TRI-COUNTY ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE
Rural Living Department Spotlight: VP of Operations Where the Action Never Ends Pg. 6
TCEC Awards $20,000 in Energizing Education Scholarships Pg. 8
July & August 2020 Vol. 23 • No. 6
Darrell Tuten, VP of Operations
TRI-COUNTY ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE
Rural Living Vol. XXIII No. VI July & August 2020
As our communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, Tri-County Electric Cooperative, Inc. (TCEC) is here for our members. This pandemic has changed all our lives in some way over the last few months. We know our members have faced financial challenges and we understand. We are here for you.
Board of Trustees
Bobby Dodd
Donnie Waldrep
Catherine Bethea
District 2
District 3
District 5
President
Junior Smith District 1
Albert Thomas District 7
Vice President
George Webb District 4
Johnny Edwards District 8
Secretary/Treasurer
Ann Herring District 6
Elmer Coker District 9
TCEC Staff
Julius Hackett, Chief Executive Officer Jeff Brewer, Vice President of Engineering Stephanie Carroll, Vice President of Corporate Services Eileen Herndon, Executive Assistant Darrell Tuten, Vice President of Operations Wendell Williams, Vice President of Finance Tri-County Electric Cooperative Rural Living, the voice of your member-owned electric cooperative, is published bimonthly — more if necessary — at no subscription cost to the membership. The publication team is comprised of TCEC employees. Postage is paid at Tallahassee, Fla.
Publication Team
Julius Hackett, Chief Executive Officer Eileen Herndon, Executive Assistant Kaitlynn Culpepper, Community Relations Director
Publisher
Joanna Forrester Tri-County Electric Cooperative 2862 West US 90 Madison, FL 32340 www.tcec.com 1-800-999-2285
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We are Here for You
ELECTRIC CO-OPS ARE BUILT BY, AND BELONG TO, THE COMMUNITIES WE SERVE. THAT COMMUNITY FOCUS DRIVES TRICOUNTY ELECTRIC CO-OP AS WE RESPOND TO EVOLVING COVID-19 CHALLENGES AND CONCERNS. The economic health of TCEC is directly tied to the well-being of our communities. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve worked to support families and businesses in our area. One-way TCEC helped its members was with a temporary suspension of disconnections for non-payment. If you are having difficulty paying your bill, we ask that you contact us at 800.999.2285 so we can make a payment arrangement together. We encourage you to pay what you can to avoid large balances during this critical time of recovery. During the May Board Meeting, TCEC’s Board authorized an early $1.2 million Capital Credits refund. This is six months ahead of the usual retirement schedule. Members expecting to receive a capital credit refund in December will now see their refund in June. The Board understands that members may have been faced with reduced wages or
Julius Hackett, CEO unable to work, and with this concern for members, they voted unanimously for the early retirement in order to get the money in members’ hands as soon as possible. Recently, Energizing Education Scholarships totaling $20,000 were awarded to ten high school seniors of qualified members and their families in our four-county service territory. Because of the challenges students are facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, TCEC made changes to the scholarship application process and requirements. This change made it even easier for students to access scholarship dollars that will help ease the financial burden on students planning to attend various universities, community colleges or technical schools in the state of Florida. Our focus at TCEC is to keep your life as normal as possible through this difficult time and beyond. The cooperative way of doing business has brought us this far, and the cooperative way will help us through this crisis.
Board Meetings The regular monthly meeting of the Board of Trustees of Tri-County Electric Cooperative, Inc. will be held the second Monday of each month at 3:00 p.m. in the central office building of the Cooperative located at 2862 West US 90, approximately two miles west of the City of Madison. July & August 2020
Board Elections: July 2020 District meetings are coming in July and that means trustee elections are right around the corner. Trustees who serve on TCEC’s nine-member board serve a term of three years. Each year three trustee positions are up for election. This year elections are being held in Districts 7, 8 and 9 and will occur during the district meetings in July. •
District 7 is currently represented by Mr. Albert Thomas, Jr. and lies within Jefferson County and represents members in the southern portion of the county from Aucilla to the southern and western borders of the county.
