DEMOPOLIS &045; A crowd made up of Demopolis, Camden, Prattville and Aliceville residents filled the civic center Friday to honor Ronnie Snelgrove for his 43 years of service with Alabama Power.

Snelgrove, who has been the office manager for both the Demopolis and Linden offices, has been in Marengo County for the last 10 years. He said his retirement has come much sooner than he ever expected.

Snelgrove started his career path right out of high school in Jasper in the construction department of Alabama Power. He later went on to Prattville, worked as a lineman in Camden and moved up to management in Aliceville where he spent eight years before coming to Demopolis. He spent 19 years of his career as a local lineman.

As a lineman, Snelgrove learned every aspect of dealing with the customer, a skill that would later benefit him in his management position.

Former mayor Austin Caldwell was just as complimentary. During his time in office, Caldwell said Snelgrove was one of the first people he would call in times of crisis, from storms to tornados.

Jeff Couch, who works closely with Snelgrove, described his continuing passion for the job as an &8220;an obsession for perfection.&8221; Charles Bazemore, who presented him with a plaque, described him as an &8220;extremely conscientious and dedicated employee with an exceptionally large amount of common sense.&8221;

All of these comments, however, were just the beginning of insight into a man who has dedicated his life to service. His daughter, Rhonda Fleishman, honored him with a few comments of her own.

Bob Woods, western division manager for Alabama Power, also congratulated Snelgrove as he embarks on the next phase of accomplishment.

After working his final business day Friday, there are a few things Snelgrove said he is looking forward to doing. He is both an avid golfer and dedicated Alabama fan. He and his family have held season tickets for years, and he said he looks forward to being able to make some more football and basketball games. Snelgrove said he will also be using the extra time to spend with wife, Linda, daughter Rhonda and her husband, Steve, and their seven-year-old son Jack.