Category: Meritorious Action
Atmos Energy
Beau Tichenor
Description of Nominee’s Action
On the evening of Wednesday, Jan. 20, Gas Supply Trader Beau Tichenor was driving to his wife’s parents’ house to pick up the couple’s 4- and 2-year-old children, who had been in class all day. At a stop sign on a bridge atop a drainage canal, Tichenor suddenly saw an SUV inexplicably turn right and head down a steep embankment and into the water.
“I was totally shocked by what I was seeing,” says Tichenor, a 12-year employee. “The nose of the vehicle smashed into a metal culvert at the bottom of the canal and flipped over. The passenger compartment of the SUV was underwater.”
Tichenor parked his vehicle and was preparing to call 911 when he saw another motorist calling the emergency number. Tichenor quickly scaled down the embankment and into the waste-deep canal water. He pulled on two side doors, which were locked.
“I was getting ready to break a window under the water when I discovered an open window that was apparently rolled down,” he said. “I started feeling around in the front seat and dashboard but could not find a person. By then, another gentleman had come down and I told him, ‘I can’t find anybody in the car.’”
The vehicle was buoyant, so the two men started gently rocking it back and forth. Suddenly, air bubbles emerged from the left side of the car and the driver’s head popped up.
“We pulled the man onto the undercarriage of the overturned vehicle, and I asked if anyone else was with him,” Tichenor said. “He was having trouble breathing but fortunately was able to answer no.”
The two men stayed with the injured motorist until the EMTs arrived. Emergency personnel slid a ladder down the canal embankment. Two firefighters then pushed a floating backboard over to the upside-down car, moved the man onto the stretcher and floated him to the ladder. Emergency personnel then slid the strapped-down driver up the ladder and into a waiting ambulance.
A few days later, through social media, the man’s wife and daughter were able to locate the two gentlemen who saved their husband and dad.
“They were very grateful for our help and said the man had no broken bones and had recovered and was expected to return to work soon,” Tichenor said.
A week later, the Jefferson Parish city council declared Feb. 3 to be “Beau Tichenor and Brad Treuting Day.”
Part of the 500-word proclamation states: WHEREAS, Beau and Brad are recognized as Good Samaritans who saved the injured driver’s life on February 3, 2021; and WHEREAS, the Jefferson Parish Council recognizes Beau Tichenor and Brad Treuting on the good deed they performed in saving a life on January 20, 2021, and for putting others before themselves. The Jefferson Parish Council hereby declares Wednesday, February 3, 2021, as Beau Tichenor and Brad Treuting Day in Jefferson Parish.
Company Training Used
Atmos Energy provides monthly safety training to all employees that consists of CPR training, personal protection tips, safe driving best practices, and day-to-day scenarios, and it fosters a company culture that promotes keeping our employees and the 1,400 communities we serve safe.
Validating our approach, Atmos Energy was named to Newsweek’s 2021 list of America’s Most Responsible Companies based on publicly available key performance indicators presented through our CRS Report and an independent survey. Newsweek conducted a detailed analysis beginning with a pool of over 2,000 companies that were screened by a variety of criteria. Then an independent survey was conducted among more than 7,500 U.S. residents along with research-based on publicly available key performance indicators derived from Corporate Annual Reports, CSR Reports, Sustainability Reports, and Corporate Citizenship Reports.
