The Whitacre Award, AT&T’s top honor, was given to the members of a team in California for their leadership and community-before-self attitudes. These employees went to heroic lengths to avert disaster or provide service in extreme situations. Learn more about their accomplishments below.

California Team Restores Service in Ravaged Canyon

When fires ravaged Woolsey Canyon, California, 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, the California team braved storms, blowing ash and rugged terrain to reconnect customers. The fires took out service to several neighborhoods and a sprawling hilltop field laboratory that was once part of the aerospace industry. Splicing technicians Dave Bernal, Travis Calloway, Fernando Gudino and supervisor Joe Lopez restored service to the scorched area in 21 days – but those were12-hour days, 7 days a week.