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District 8 is currently represented by Mr. Johnny Edwards. This district is in Taylor County and represents members living in the northern section of the county, from the Aucilla River on the west to Rock Island on the south across to the Lafayette County line on the east.
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District 9 is currently represented by Mr. Elmer Coker. This district is also located in Taylor County and represents members in the southern portion of the county from Jabo Beach over to US 98 and down to Pepperfish Keys into a small section of western Dixie County.
In accordance with the Bylaws of Tri-County Electric Cooperative, Inc. in order for a member to be nominated at a district meeting for the position of trustee (including incumbent trustees), he or she must submit their name and written intent to run for the position at the Cooperative’s Headquarters in Madison, Florida at least 21 days before the district meeting that the trustee election is to be held. After receiving the written notice of intent, the cooperative will confirm the member is a resident of the district he or she intends to be a candidate for trustee, and that he or she meets the other qualifications required to be a trustee. Prior to the district meetings, the Secretary of the Cooperative shall certify the names of all prospective candidates who meet the qualification of trustee. If you are interested in learning about becoming a trustee, please contact Eileen Herndon at eherndon@tcec.com or 850.973.8024. The dates, locations and times of the 2020 district meetings appear on the back cover of this newsletter and are subject to change as safety precautions are made for the COVID-19 pandemic.
July & August 2020
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Tri-County Electric Cooperative, Inc. Board Meetings Summary for March 9, 2020 With all Trustees present except three, key cooperative personnel and the attorney present, the regular monthly meeting of the Board of Trustees of Tri-County Electric Cooperative, Inc. was held on Monday, March 9, 2020, in the Tri-County Electric headquarters office building located in Madison, Florida. Reports to the Board included the Seminole Electric Cooperative February 2020 Board Meeting, NRECA 2020 Annual Meeting, Finance Committee, Policy Committee, Building and Land Committee, and CEO. A presentation was made to the board by Mr. William Rutherford and Mr. Dan Rutherford on six location sites studied as potential future locations for the Perry District Office. Action taken by the Board included the following: approval of the March 9, 2020 Board Agenda; the February 10, 2020, Board Meeting Minutes; and Consent Agenda items as written and recommended by the CEO, which included the WPCA for March 2020 as established by resolution; RUS Form 7 for January 2020; the list of new members for January 21, 2020 – February 16, 2020; Work and Accident Report for January 2020 along with the System Outage Reports. Other action taken by the Board included acceptance of the 2019 audit performed by Nichols, Cauley and Associates and approval to engage the services of the auditors to perform the cooperative’s audit for an additional year; authorization of fourth quarter 2019 electric receivable accounts for the appropriate accounting designation. The board reviewed the processes in place for disconnection of accounts for non-pay and the rules and procedures for traditional accounts, medical essential accounts and pre-pay accounts; a discussion was held regarding various methods employed by other cooperatives for the retirement of capital credits. The CEO discussed strategies to preserve business continuity in the event of the impacts from the spread of the coronavirus. Plans for the 80th Annual Meeting and District Meetings were discussed. The board was shown a short video depicting pole top rescue exercises performed recently at the co-op. Bobby Dodd, President
Catherine Bethea, Secretary/Treasurer
Tri-County Electric Cooperative, Inc. Board Meetings Summary for April 13, 2020 With all Trustees present except one, key cooperative personnel and the attorney present, the regular monthly meeting of the Board of Trustees of Tri-County Electric Cooperative, Inc. was held on Monday, April 13, 2020, in the Tri-County Electric headquarters office building located in Madison, Florida. Reports to the Board included the Seminole Electric Cooperative March 2020 Board Meeting, Florida Electric Cooperatives Association April 2020 Board Meeting, Finance Committee, Policy Committee, Building and Land Committee, and CEO. Action taken by the Board included the following: approval of the April 13, 2020 Board Agenda; the March 9, 2020, Board Meeting Minutes; and Consent Agenda items as written and recommended by the CEO, which included the WPCA for April 2020 as established by resolution; RUS Form 7 for February 2020; the list of new members for February 17, 2020 – March 19, 2020; Work and Accident Report for February 2020 along with the System Outage Reports. Other action taken by the Board included: adoption of the CoBank resolution authorizing officers of the board of trustees and designated members of staff to perform banking tasks related to the cooperative’s loans with CoBank. The CEO discussed the operational changes enacted at the co-op in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Miscellaneous information discussed included the Perry District Office building and recent weather events. Bobby Dodd, President
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Catherine Bethea, Secretary/Treasurer
July & August 2020
