Sam Rabun is an energetic man who knows the energy business. And with his years of experience and the faith that supplants his outlook on life and people, Rabun continues to contribute to his endeavors in business and in his marriage to the woman he has loved for more than half a century.

Rabun has served on the board of Jefferson Energy for 16 years and is currently Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Oglethorpe Power Corporation. He served nine years on staff with Jefferson Energy, beginning in Louisville in the 1970s, first as office manager and accountant and later as general manager.

Sam Rabun has seen many changes since entering the electric utility field, including vast improvements in power distribution control systems, automated meter reading equipment and a wealth of computers and computer-driven devices. “It is an interesting field and a challenging one,” he says. “With all the changes, it has become much more complicated than what people may think, much more than wires strung along the road.”

Rabun was born in Jefferson County, living on the family place on Horseshoe Road. He attended Athens Business College, continued to work there after graduation and, most importantly, met his wife, Dot. They married in 1952 during his four-year stint with the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet. After his discharge in 1955, Sam and Dot moved to Macon, where they lived for 15 years. The couple returned to Jefferson County and Horseshoe Road in 1970. In 1980, Sam began a farming operation on the property, an endeavor that allowed him to turn his efforts into a lifelong love. He was ordained as a Deacon at Old Bethel Baptist Church, and he and Dot are members of Wrens Baptist. (47849-01) They have two children and three grandsons. Now “retired,” Sam and Dot are able to travel more freely, providing them with adventures that they obviously hold dear.

The years come and go, the technological changes form an endless parade before our eyes, yet the quality of the people who comprise Jefferson Energy Cooperative remains constant. Sam praises their commitment to quality service to members and their willingness to go beyond the norm because the quality they possess is derived, not so much from the requirements of the job but, rather, from another place, a place within. It is that place, one of conscience and fair and equal treatment, that Sam holds dear. “I’ve tried to live by the Golden Rule,” he says. “I’ve always felt if I was fair and square with people I could go home and sleep good at night.”

It goes without saying that the ever-changing circumstances in life and work can easily influence the decisions anyone might make. But those decisions, says Sam, should be guided by a higher priority, by the higher cause of our basic beliefs, including in the boardroom. “When it comes to votes and decisions in the boardroom, they are made with my heart and in consideration of what is right for the people we serve,” he says.

In their 51 years of marriage, the look on their faces easily illustrates an approach that works, whether in marriage or in life itself. “Life can have so many things that can bring challenges to families, but we’ve always worked together,” Dot says, smiling. “He’s been a good husband and father, and a good grandparent. He has been the strong point in our family.”

Sam Rabun is living a life full of commitments and responsibilities in an ever-changing world. Yet constant in his life is the reality recognized by born again believers worldwide. “I’ve been blessed and I understand things now that weren’t apparent to me years ago,” he says resolutely. “Looking back over my life I know the Lord had a lot more to do with it than I did.”