About the Developers
Sidney K. Sperry is the Director of Public Relations, Communications and Research at the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives (OAEC), Oklahoma City, OK. He has worked in the electric utility industry for more than 34 years.
Sperry began his career at Alfalfa Electric Cooperative in Cherokee, OK, in 1980. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Northwestern Oklahoma State University in 1987. He joined the OAEC communications staff in 1989. Sperry has previously served as manager of communications at Verdigris Valley Electric Cooperative, Collinsville, OK, and has also served as Chief Executive Officer of Northwestern Electric Cooperative, Woodward, OK.
In his current position, Sperry serves as the OAEC staff liaison to Oklahoma Emergency Management (OEM). He has written a “Disaster Response & Recovery” manual for Electric Cooperatives that has been recognized by both OEM and FEMA. The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), Washington, DC, has adopted this manual as a “Contracting Guidebook” for FEMA disaster events.
Sperry has conducted extensive research into ice storms and their effects on electric and communications utility infrastructures, and has written a book entitled, “A Return to the Ice Age: The Ice Storms of 2000 and 2002” (The Donning Company Publishers, Virginia Beach, VA, 2002). Photo by Chelsey Simpson
Contact Sidney K. Sperry, SPIDI Technologies, LLC.
Steven F. Piltz is the Meteorologist in Charge (MIC) of the National Weather Service (NWS) Office in Tulsa, OK. Piltz received his Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology from Parks College of Saint Louis University in 1987, and began his tenure with the NWS at Key West, FL, in 1988. Prior to joining the NWS, he was an emergency management official in Carbondale, IL, and also worked for a private meteorological firm in St. Louis, MO. Mr. Piltz moved to Tulsa, OK, in 1990. While serving in Tulsa, he was promoted to the position of Warning Coordination Meteorologist (WCM) in 1993, and to Station Supervisor in 2000. He has authored several technical papers related to severe storms and tornadoes, and has received the U.S. Department of Commerce Silver Medal (2000) and the National Weather Association Operational Achievement Individual Award (2000) for improving operational weather support and enhancing community preparedness through development of the “StormReady” program. Sperry and Piltz were awarded the “Technical Innovation of the Year Award” (2009) by the American Public Works Association (APWA) for their “Sperry-Piltz Ice Accumulation Index,” or “SPIA Index.” The SPIA Index has also been recognized by citation from the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) in July 2009. Photo by G.B. Poindexter