Day & Zimmermann, at the forefront of Nuclear Power and Defense

It’s a long way from journeyman painter to Senior Vice President, but as Mr. Chesnut has said, he’s a prime example of how early training in technical disciplines matters and how blue-collar jobs can lead to long, fulfilling careers. When Alabama Power started construction of Farley Nuclear Plant, his Dad and uncles started working there as painters and carpenters. Not long after at age 18, he started at Farley as a journeyman painter in the local union hall.”  He remembers working at Farley and feeling that this huge construction project to provide nuclear power was part of something great. He has never lost that feeling about nuclear energy’s significance.   After Farley, James acquired additional training, furthered his education, and gained experience at nuclear generating stations in maintenance, construction, engineering, and outage management. Eventually, he found his way to Arizona and the nation’s largest nuclear facility, Palo Verde.  James’ passion fits so well with our own club as he stated before the Nebraska Legislature:  “My nuclear career has carried me across the country. No matter where I travel for my work, my favorite part of the job is helping young people find their way into great careers in the nuclear field. I work with community colleges helping to design or enhance nuclear power training programs and curriculum. I'm currently active in Arizona at West-MEC, a career training facility for local high-school students.  I have been able to use my experience in the nuclear industry to mentor many young people — at my job, in my community, in my family… and even my sons’ friends. In addition to my own kids, I raised three boys who came from broken homes and introduced them to careers in nuclear maintenance, which was a game changer.”