Under the buildings, sidewalks and streets of Atlanta is an electrical power transmission cable system that you might say sprung from the mind of Pete Rissi.
Rissi, 70, a senior engineer at Georgia Power Co., is a 50-year employee who played a major role in developing and designing much of the electrical infrastructure in Atlanta and throughout Georgia. And at a time when many of his former colleagues have retired to a favorite fishing hole or hit the road in their recreational vehicles, Rissi keeps bringing his wealth of institutional knowledge to work at Georgia Power 40 hours a week.
I thought about retiring at 64 1/2, but just decided to keep on working, Rissi said.
While not many workers will stay on with one employer for 50 years like Rissi, more companies are encouraging older employees to stay on full time, part time or as consultants.
Companies are finding creative ways to include older workers, said Maureen Kelley, the Atlanta Area Agency on Aging's business and community liaison. Employers often say that young people come in and ask for a job, where older employees come in and say they want to work.
Kelley's agency, as part of the Atlanta Regional Senior Employment Collaborative, recently recognized Georgia Power as Employer of the Year for providing flexible plans to retain its most experienced employees in the work force mix.
The company even counts 2,500 retirees as a ready labor pool with valuable institutional knowledge.
"We see these retirees as an extension of our employee base," said Heyward Williams, Georgia Power's manager of Diversity and Workforce Training. "We have a lot of experience out there."
And, in addition to earning income, older workers get satisfaction from continuing to work - especially mentoring younger colleagues.
Publix's Claudia Compton, 60, is Employee of the Year, recognized along with Georgia Power at the recent Older Employees Awards. Her store manager at the East Lake Publix, Jody Williams, said she is passionate and committed to her work, but also brings something extra to the table.
"She's always telling the younger associates the benefits of working for Publix," Williams said. "Every quarter we have a talk with associates about the 401(k) plan and she talks to them about taking advantage of opportunities now so they'll be prepared when they get to be her age."
So the employers get experience and knowledge out of older workers, but what do the employees get out of staying on after many of their peers have had their retirement parties?
Kelley, of the Agency on Aging, said many workers just want a six-month breather after a long career.
"But if you check back, you find they've filled up their calendars," Kelley said, "whether they work for free or for a fee."
For Compton, her work at Publix includes a mix of serving as her manager's "right hand" and active community outreach. She started at the store five years ago as a parttime cashier and grew into new responsibilities as her children finished school.
"I work to be around people because I enjoy it," Compton said. Lamar Faulkner, 67, thought he'd retired from Georgia Power in 1994. But that didn't last long.
"I went to Florida for two weeks in 1994," Faulkner said. "It was the longest vacation of my life. I got a call while I was down there asking if I'd like to work for the rest of the year. And I've been back ever since."
Faulkner works four days a week in the print shop of Georgia Power's headquarters. He said he likes staying on the job while enjoying the three-day weekends not common to full-time work.
Fridays are now set aside for running errands or taking his Austell First Baptist Church Sunday school class out for an afternoon of shooting pool.
Williams, the Georgia Power manager, said the company started seeing an experience drain as more workers took retirement when they reached their mid- to late-50s.
"We started working on the idea of a reservist, or retiree, labor force," he said. "It's all voluntary. When someone is retiring we send them a packet to get information about what they would like to do. That information is put into a database and hiring managers can look and say, 'I need someone for four months for a project,' and have this list."
And, he said, the older workers get to rejoin the work force under favorable conditions.
"These people like what they do," Williams said. "So when we say there is an opportunity for them, but on their own terms, they jump at the opportunity."
Georgia Power's Frank Boyd, the corporate relations program manager who accepted the Employer of the Year award, said power generation can be dangerous and it's prudent to make use of people who already know their way around the business.
"With Georgia being the fourth fastest-growing state in the country with older Americans, it makes sense to stay connected to that employee base," Boyd said.