March 2015 SECO News

March 2015

Cookies, Coffee, Cash and Camaraderie – Come to Your March 28th Annual Meeting

T

he 2015 Annual Meeting is approaching fast. Mark your calendars for a morning of cookies, hot coffee, fresh donuts, great prizes and the best darn hospitality in the state of Florida – all brought to you personally by the employees of SECO Energy. Registration opens at 8:30 a.m. and the business meeting begins at 10:30 a.m. (...290212) Visit the big tent, gather free

SECO TRUSTEES Ray F. Vick • District 5 President Jerry D. Hatfield • District 9 Vice President James D. Holtz • District 4 Secretary-Treasurer Scott D. Boyatt • District 1 Dillard B. Boyatt • District 2 Richard J. Belles • District 3 Earl Muffett • District 6 Rob Henion • District 7 Bill James • District 8 Jim Duncan CEO & General Manager

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SECO’s Board of Trustees will meet on Monday, March 30th at 2:30 p.m. in the corporate offices located at 330 South US Highway 301 in Sumterville.

A Trustees’ meeting will also be held on April 27, 2015.

giveaways and talk to our energy services technicians about low-cost energy-efficiency measures for your home. Learn about safe digging, transformer access and vegetation management from the experts.

Sign up for an online account (called SmartHub) and learn how joining ACRE (Action Committee for Rural Electrification) helps us serve your energy needs. Visit with representatives from Seminole Electric Cooperative, our generation and transmission provider. And hear our CEO/General Manager

Jim Duncan provide a rousing “state of the company” address.

All members who register are entered in a drawing for a variety of door prizes – the grand prize is a 2004 Dodge Dakota. Cash prizes up to $1500 will be awarded, and many other valuable prizes will be given away at the end of the meeting. You must be present to win. Be sure to bring ID, your official notice and a copy of your bill for express registration.

We look forward to seeing you! (...750020)

We’ve Got Your Number…

Or do we? A recent review of our records determined that 33 percent of the phone numbers on file are no longer in service or are in use by someone else. The growing trend of cell phone use is likely the source of this data issue. (...013703) Keeping phone numbers current helps us to improve our customer communication. We can: 1)let you know if our crews will be working in your area 2)inform you of planned outages 3)advise you of restoration efforts 4)allow the automated system to match your phone number to your account 5)contact you about SECO business to enhance our service To update your phone number, visit secoenergy.com and click on Services >OnlineForms>Change your phone number. You may also email us at customerservice@ secoenergy.com – please include the last name associated with the account, the service address

and current phone numbers (we will contact you to verify your identification). You may also call us at any of the Customer Service Center numbers shown below.

Call Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 7p.m. (excluding holidays) to update your number(s).

SECO may use either your home or cell phone numbers, so please update both. Thank you for helping us communicate effectively.

For company news and outage information, be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Citrus . . . . . . . . . . 352 726-3944 Hernando . . . . . . . 352 521-5788 Lake . . . . . . . . . . . 352 357-5600 Levy . . . . . . . . . . . 352 528-3644 Marion . . . . . . . . . 352 237-4107 Pasco . . . . . . . . . . 352 521-5788 Sumter . . . . . . . . . 352 793-3801

Express Yourself (...182601)

tips & quips about our environment and its inhabitants

SECO Corporate Communications PO Box 301 • Sumterville, FL 33585-0301 webmaster@secoenergy.com

Did you stop the “find your account number”?

I always looked forward to checking that each month.

Also, I do have to tell you I really enjoy the Nature’s reflections article – especially when it’s about native Florida nature.

Rick Cinella

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I have been a loyal customer for many years. Our house is 20 years old. I looked forward to looking for my account number within the body of your newsletter each month. I was sure I would win one day! I always thought that it was a clever way to get your newsletter read. I was disappointed to see that the new year brought an end to the long-running contest. I guess all good things must come to an end. It will be missed.

Faithful Reader

Editor’s Note: In today’s age of cyber hacking and other security concerns, we have revised our “find your account number” promotion. Moving forward, you’ll find only the last six digits of six different account numbers in this publication. If one of them is the last six digits of your account number (and there could be more than one member with the same last six digits), email us your last name, phone number and the six digits to WIN@secoenergy.com. Once we verify that your information and account number matches one that was printed in the SECO News, we will notify you by email and send you a $25 gift card via USPS. Good luck!

2015

scholarship deadline Up to twelve deserving high school seniors will be awarded $3,000 each from SECO in their pursuit of higher education.

Eligibility and qualifications can be found on the official application now available in high school guidance offices across SECO’s service area, on the website www.secoenergy.com, and at the five SECO offices. Completed applications must be received by SECO no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 3, 2015.

Nature’s reflections The Snowy Egret

A wading bird and one of Florida’s beautiful herons The snowy egret (Egretta thula) is a medium-sized, white wading bird in the heron family. It is quickly identified by its black legs and contrasting yellow feet. Its long thin neck and black bill make it especially adept at spearing fish. It also has yellow markings around the eyes which turn red during courtship. At maturity, it weighs about fourteen ounces, stands two feet tall and has a wingspan of about thirty-eight inches. Males and females look alike.

During courtship long, lacy, white plumes grow along the neck, breast and back. These feathers were highly sought after by the millinery trade in the late 1800s when many adult birds were slaughtered for their feathers, causing a sharp decline in the species’ population. (...399501) The snowy egret is protected and designated as a Species of Special Concern by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Although this species occupies much of its historic range, snowy egrets are still in decline as a breeding bird. The most probable cause of this decline is the loss of habitat, particularly wetlands.

The snowy egret’s diet is small fish, along with shrimp, crayfish, fiddler crabs, snakes, snails, insects, small lizards, frogs and aquatic vegetation. Foraging in both freshwater and saltwater habitats, it uses its yellow feet to stir the bottom and flush prey into view.

The range of the snowy egret extends throughout the continental US and much of South America. It is a year-round resident of Florida and other snowy egrets migrate here for the winter. (...030802) In Florida, the snowy egret breeds from January through August. It usually nests in colonies with other species of waders where there is vegetation over water. A pair will build a nesting platform of sticks in trees or bushes, no more than thirty feet high. Three to five blue-green eggs hatch in about twenty days, and fledge after twenty-five days. One brood is raised per year unless the first clutch is destroyed. The first chick to hatch quickly becomes the most experienced aggressor toward its siblings for food. As a result, nest mates have varied growth rates, with the first chick growing the fastest. In captivity, snowy egrets are known to live sixteen years. −photos and column by Sandi Staton – sandi.staton@gmail.com

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