Company, One Culture.

Craig Jackson joined Citizens Energy Group in mid-September as Senior Vice President, Special Projects. He will assume the Chief Financial Officer position upon John Brehm’s retirement at the end of March 2022. Learn more about our newest senior leader in this month’s Q&A.

Citizens Energy Group joined the City of Fishers and other environmental stewardship groups for a Corporate Action Day focused on the betterment of the natural environment around Geist Reservoir. The annual Geist Cleanup was held on Friday, September 17 and was a great success with approximately 80 volunteers in total, including nearly 20 Citizens Energy Group employees. Citizens volunteers alone collected approximately 175 pounds of debris along the Fall Creek Road causeway and adjacent areas.

A smart thermostat is a Wi-Fi enabled device that automatically adjusts heating and cooling temperature settings in your home for optimal performance and energy efficiency. Smart thermostats allow you to control your home’s heating and cooling remotely through your smartphone.

Citizens' Fundraising Team appreciates the involvement of our coworkers in the 2021 United Way giving campaign. We are proud of the positive impact we were able to make on our community through our fundraising efforts this year. Check out the comparison of our 2020 and 2021 campaigns.

Citizens Reservoir was recognized at the Indy Chamber of Commerce Monumental Awards Ceremony on September 29. The annual event highlights the built environment in the nine-county Indianapolis region and celebrates projects that improve the overall quality of life and attract talented individuals to the area.

For the third consecutive holiday season, Citizens Energy Group is a sponsor of the Festival of Trees at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center. The event features numerous trees, elaborately decorated by individuals, families, and organizations across the state.

Citizens participates in the American Gas Association’s (AGA) Mutual Aid program, whereby gas utilities may be called upon to assist other natural gas operators during emergency or catastrophic events. Most recently, Hurricane Ida caused damage to the natural gas infrastructure of Public Service Electric & Gas Company (PSEG) in New Jersey.

Two Citizens IT Security employees participated in an emergency response exercise hosted by the Indiana National Guard on Saturday, August 14.

From November 1-12, employees will be able to enroll in new medical, dental, and vision plans; make changes to existing plans; and update beneficiaries and emergency contacts via the BSwift portal.

Find out more about how this year's art project celebrated both cleaner waterways and culture. In this article, you'll also learn more about the Diversity & Inclusion team's recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month, its recent community project, and upcoming events for employees.

Several areas earned six stars during fiscal year 2021! Learn more about recent continuous improvement accomplishments among Citizens employees.

Learn more about a kickball tournament that Citizens employees participated in and find out who the Wellness Champions were for August and September.

Citizens Energy Group’s Partnership for Excellence in Research and Learning (PERL) program is collaborating with Indiana University on projects focused on urban resilience and watershed modeling.

Citizens Energy Group sponsored a day at the STEM Connection’s “Our Wonderful World” camp in late September.

If you know a coworker or retiree who is making a difference through volunteerism, consider nominating him or her for a Jefferson Award.

The DigIndy Tunnel System was named the winner of the 2021 Tunnel Achievement Award for Project Excellence by Tunnel Business Magazine.

Each year, more than 800 people lose their lives on Hoosier roadways. Most of those crashes were caused by driver errors such as impaired driving, speeding, aggressive driving, or distracted driving. The good news is that as a driver, you hold the key to crash prevention.  

Citizens hosted its first ever hiring events last month, focusing on the recruitment of part-time meter readers and customer support associates. Citizens held two onsite events at the Corporate Office on Wednesday, September 9 and Saturday, September 11. Candidates were interviewed, offered positions, and completed preemployment testing onsite to expedite the hiring process. We had 163 participants attend the events and extended offers to 123 candidates.

In this issue, we're celebrating several service anniversaries and new hires and mourning the loss of three retirees.