Colton Hall was only two months old when his dad Bo Hall was hired at Mississippi Power, so he was essentially raised in a bucket before he was literally raised in a bucket as an electric serviceman in Picayune.

As Bo wraps his 31-year career at Mississippi Power on Wednesday, the father and son are cherishing their final days of working together to serve customers.

They recently were part of Mississippi Power’s storm team that travelled to Alabama Power’s Western Division to help restore service in the Reform and Fayette communities following a windstorm that swept through the region.

“We really wanted to go on one more storm trip together before I retired but you never know when those are going to come,” said Bo, a lead lineman in Hattiesburg. “When this opportunity came up, we both jumped at it knowing it would be our last storm trip together. We’ve been on a lot of storm trips together but this one was extra special.”

The father-son duo didn’t work any of the same tickets while in Alabama, but they took every opportunity to spend time together.

“We were able to have supper together one night, and I went up to his hotel room later and we talked a while,” Colton said. “We also chatted while we were at the staging site waiting on tickets. This is what he has done my entire life, so it was great to spend those moments with him on his last storm trip.”

Bo is happy that Colton following his footsteps at the company.

“He’s spent a lot of time riding around with me growing up and job shadowing,” Bo said. “We would be riding around, and he would see the crews and say that so-and-so is in that truck. I would ask him questions like what he would do in this situation if he was in charge. He’s grown up in it, so he’s been learning about this a long time. I’m very proud of him. It’s very satisfying to see him grow in the business. He’s always had a knack for it.”

Colton initially took a job working in substations in the summer. He was able to continue working in that area while he went through the lineworker program for his associate’s degree at Pearl River Community College. He’s now been with the company 11 years.

“I’ve learned so much from my dad over the years, especially about working safely,” Colton said. “It’s been pretty special the times we have gotten to work together.”

Bo recalled one time they were on a job together and he wanted to go up in the bucket to handle the work. Colton wanted to do the task with an Extendo Stick. After discussion, dad relented and let the son handle it.

“He’s one of the best with that Extendo Stick,” Bo said. “He’s very smooth with it. As I was getting older, he could see the fuse barrels better than me. It’s been fun having him beside me on a lot of jobs.”

They will remain in close proximity. Bo plans to move to Bay St. Louis after his retirement and will always be available for advice.

Now in its 98th year of operations, Mississippi Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), produces safe, reliable and affordable energy for nearly 191,000 customers in 23 southeast Mississippi counties. Mississippi Power recently was a recipient of the Community Partner Impact Award from the Center for Energy Workforce Development for its innovative and ongoing efforts to build a diverse workforce. With nearly 160 megawatts of approved solar energy capacity, Mississippi Power is the largest partner in providing renewable energy in the state of Mississippi. Visit our websites at mississippipower.com and mississippipowernews.com, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.