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Anaconda, Mont. – March 5, 2025 – Derinda Johnson, 71, of Anaconda, Montana, found herself in an unfortunate situation on a recent sunny winter Friday afternoon when she took out the trash without a coat. Almost immediately, she regretted her decision as she stepped onto her icy walkway. She slipped and fell, finding herself unhurt but unable to get back up. With her daughter not due home until 11 p.m., Derinda was in quite a predicament.

Desperately, she waved at passing cars and shouted for help, but no one seemed to notice. "I was on the ground for about half an hour," she recalled. "Then, a truck stopped. I never felt so relieved as when I saw him come through my front gate."

The driver approached and asked, "Can I help you?" Derinda's response was an enthusiastic, "Yes!" She later described him as the angel she needed at that moment.

Realizing she hadn't caught the name of her rescuer, Derinda reached out to Butte radio station KBOW's Ron Davis for assistance. "We know her as Ms. Rindy," Ron said. "She mentioned that the man wore a NorthWestern Energy shirt with the name Tom on it."

Tom Wind, the NorthWestern Energy Anaconda Town Manager, has a habit of glancing at Derinda's yard when he leaves work. "In the summer, her garden is full of blooming flowers, and she's usually out there," Tom explained. "That evening, I looked over and thought I saw someone on the ground."

Tom quickly swung around through the alley and helped Derinda into her house. "She insisted she wasn't hurt and didn't need medical attention," Tom said. "She's a client of my wife's hair salon, so when I got home, I asked my wife to check in on her."

As it turned out, Derinda had an appointment scheduled at the salon. By the time she arrived, she had already tracked down Tom's name with Ron's help. "He saved my life," Derinda said. "It was going to get dark and cold, and I didn't have a coat on, just a sweater. I admire him so much. That he would stop—it was the greatest thing in the world for me."

“I would have done it for anyone, but I am glad it was you,” Tom told her.

“This is a powerful reminder of the value of our employees—not only in their professional roles but also in the way they contribute to and care for the community,” said NorthWestern Energy Operations Planning Supervisor Kyle Caldwell. “We are truly fortunate to have someone like Tom on our team, someone who consistently goes above and beyond for others.”

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NorthWestern Energy, provides essential energy infrastructure and valuable services that enrich lives and empower communities while serving as long-term partners to our customers and communities. We work to deliver safe, reliable, and innovative energy solutions that create value for customers, communities, employees, and investors. We do this by providing low-cost and reliable service performed by highly-adaptable and skilled employees. We provide electricity and / or natural gas to approximately 775,300 customers in Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Yellowstone National Park. Our operations in Montana and Yellowstone National Park are conducted through our subsidiary, NW Corp, and our operations in South Dakota and Nebraska are conducted through our subsidiary, NWE Public Service. We have provided service in South Dakota and Nebraska since 1923 and in Montana since 2002.

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Jo Dee Black

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