Welcome New Employees TCEC recently grew with the addition of three new employees and all of them look forward to a long successful career at the co-op:
Chase Knight, Part-time System Operator Last summer Chase Knight was hired as a part-time system operator and works in our system control center. Part of our engineering team, system operators are the voice on the other end of the radio communicating with our field personnel during outages and other service related matters. During a routine work day, Chase is responsible for watching the many complex systems TCEC uses to monitor the condition of its power system on a constant basis – that includes everything from voltage levels to power flows, from gas pressures to microwave equipment. Fun fact: He is the owner of Champion Fitness Gym in Madison.
Hunter Handley, Lineman Trainee Hunter has always lived in Jefferson County and is a graduate of Aucilla High School. He and our other linemen trainee started at the co-op just as the COVID-19 pandemic began impacting in our area. He learned quickly that safety is priority one at TCEC and saw firsthand how co-op employees can shine during a crisis and adjust to staggered work schedules, social distancing issues and stringent personal safety guidelines while doing their work. A lot of Hunter’s work in the lineman trainee position will be performed on the ground assisting his fellow crew members. This is the beginning of the line of progression to becoming a lineman where he will receive extensive on-the-job training as well as classroom type training provided by the Cooperative. Fun Fact: Hunter loves the outdoors and enjoys hunting and fishing in his spare time.
Trey Killingsworth, Lineman Trainee Trey comes to the co-op with a little previous experience from having had an opportunity to participate in an internship program at TCEC the summer of his senior year at Madison County High School. It was here that he received some basic knowledge of the Cooperative and the electric utility business. It was enough to convince him that he wanted to work full time at TCEC and this past March he began his journey to become a lineman. Now assigned to a crew, Trey is learning all about construction and maintenance work by watching his fellow crew members work on hot lines. In addition, he is gaining valuable knowledge about the Co-op’s service territory as well as the different materials and tools used at the work sites. Fun Fact: Trey spends his free time outside, either wakeboarding or hunting and fishing. Welcome aboard Chase, Hunter and Trey, we are glad to have you! July & August 2020
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DEPARTMENT SPOTLIGHT
Vice President of Operations – Where the Action Never Ends Darrell Tuten is a man who sees past obstacles and focuses on the goal. He knows talking doesn’t get things done but action will. TCEC’s Vice President of Operations for the last eleven years, previous operations supervisor, former crew leader and a journey lineman, he knows every mile of the co-op’s power system because he’s either built it or worked on it. After catching the eye of former Operations Manager, Junior Smith (District 1 Trustee), Darrell was offered a job at the co-op while standing alongside Highway 255 one afternoon in 1979. He started work that February, which makes him part of an elite group of employees with more than 40 years of cooperative experience. As VP of Operations, Darrell is responsible for managing the system operations, physical equipment and plant involved in distributing electricity to each member. So, what does this mean? He makes sure the power distribution system is in top working order. He schedules the inspection of every pole and line on the system on a regular cycle to determine the priority of maintenance or upgrades that may be needed to preserve the reliability of the co-op’s system. Darrell works closely with the cooperative foreman overseeing the day-to-day activities within the operations department. He also manages the substation and metering department and mechanic’s shop. He is responsible for purchasing all cooperative vehicles. As a member of the Cooperative’s management team, he works closely with the CEO and engineering team on the design of the distribution system. From there he supervisors the activities required to construct and maintain the power system. Every day can be different and sometimes long. His work requires him to be both inside and outside of the office. He may be working behind a desk at a personal computer or participating in cooperative functions in a public forum. Other days you may find him working inside a substation or along the road near distribution line locations, and many of those times in extreme weather conditions. His job does not provide him with a safe and protected environment away from the elements. “I guess looking from the outside, some parts of my job may look miserable, but to be honest it’s a great satisfaction to be able to do this kind of work,” said Darrell. “It is very fulfilling to be of service to people and working in the community where I grew up.” Never one to shy away from hard work, he is often found working with his line crews leading the way or lending a hand in all kinds of weather, at all times of the day. Big or small, there is no job that an operations crew member does that Darrell hasn’t already done or is willing to do to help out. Following Hurricane Michael in October 2018, when a fellow co-op asked for help, Darrell answered the call to action and he spent nearly two-weeks leading line crews during a major power restoration effort. He recalls those weeks were challenging and difficult due to the enormous amount of damage left in the wake of the storm.
