CHARLESTON, W.Va., November 17, 2010 – On Nov. 18, Appalachian Power employees will celebrate Read to Me Day for the 10^th year by sharing a book by a West Virginia writer with more than 13,000 students.

A group of approximately 175 employee volunteers will fan out across the company’s West Virginia service area to read the book Once Upon a Baby Brother  to elementary school students. At each of the 270 elementary schools, employees will read to students in two or more classrooms, then donate the book to the school’s library.
           
Once Upon a Baby Brother is written by Sarah Sullivan who is a Charleston, W.Va., based author. This picture book is about Lizzie, who loves to tell and write stories, and is surprised to discover that much of her inspiration comes from her annoying baby brother.
           
“We are proud of being a 10-year participant in Read to Me Day and look forward to carrying on this tradition with students and our employees for many years to come,” said Jeri Matheney, Appalachian Power spokeswoman. “It is very rewarding for us to play a small role in conveying the importance of reading to students, and doing so in a very fun way.”
The company began large-scale participation in West Virginia’s statewide Read to Me Day in 2001, and since that time has donated nearly 3,000 books to school libraries and read aloud to nearly 140,000 students.
 
Appalachian Power has almost 1 million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee (as AEP Appalachian Power). It is a unit of American Electric Power, one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, which delivers electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network that includes more 765 kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined. 
                                                                          
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