March 2017 SECO News

SECO News

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MARCH 2017

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ark your calendar to attend SECO’s 79th Annual Meeting of the Membership on March 25.

Gates and registration open at 8:00 a.m., and the business meeting begins at 10:30 a.m. Prize drawing begins immediately after the business meeting and you must be present to win. This year’s Jim Duncan, CEO prizes include cash, a refurbished 2005 Dodge Dakota pickup truck, an electric refurbished golf cart and too many additional door prizes to name. 987401

DUNCAN’S DIGEST

Speaking of prizes – be on the lookout for SECO’s Facebook Help Squad – the group who will help you enter the random drawing to win a $300 bill credit. Remember – you must be present to win.

Are you ready to win? If you don’t already have a Facebook profile, get started by signing up for a free account today at www.facebook.com. Next, members should “like” SECO Energy’s Facebook page. Finally, interact with SECO on Facebook during the Annual Meeting. It’s easy – post a picture of yourself having fun at the Annual Meeting, comment on our status update, or mention @SECO Energy on your Facebook page.

The $300 bill credit winner will be announced just before the business meeting begins. Did I mention that you must be present to win?

The Facebook Help Squad is here to help you.

Have your smartphone or tablet ready, and a Help Squad member will take your picture and post it on SECO’s page. Or you can post your own “selfie.”

Your kids and grandkids will be so impressed at your tech skills. Watch for the big blue Facebook signs. The Help Squad is a fun group of customerservice ambassadors – they are characters who have a good time. 223401 Enjoy the world-class hospitality of the best cooperative employees around, munch on good food, win door prizes, dance to the band and maybe get lucky with extra surprises and prizes.

Join us at 8:00 a.m. on March 25 at our Sumterville Compound at 293 S. Highway 301. I look forward to seeing you there – because you must be present to win.

“HIDDEN” ACCOUNT NUMBERS

Don’t forget to look for the last six digits of your account number in this month’s SECO News. You can email us at customerservice@ secoenergy.com or call if your number appears. Six winners will be drawn at random from all submissions. Winners receive a $25 restaurant gift card.

SCHOLARSHIP REMINDER Graduating high school seniors – don’t forget to apply for a chance to win a $3,000 scholarship. Application deadline is March 31, 2017. Print an application online at www.secoenergy.com>YourCo-op>Community>Scholarship. $36,000 in scholarships will be awarded this year!

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The Pileated alone. Roost Woodpecker, cavities provide (Melanerpes protection carolinus) is from weather the largest and have and most multiple famous of entrance and Florida’s seven exit holes PILEATED WOODPECKER woodpeckers. for alternate It was the escape routes Florida’s largest woodpecker, inspiration for from predators. a bug-eating machine 530010 the cartoon 853702 character Woody Woodpecker. A mature bird is fifteen All woodpeckers have feet especially adapted to nineteen inches tall and weighs about twelve for hanging onto trees. Two toes go forward and ounces. two go backward, like having an extra thumb.

That, along with very sharp claws, helps the This woodpecker is easily identified by its bold woodpecker keep its grip. Stiff tail feathers give black and white striped head and neck, long bill, added support. 878101 white wing linings and the distinctive flame-red crest found on both male and female. Only the male has a red mustache stripe on the side of his face. The juvenile is similar, with a shorter crest.

Its long, straight, pointy beak is just right for making unique rectangular holes and its long, sticky tongue is equipped with a sharp end for spiking ants, larvae and a variety of other bugs lodged in tree bark. Carpenter ants are its primary food. It also eats nuts, berries and wild fruits and has been known to visit bird feeders.

It has an extra-thick skull. Its pecking or drumming (14 to 17 beats per second) is a distinctive loud hammering sound. Pairs establish territories which can cover as much as 4,000 acres. Although the Pileated mates for life, each bird normally sleeps

Each spring, a pair works together to excavate a new nest cavity in a dead tree where two to four eggs are laid. Both parents incubate the eggs during the day, but the male takes the night shift.

The eggs hatch after two weeks and the young fledge in about a month. The young depend on their parents for several months while learning to feed themselves, and then gradually wander away to find a mate the following spring. The new pair establishes their own territory, and mate for life, but may take a new mate if one dies.

Florida woodpeckers don’t migrate but live here year round. The oldest known lived twelve years.

Column & photo by Sandi Staton – sandi.staton@gmail.com

BOARD OF TRUSTEES Ray F. Vick

Dillard B. Boyatt

Jerry D. Hatfield

Richard J. Belles

President, District 5 Vice President District 9

Robin R. Henion

Secretary-Treasurer District 7

Scott D. Boyatt District 1

District 2 District 3

Richard Dennison District 4

The Board of Trustees will meet on Monday, March 27, at 2:30 p.m. in the Corporate Offices at 330 South US HWY 301 in Sumterville. A Trustees’ meeting will also be held on Monday, April 17, 2017.

Earl Muffett

2 4 / 7 Jo b Ho tl i n e: (855) 483-2673 www.secoenergyjobs.com

Bill James

Report an Outage: (800) 732-6141 www.secostormcenter.com

District 6 District 8

SECO Energy is an equal opportunity provider and employer.