BY JENNIFER MUTO

A.W. "Bill" Dahlberg (BBA '70) started his career in 1960 as a meter installer at Georgia Power and moved up the ranks to become one of the most successful executives in the country. As chairman, president and CEO of Southern Company, Dahlberg has continued to increase the company's international reach. Southern Company is the parent firm of five electric utilities in the southeastern United States - Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power, Mississippi Power and Savannah Electric and Southern Energy Inc. with utility operations in England, Argentina, Chile, China, the Philippines, the Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago.

Although Dahlberg continuously travels to many cities around the world, Atlanta is the only place he would ever call home and his pride in his family far surpasses any business achievement.

"Some people describe Atlanta as a city of trees," explains Dahlberg. "I say that Atlanta is a city of people, and it's the warmth of the people that makes it so wonderful to live here. I've had wonderful visits to lots of places, but I've never found anywhere I'd rather live than right here."

A native Georgian, Dahlberg has lived in the Stone Mountain area since the age of five. He began his career at the age of nineteen and has steadily moved up the corporate ladder with Georgia Power, becoming vice president in 1979. Three years after that promotion, he was given the responsibility of senior vice president and shortly afterwards, Dahlberg became president of Southern Company and has championed the company's expansive growth.

Given Southern Company's holdings, both in the United States and overseas, it would be understandable for Dahlberg's time and energy to be devoted solely to his work. However, a glimpse at his civic activities demonstrates that for Bill Dahlberg, there should always be enough time and energy to contribute to the community.

Dahlberg was named "1994 Man of the Year" and "Georgia1s Most Respected CEO for 1996" by Georgia Trend magazine and he is involved in academic, business and nonprofit organizations. He serves on the board of directors for the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, on Georgia State University's College of Business Administration Board of Advisors, as chairman of The Carter Center's Board of Councilors, as well as many others.

Allen Franklin, president of Georgia Power Company, says, "With Bill, it's not who you know, it's what you do...and if I listed all of the organizations [he] chairs, it would be eight pages long."

While working his way through Southern Company before becoming vice president in 1979, Dahlberg was also working on a degree from Georgia State. He strongly emphasized how important his business degree from Georgia State was ­ and how it took him eleven years of night classes fueled by '16,042 packs of stale crackers.'

"I started at Georgia State in 1959," Dahlberg says with a smile. He held up his ring at the Hall of Fame and continued, "But this should tell you something. I found my senior ring and it says 1970."

With his numerous business and civic accomplishments, Dahlberg still finds it simple to name his proudest personal achievement.

"I have three kids who know right from wrong, they've grown up so well and they have done so well," he says with pride.

He further explains that he believes it is better to teach children by example than by words. "You set high standards for yourself and spend time with your kids and they learn from that. You make mistakes and they learn from those. They see strong values in practice and they follow them," Dahlberg explains. "It's a lifelong lesson."

Runners know that success depends upon setting a pace and steadily, but constantly, increasing your personal best. A track runner in high school who still runs to the top of Stone Mountain and back in 18 minutes, Bill Dahlberg has successfully applied this method to both his personal and business life - and he is still going strong.

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