MARCH 2015 • POWERING YOUR COMMUNITY
Wiregrass Electric COOPERATIVE
www.wiregrass.coop
Toadlick Music Festival Over 50,000 expected at this year’s event
MARCH 2015
CEO
Les Moreland CO-OP EDITOR
WEC Member Services Division ALABAMA LIVING is delivered to some 420,000 Alabama families and businesses, which are members of 22 not-for-profit, consumer-owned, locally directed and taxpaying electric cooperatives. AREA cooperative member subscriptions are $3 a year; non-member subscriptions, $6. Alabama Living (USPS 029-920) is published monthly by the Alabama Rural Electric Association of Cooperatives. Periodicals postage paid at Montgomery, Alabama, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER send forms 3579 to: Alabama Living, P.O. Box 244014 Montgomery, Alabama 36124-4014. Manuscripts and photographs: Please do not send unsolicited materials. If you are interested in writing for Alabama Living, query first. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope for writer’s guidelines. Address requests and queries to: Writer’s Guidelines. ALABAMA RURAL ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION
AREA PRESIDENT Fred Braswell EDITOR Darryl Gates MANAGING EDITOR Melissa Henninger CREATIVE DIRECTOR Mark Stephenson ART DIRECTOR Michael Cornelison DIRECTOR, MARKETING & ADVERTISING Jay Clayton RECIPE EDITOR Mary Tyler Spivey
6 Toadlick Music Festival
Tens of thousands of music fans converge on the Wiregrass each year for this great music festival.
20 Statewide Story One This is where we put our story info. This is where we put our story info. This is where we put our story info. This is where we put our story info. This is where we put our story info. This is where we put our story info.
24 Statewide Story Two
NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE:
National Country Market 611 South Congress Ave., Suite 504 Austin, Texas 78704 1-800-626-1181 www.nationalcountrymarket.com www.alabamaliving.coop USPS 029-920 • ISSN 1047-0311
PHOTO BY CHEROKEE SPIVEY
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ADVERTISING & EDITORIAL OFFICES:
340 TechnaCenter Drive Montgomery, Alabama 36117-6031 1-800-410-2737 E-mail: jclayton@areapower.com www.areapower.coop
ON THE COVER
This will be Toadlick Music Festival’s fourth year, and promises to be its biggest yet. Learn how you can win a ticket to see the show from WEC on Page 7.
DEPARTMENTS
Save Energy! WEC offers several ways for our members to save energy. In April, we’ll be giving away 100 sapling trees that can help shade your home, reducing power costs.
See Page 50 to find out how you can receive an Energy-Saving Tree!
Alabama 14 Home Rules 16 Power Plants 18 Consumer Wise 19 Nature Ally 20 Food Court 33 Alabama Events 34 Marketplace 38 Alabama Snapshots 9
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Alabama Living
MARCH 2015 2
Wiregrass Electric Cooperative
CEO’s Comments
Following our Principles
Board of Trustees Danny McNeil District 4 President
John Clark, Jr. District 3 Vice-President
Debra E. Baxley District 1 Secretary
Donna Parrish District 2
Tracy Reeder District 5
Kip Justice District 6
Donald Ray Wilks District 7
Greg McCullough District 8
Nolan Laird District 9
4 MARCH 2015
Les Moreland, CEO Wiregrass Electric Cooperative
T
his year, we’ve been talking about what it means to be a cooperative, and what it means to help our community. You often hear us say that WEC is a co-op, but what does it mean? How are we different from any other business you interact with? And why is WEC so committed to serving the community, in addition to providing power? Simply put, a cooperative is a not-for-profit, democratically controlled, member-owned business. Wiregrass Electric was built by our members over 75 years ago, and today it is operated for you and controlled by you. Cooperatives serve an important role in rural America. Providing reliable electricity to rural areas like ours may not be profitable enough for a company trying to make big profits for its stockholders. But our focus is on serving you, and our first priority is to bring affordable electricity with world-class service to the people who live and work in the Wiregrass. Cooperatives also run on a set of seven principles that guide our actions. The first principle is Voluntary and Open Membership. A cooperative is a voluntary organization, open to all people who are able to use its services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership. The second is Democratic Member Control. A cooperative is a democratic organization controlled by its members who are given opportunities to actively participate in setting policies and making decisions. For us, this happens each year in our Annual Meeting. Members’ Economic Participation is the third principle. Members contribute to the capital of their cooperative. This capital is
used to operate the cooperative, and it benefits the member in proportion to the amount of business they do with the cooperative. This is what occurs each time you pay your WEC electric bill. Fourth comes Autonomy and Independence. No matter what agreements cooperatives may enter into with other organizations, its members maintain control, and the cooperative remains independent. The fifth principle is Education, Training and Information. Cooperatives provide education and training for members, elected representatives, managers and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their cooperative. This magazine, our bill insert and website are all examples of this committment to keeping our members informed. Sixth is Cooperation among Cooperatives. We serve our members most effectively and strengthen the cooperative movement by working together through local, regional, national and international organizations. The last principle is a Concern for Community. While we focus on the needs of our members, cooperatives like WEC work for the betterment of our communities. On the next page, you’ll see information about WEC’s new initative, Operation Round Up Charitable Foundation. This is a program that we believe can change lives and transform this community, just by donating a few cents. I believe that this program is going to quickly become something that every member of Wiregrass Electric Cooperative can be proud to say they’re a part of. Neighbors helping neighbors to improve our community: it’s the cooperative way. A
www.wiregrass.coop
w Your Cooperative Contact Information
Operation Round Up Charitable Foundation How does it work?