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July & August 2020
He’s a veteran when it comes to storm work and he admits he actually enjoys working trouble, “It’s both challenging and rewarding to turn the lights back on for our members after a major weather event.” If trouble is what he enjoys, Darrell’s had plenty of it over the last five years while directing the power restoration efforts following Hurricanes Irma, Hermine and Michael. His grit and dedication to his job has served him well when leading his crews during those long days that begin before daylight and conclude late at night, all the while keeping a watchful eye over the safety and wellbeing of each man helping to restore power to TCEC’s members safely and efficiently. Under Darrell’s guidance and direction, the TCEC operations department recently completed some major upgrades to a portion of a transmission line located in southern Taylor and Dixie counties. Transmission lines operate at a very high voltage, and this one is at 69kVs. It is a multi-phase project and consists of replacing 265 damaged and aging wooden structures with new taller structures to allow for better ground clearance. Phase I of the project included all TCEC crew members and a crew from Musgrove Construction. It was scheduled over three days and all twenty-five linemen and more than two-dozen pieces of equipment were used to perform the work. Shortly after sunrise, Darrell gave the order to re-route the power from the Steinhatchee substation to the Perry substation, then the transmission line was de-energized. The wooden structures were cut and removed and steel poles were placed back in the same location to avoid any disturbance to existing utilities. It was a highly coordinated effort designed and led by the Vice President of Operations, with all aspects of the project being discussed in advance, including switching assignments, job tasks and the full scope of work to be done, including traffic hazards, crew make up and special equipment assignments as well as the location of the nearest medical aid facility. Phase II of the project is set to commence in the fall of 2020. Darrell now finds himself reflecting on his tenure and admits that time goes by so quickly and sometimes it doesn’t seem like he’s been at the co-op for more than 41 years. He said, “It has been a continual change, from the equipment we are using to the type of construction methods and materials.” When Darrell entered the lineman apprentice program, he watched and learned all he could from some of the senior men. “I respected what they did and I looked up to them as leaders,” Darrell said. “I knew that was the kind of person I wanted to be.” Judging from the high regard of his peers and respect of his operations team, Darrell has more than achieved his goal.
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$20,000 in Energizing Education Scholarships Awarded to Local Seniors Tri-County Electric Cooperative (TCEC) is proud to announce the recipients of the TCEC Energizing Education Scholarships.
