McCULLOUGH ANNOUNCES PLANS TO RETIRE FROM CPS ENERGY 

Jan. 19, 2010

McCULLOUGH ANNOUNCES PLANS TO RETIRE FROM CPS ENERGY

            Bob McCullough, APR, today announced plans to retire Feb. 1 as director of corporate communications and community relations for CPS Energy, the nation’s largest municipally owned energy company providing both electric and natural gas service.  CPS Energy serves America’s seventh-largest city – San Antonio (Texas) – and surrounding area.

            His immediate plans call for joining the team headed by philanthropist Gordon Hartman that in April will open Morgan’s Wonderland in San Antonio, the world’s first ultra-accessible family fun park designed specifically for children and adults with special needs.

            McCullough joined the forerunner of CPS Energy in 1975 and advanced to manager of public relations during the Energy Crisis of the late 1970s and early 1980s.  He then became director of public relations at SeaWorld San Antonio in 1987 and led the public relations team that helped open the world’s largest marine life adventure park the following year.

 McCullough also worked closely with Southwest Airlines on the 1988 debut of Shamu One, the first of three Southwest aircraft painted in the likeness of SeaWorld’s star killer whale, Shamu.  He logged thousands of miles on Southwest flights with SeaWorld animal ambassadors – primarily penguins – on goodwill visits to children’s hospitals, Ronald McDonald Houses and other locations across Mid-America.

            McCullough returned to CPS Energy in 2002 to establish a corporate communications department that later grew to include community relations.

 Born in Port Arthur, Texas, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas, and a master’s degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism at Columbia.

             He is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), past president of PRSA’s San Antonio Chapter and past president of the Texas Public Relations Association (TPRA).   Honors include PRSA’s Silver Anvil and TPRA’s Golden Spur, Lone Star, Silver Spur and Best of Texas awards for professional excellence.   He received the 2005 Tex Taylor Lifetime Achievement Award during PRSA San Antonio’s annual Del Oro Awards presentation.

             In addition to his public relations and corporate communications career, McCullough completed 30 years’ service as a public affairs officer in the U. S. Air Force and Air Force Reserve.  His assignments included duty as mobilization assistant to the commander of the Air Force News Agency and as a member of the staff of the Air Force’s official magazine, AIRMAN.  He retired in the rank of colonel.

             McCullough and his wife, Shelley, are the parents of two daughters, Connally and Beverly, who both were born in China.

Acquired by the City of San Antonio in 1942, CPS Energy serves approximately 700,000 electric customers and more than 320,000 natural gas customers.  The

company ranks among the nation’s lowest-cost energy providers, owns financial ratings among the highest of U. S. electric systems, stands number 1 in wind-energy capacity among municipally owned utilities across the country and ranks number 1 in Texas in the amount of solar-generated electricity under contract.  For more CPS Energy information, visit www.cpsenergy.com.

-- CPS Energy --