SECO News
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M ARCH 2018
200,000 STRONG • 80 YEARS IN THE MAKING
ANNUAL MEETING
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arch is Annual Meeting month at SECO Energy. Employees are excited to host the thousands of members, friends and family who will attend the upcoming meeting on Saturday, March 24. Registration opens at 8 a.m. and the business meeting begins at 10:30 a.m. I’m providing a sneak peek into the festivities with our 2018 Annual Meeting Map on the inside pages so you can navigate the compound that morning. 438303 But first, did you RSVP online? Visit SECOEnergy.com>Your Co-op>Annual Member Meeting or click on the home page banner. Members who RSVP online and attend the meeting are entered into a drawing for a $300 bill credit. Upon arrival, you’ll find plenty of parking and golf cart service to shuttle those with disabilities to the registration tents. Registration lines move quickly with a copy of your bill. Photo ID is required. An additional registration tent is reserved for members using scooters, wheelchairs and walkers. Registration is where you receive tickets for gifts, breakfast and door prizes. After registration, be sure to stop at Station One – the prize ticket barrel. Drop your ticket and cross your fingers for luck.
DUNCAN’S DIGEST Jim Duncan, CEO
and Bylaws Voting Booklet. Amble over to Station Three with your ticket in hand for a hot breakfast sandwich (one per guest please). Enter the coffee line for a cup of joe or visit a drink station for water or a soft drink. We also serve plenty of doughnuts and cookies. Limited picnic tables and high boy tables are available on the south side of the Annual Meeting Pavilion. You are welcome to bring your own folding/camp chairs or grab a seat under the Pavilion. After breakfast, make your way to the Energy Showcase and present your Station Four ticket for an additional gift – an LED provided by Seminole Electric, our wholesale power provider. Browse SECO’s energy efficiency displays. Visit with our employees and energy-savings partners. Drop by the solar demonstration on the northeast side of the Annual Meeting Pavilion to see SECO’s Solar Square project in action. 115202 While cruising the grounds, locate a member of our Facebook Help Squad. Take a selfie or
Next, bring your ticket to Station Two to receive your 2017 Annual Report, SECO gift “HIDDEN” ACCOUNT NUMBERS
DIGEST cont. on page 3…
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.
ANNUAL MEETING 2018 SITE MAP
Enter
Enter
Registration 1
2
1
ort ep al R ft i nu An & G
KEY Registration Ticket Stations
Prize Ticket Barrel
Lost & Found
Restrooms
Drinks
Food & Beverages First Aid Station
First Aid Solar Square
Lost & Found
Grand Prize Grand Prize Picnic Tables Facebook Help Squad
Disabled Registration
Annual Meeting Pavilion
I-75
PARKING
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CR 470
Disabled Parking
US 301
SR
CR 470
LED Gift
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CR 520
4
Energy Showcase
Map to Annual Meeting Site
Drinks
Grand Prize
Grand Prize Solar Square
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DIGEST from page 1…
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W N
Registration 2 (wheelchairs, scooters & walkers)
Head over to the Annual Meeting Pavilion to find a seat. We’ve added almost 1,000 extra seats this year to accommodate about 4,200 under the Pavilion. Snap your fingers and tap your heels to live music by Margo Rochelle and Rodeo Drive Band. Enjoy another bottle of water or soft drink or a fresh cup of coffee, and munch on a cookie or doughnut. Read through the Board-recommended Bylaws Voting Booklet before the business meeting begins at 10:30 a.m. Participate in the cooperative democratic process and vote on the Bylaws revision. Or ask me a question during the Q&A session. 390014
Coffee
Condiments
Biscuits
3
Donuts & Cookies
Donuts & Cookies
a picture with a SECO photo frame that shows you having a blast at the meeting. Members who “like” SECO’s Facebook page and post a photo or comment during the meeting are eligible to win a $300 bill credit. Need help? The Facebook Help Squad will help you snap and post the picture and “like” SECO’s page.
Picnic Tables
Facebook Help Squad
Stage
Annual Meeting Pavilion Seating
At the close of the business meeting after the Bylaws vote, have your ticket stub available to see if there is a match during the door prize drawing. Prizes include a refurbished 2009 Chevy Colorado, an electric golf cart, cash prizes and bill credits. We have lots of other door prizes to give away including iPads and gift cards.
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Disabled Seating
You must be present to win, so I hope to see you there!
Jim Duncan, Chief Executive Officer
EASTERN MEADOWLARK
Easily identified by the black "V” on its chest Florida’s Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna) is a songbird found throughout rural areas of Florida. Its breeding range covers most of eastern North America and parts of South America. Experts say it is difficult to distinguish between the Eastern and Western species as it can be determined only by voice and location. Seventeen subspecies of the Eastern Meadowlark are documented. Actually, the meadowlark is not a lark at all. It is a member of the blackbird family (Icteridae) which also includes cowbirds and orioles. Meadowlarks are easily identified by the bright yellow throat and belly. However, the most distinguishing mark in adults is the black “V” on its chest. It can often be seen on a fence post belting out its clear, melodious songs and whistles. Adult birds weigh just over five ounces, are seven to ten inches tall with a wingspan of 14 to 16 inches. Both sexes are similar in size, although females are normally smaller with a shorter wingspan. 508512
Males have two, sometimes three, mates at a time. Females build nests on the ground using soft woven grasses and hide them in the taller grass of an open field. The nest usually has an arched “roof” with a side entrance. A clutch of two to six grayish-white eggs speckled with brown and lavender may be laid any time from late March through July. Eggs are incubated by the female for 13 to 15 days. The young fledge at 12 days. The parents continue to tend them for about two weeks until they are able to fly. Juveniles are similar to adults, but the black “V” becomes prominent in adulthood. The meadowlark has been known to live ten years in captivity. Numbers have declined drastically in recent years, probably because of habitat loss. Find amazing wildlife photos at statonphotography.com. Column & photo by Sandi Staton – sandi.staton@gmail.com
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This bird prefers grassy fields, pastures, cultivated fields, golf courses and other open habitats. It is a good friend to the farmer/ rancher and a bug-eating machine. Insects comprise more than 75 percent of its diet, with grains and seeds making up the balance. It is especially fond of grasshoppers and crickets,
as well as insect larvae and grubs. It feeds on the ground, picking insects from the surface or probing the soil to reveal its prey. Meadowlarks also eat the seeds of many weeds.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES Ray F. Vick President District 5
Jerry D. Hatfield Vice President District 9
Robin R. Henion
Secretary-Treasurer District 7
Scott D. Boyatt District 1
Dillard B. Boyatt District 2
Richard J. Belles District 3
Richard Dennison District 4
The Board of Trustees will meet on Monday, March 19, 2018 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 23, 2018.
Earl Muffett
2 4 /7 J o b Ho tlin 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.