Celebrating Unwavering Dedication to Our Members
No one starts a job knowing exactly where it will lead. When Carolyn Bannowsky, Chris Smith, and Diana Gonzales first joined PEC, they couldn’t have predicted where this journey would lead. Over the years, each has played a key role in serving our members and building lasting memories along the way.
Carolyn Bannowsky, Member Relations Supervisor, Junction Office (45 years)
When Carolyn Bannowsky began her career with PEC in 1981, the Junction office was still Kimble Electric Cooperative. It wasn’t until July 2000 that the cooperative merged with PEC.
“It was quite the culture shock,” she said. “We went from serving very few people to becoming part of a huge cooperative.”
Bannowsky and her team experienced quite a learning curve. They knew the lay of the land in Kimble County, but after the merger, they began helping members in parts of Austin, Dripping Springs, Cedar Park, and the rest of PEC’s 8,100-square-mile service area. Although it was intimidating at first, Bannowsky said it was the most exciting thing that had ever happened in her career. 
“We just never dreamed we’d ever be part of the largest electric cooperative in the United States, and we were thrilled,” she said.
Over the years, Bannowsky has appreciated everything about her time at PEC, especially how much the cooperative invests in all of its employees.
“PEC is a very family-oriented business,” she said. “When I talk to people outside of this organization, they can’t believe all of the benefits, PTO, and support we receive.”
She also likes how no day is ever the same in her role.
“Someone teaches me something every day,” she said. “As a supervisor, I often help the agents, but in doing so, they’re helping me. There is no room for people to be stagnant here, even after 45 years.”
Lastly, she said she never feels like her experience is undervalued at the cooperative.
“They recognize that our history is just as valuable as what’s happening today,” she said. “Young agents often can’t believe they’ll ever stay at an organization as long as I have, but PEC has a way of drawing you in and keeping you because they value you as an employee.”
Chris Smith, Regional Operations Manager, Cedar Park (31 years)
Chris Smith began his career as a lineworker with PEC just after his 18th birthday in July 1995.
“When I graduated from high school, I knew I wanted to be in the electrical field, and I wanted to be doing something where I was working outdoors,” he said.
During a fishing trip in Johnson City, he came across the PEC logo and headquarters building. Being from Cedar Park, he thought, “there’s a familiar face,” so he walked into the front door of headquarters, asked if any jobs were open, and spoke with the CEO at the time in person. 
“He had someone bring me an application, I filled it out and ended up working here two weeks later,” he said. “Actually, I looked so young that on my first day, while driving one of the PEC pickup trucks, a clerk at a gas station in Round Mountain got concerned because she didn’t think I looked old enough to be working here.”
Smith has earned a lot of experience over the years and has worked in myriad emergency situations, including the winter storms of 1997, 2021, and 2023. Each time, he worked in a different role. First as a lineworker, then as a supervisor, and now as a manager.
“I only had two years of experience in 1997, so that was a new challenge for me,” he said. “In 2021, I was directly in charge of a crew and working with those guys to make sure we were all doing the right things and making the biggest impact in the shortest amount of time. Then in 2023, I was managing several contract groups and multiple teams out there.”
He feels fortunate that PEC has entrusted him with these bigger roles over the years, and has enjoyed how much time the cooperative takes to keep teaching all employees new skills and ensuring they have the equipment necessary to handle the job.
“I believe we were around 9,000 meters in Cedar Park when I started, and we’re at around 84,500 now,” he said. “The big challenge that comes with that growth is keeping up. PEC does a lot to help our guys keep up with that technology to make it easier for them to get members’ power back on, which has been great to see.”
And Smith has no plans on retiring any time soon, as he still loves what he does and the team he gets to work with.
“I’ll keep following the same path, and when new challenges and opportunities come up to move further up, I’m always open to that,” he said.
Diana Gonzales, External Relations Representative (36 years)
Since joining PEC in 1989, Diana Gonzales has seen a lot of changes both in her daily duties and in the cooperative’s operations, but she has appreciated how the foundation of always being in service of our members has stood the test of time.
“It’s all about service, reliability, and safety,” she said. “No matter what happens, I can feel good that when I’m doing business with our members, I know what we do is always in their best interest.”
Gonzales was born and raised in the PEC service area in San Marcos. Before coming here, she worked in public relations and found a love of promoting safety with that organization. She recalled one of her favorite jobs was helping coordinate their bicycle rodeo, where they would teach kids the importance of bicycle safety.
A few years into the role, she was informed of a job opening in public relations at PEC, where she would be responsible for teaching students across the service area about electrical safety. She knew she was the one for the job, and so did PEC, as she was chosen from more than 200 applicants. 
At the time, PEC invested in a 3D “Safe City” model to teach students about safety.
“It was a huge hit with students,” she said. “I was on the road almost every single day presenting Safe City to schools.”
She recalls the model being so big that it wouldn’t fit in her PEC sedan at the time.
“My coworker and I would put half of the model in my car and the other half in her car, and we would both go to assemble and present it,” she said.
The way her team engages with the membership has evolved over time. Today, they’re frequently visiting schools for career day events, hosting educational “Meet a Lineworker” events for students throughout the year, and providing a virtual summer camp for students that ends with the annual Solar Car Derby, where the kids come to build and race their own solar cars.
“When I was in school, my degree was in business, but I originally wanted to be a teacher,” she said. “So, when I came to work for PEC, and I was able to be a PR rep and be at schools every day to help students learn, it was a blessing.”
Today, her role has changed a bit. She now works directly with cities and counties in our service area to help us meet their individual needs. It’s been an exciting new opportunity for her, and she’s enjoyed being able to meet new faces across the Texas Hill Country.
When she began working with PEC, she never knew how long she’d stay. But getting the chance to work for a company that does everything in the interest of real people has been the thing that’s kept her here for so long.
“It’s genuine,” she said. “Almost everybody who works at the cooperative is someone who lives in our communities, and our members are their neighbors, their families, and their friends. I really believe in our mission, we follow it well, and through all the things that have changed over the years, we’ve never forgotten our roots.”
We are so fortunate to have these three employees and all our team members who have been with us for decades. Their experience and hard work are invaluable, and we are proud of how they show up for our members every day.
Join the Crew in Blue
At PEC, we take care of the people we employ. Beyond unmatched benefits and competitive pay, we invest in the lives of those who work so hard for the members we serve.
Interested in joining the Crew in Blue? Check out some of our open positions at jobs.myPEC.com.
