Page 9 - Mississippi 811 Magazine 2022 Issue 3

A Well-Traveled Street
By Roger Cox
President, ACTS Now, Inc.
Staying busy has never been difficult for Jay Street. In 1984, this Ripley (believe it or not) Mississippi boy was looking for a job and found a 38-year career with Tenneco beginning in downtown Houston. At that time, downtown Houston, TX was just a little bigger than downtown Ripley (believe it or not), so it took some adjustment. That willingness to adjust led him to work in five states with the company that also had three name changes during the same time frame, the latest in 2012 as El Paso Gas became Kinder Morgan. And finally, in 2001 he was given the opportunity to move back home to his beloved Mississippi, where he worked for the final 21 years of his career.
2007 kicked “busy” up a notch for Jay. He
was selected to represent gas pipelines on the Mississippi 811 Board of Directors. It was also in 2007 that Mississippi stakeholders recognized the importance of creating their own enforcement program and a program that respected all stakeholders and all utilities.
But where to start? That coalition of stakeholders was led by Jay Street and John McDill, Atmos who helped form the Mississippi Damage Prevention Committee (MDPC) that began a campaign to create a fair and effective damage prevention program that included enforcement for all stakeholders and all utilities. All stakeholders.
All utilities. Since 2017, that goal was achieved
as the Enforcement Board was created and the program fully integrated into Mississippi’s damage prevention efforts.
Jay has been a tireless advocate for fairness in
the enforcement program and after 38 years in
the pipeline industry and 15 years of leading and working with stakeholders across the state, Jay set a retirement date of August 1, 2022. Of course, his retirement from Kinder Morgan also meant retiring from one of his favorite boards of all time and that being the Mississippi 811 Board.
Lest you think this Street is a dead-end, let me assure you he will be missed. He will be missed for his sense of humor, for his passion for damage prevention, and especially for his understanding of what’s right and what’s important.
Congratulations Jay! We know that all Streets lead home!
Enjoy the season...
Early Days of the MDPC
First step toward enforcement
Last Mississippi 811 Board Meeting
2022, Issue 3
Mississippi 811 • 7