Kayla Reeves James Madison Preparatory High School
Jacob Driggers James Madison Preparatory High School
Alison Underhill Madison County High School
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Mikenzi Plain James Madison Preparatory High School
Jadyn Gore James Madison Preparatory High School
Ansley English Aucilla Christian Academy
Marley Restrepo Aucilla Christian Academy
Nathan Green Aucilla Christian Academy
Abbygail Fike Taylor County High School
Bea Anderson Taylor County High School
July & August 2020
TCEC’s Energizing Education Scholarship, established by the Board of Trustees, was created in an effort to provide education support for qualified members and their families in Jefferson, Madison, & Taylor Counties. High school seniors and nontraditional undergraduate students are eligible to apply. 10 scholarships of $2,000 each, were awarded to students planning to continue their education at various accredited Universities, Community Colleges, or Technical Colleges in the state of Florida. Applicants for the scholarship are evaluated not just on GPA or class rank, but for their community service and extracurricular activities as well. “Because of the challenges students are facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic we made changes to this year’s application requirements and process to ensure our scholarship was accessible to all of the qualifying seniors in the four counties we serve,” says Kaitlynn Culpepper, Community Relations Director. “The 2020 scholarship recipients are hardworking, determined, goal oriented young people and we are honored to have a small part in their future success.” The TCEC Energizing Education Scholarship has been made possible through the Energizing Education program in which TCEC members elect to have their monthly statement rounded up to the next dollar and those cents set aside to fund education scholarships. If you are a member of TCEC and are interested in contributing to the Energizing Education fund please contact a Member Service Representative at 850.973.2285 or enroll online at www.tcec.com/energizing-education.
In partnership with the North Florida College Foundation, TCEC awarded 5 students with a $500 scholarship to be used for tuition, books and fees at North Florida College. Jessica English Leah Androski Ayana Fitchett Caleb Holmes Allison Underhill
July & August 2020
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Cheeseburger Cups This recipe is great for moms with young kids and busy lives. This is a quick and easy to put together dish that kids will love. (Recipe/Photo Source Taste of Home)
Ingredients •
1 lb. ground beef
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½ c. ketchup
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2 tbs. brown sugar
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1 tbs. prepared mustard
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1 ½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
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1 tube (12 oz.) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
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½ cubed Velveeta cheese
Directions 1. In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the ketchup, brown sugar, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Remove from the heat; set aside. 2. Press each biscuit onto the bottom and up the sides of a greased muffin cup. Spoon beef mixture into cups; top with cheese cubes. Bake at 400° for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown. 3. Freeze option: Freeze cooled pastries in a freezer container, separating layers with waxed paper. To use, thaw pastries in the refrigerator for 8 hours. Reheat on a baking sheet in a preheated 375° oven until heated through.
Marvin Johnston Retires On April 30, Marvin Johnston, System Operator, signed off for the final time from the dispatch center. After a ten-year career at the co-op working in the System Control Center he decided it was his time to retire and go see the world. Marvin was a constant and reliable face at the co-op and during his tenure he weathered many changes and multiple hurricanes. Known for his big smile and great sense of humor, his presence at TCEC will be greatly missed. This isn’t Marvin’s first retirement either. He joined the TCEC family after he retired as a Sergeant Major in the United States Army following a 25 years career serving our country. His active duty included the Vietnam War and he was stationed in the United States, Germany, Japan and Vietnam. Although all of us at the co-op will miss Marvin, he has more than earned his right to travel and spend time with his loved ones. 10
July & August 2020
This Publication’s Inspirational Moment For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Mark 10:45 (NIV)
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In accordance with Article III, Section 7 (a) of the Bylaws of Tri-County Electric Cooperative, Inc. district meetings will be held for the purpose of selecting person(s) as candidates for trustee. This year, members will elect trustees to represent Districts 7, 8 and 9. District meetings are scheduled as follows:
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District 7
Tuesday, July 21 6:00 p.m.
Friday, July 24 6:00 p.m.
Blue Creek Baptist Church 21028 Beach Rd. Perry, FL
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Salem AME Church Highway 257 Monticello, FL
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District 8 Thursday, July 23 6:00 p.m.
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Lake Bird Methodist Church 2960 Lake Bird Church Rd. Perry, FL
Steinhatchee 2 DI DI DI DI DI DISTRICT 6 ANN HERRING
JEFFERSON COUNTY
DISTRICT 7 ALBERT THOMAS, JR
JEFFERSON COUNTY
Tri-County Electric Cooperative, Inc. 2862 West US 90 Madison, FL 32340
Presorted Std. U.S. Postage P A I D Tallahassee, FL Permit No. 706