The program “rounds up” a member’s bill to the nearest dollar, and that amount (which is completely tax deductible) is distributed by the foundation to local charities in our service area. All funds stay in the community to benefit WEC members. The average amount any given member donates is just $0.50 per month, with an annual average of $6 per year.
I do not wish to participate in this program. How do I opt out? This Charitable Foundation community service program is 100 percent voluntary, and you may elect not to participate. To do so, simply fill out the form below and return it with your next bill, or call Member Services at 800-239-4602.
Why is Wiregrass Electric doing this?
We believe that by giving our members a way to band together to help our Wiregrass community, we are living out our commitment to help those we serve. This foundation will help make the Wiregrass a better place to work and live.
How do I join?
Members are automatically enrolled, and WEC plans on “rounding up” its members’ bills in May of this year. Your bill will show the rounded up amount, as well as the actual amount. At year’s end, you will receive your total contribution to the WEC Operation Round Up Charitable Foundation for that year on your monthly statement.
Business Phone: 1-800-239-4602 (24 hrs/day) Office: Mon. – Fri. 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Toll Free Outage “Hotline” 1-888-4-MY-OUTAGE 1-888-469-6882 (24 hrs/day) Website www.wiregrass.coop Find Wiregrass Electric Co-op on Twitter (twitter.com/wec2) and on Facebook
Payment Options BY MAIL Wiregrass Electric Cooperative, Inc. Department 1340, P.O. Box 2153 Birmingham, AL 35287-1340
QUICK FACTS
WEBSITE Payments may be made 24 hrs/day by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express and E-Check on our website at www.wiregrass.coop.
»» Operation Round Up Charitable Foundation rounds each member’s bill to the next whole dollar amount.
PHONE PAYMENTS Payments may be made any time by dialing 1-800-239-4602.
»» The money will be used to support charitable causes and nonprofit community services and programs throughout our local Wiregrass community. »» An independent board made up of nine WEC members, selected from the community, will review applications for the charitable foundation and select how and to whom the money will be distributed.
NIGHT DEPOSITORY Available at each office location. IN PERSON Mon. – Fri. 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Hartford 509 N. State Hwy. 167 Hartford, AL 36344
»» Participation is voluntary. Members are automatically placed into the program, but can choose to withdraw at any time by contacting WEC.
Samson 13148 W. State Hwy. 52 Samson, AL 36477
»» Got questions? Visit wiregrass.coop/roundup or call 800-239-4602.
Ashford 1066 Ashford Highway Ashford, AL 36312 Dothan 6167 Fortner St. Dothan, AL 36305
Name: Member Number: I do NOT wish to participate in Operation Round Up. Alabama Living
For questions regarding sanitation service, call Houston County Sanitation Department at 334-677-4705 or Dothan City Sanitation at 334-6153820.
MARCH 2015 5
Toadlick: Wiregrass music festival
expects record crowd of 50,000 in 2015
For the past three years, music lovers have converged at the National Peanut Festival grounds in Dothan for three days during the Toadlick Music Festival, and now in its fourth year, the festival has a fresh lineup and even higher expectations. Chris Gilbert is one of the festival’s original co-founders and is sole owner and president of Toadlick Entertainment. He says he originally wanted to bring the concert extravaganza to Dothan because he loves music and thought the area needed this type of event closer to home. In its first year, the event drew about 30,000, which grew to about 40,000 in both 2013 and 2014. Last year tickets were sold to fans from all 50 states and from 14 countries. This year, the festival is expecting over 50,000. Gilbert credits the growth in Toadlick’s popularity to simply showing its staying power. “The longer you’re around, the more known you are, so you just have to be around; you have to make it,” says Gilbert. A quality lineup also helps. Last year’s performers included Gary Allan, Billy
6 MARCH 2015
Currington, Merle Haggard and The Band Perry. Acts announced so far this year include country music legends Alabama, Hank Williams Jr. and Ronnie Milsap, as well as Styx, Bret Michaels and Blackberry Smoke. The festival will have no major changes this year in the stage setup or rules for concert goers; as for now the festival has found a formula that works and is sticking to it. But while the roster in past years had a decidedly country slant, Toadlick is definitely trying to diversify a little bit more this year by including more rock, southern rock and blues. By festival time, about 20 acts will round out the lineup, and one of them will be the winner of Toadlick’s Battle of the Bands. The battle was first held in 2013 and after a break last year, was brought back for 2015. The competition will be held for six weeks, with the victor claiming a spot on the stage at Toadlick. Bringing such a massive musical production to the masses is a nearly yearround endeavor. While some tasks become somewhat easier with experience, the sheer volume of what the festival
staff and helpers have to accomplish is sometimes daunting. Helping in that effort is Whitney Barron, Toadlick’s director of vendors and exhibitors. He has worked every festival so far helping answer vendors’ questions, getting contracts and insurance matters formalized and assigning locations on the grounds. He says he’s often too busy to fully enjoy the experience during the festival, but still manages to have a good time and usually gets to meet up to half of the artists each year. For the uninitiated, Barron describes Toadlick as “a lot of fun for the family, a lot of people, a lot of good music. “The people that stay in the campground, stuff like that, they go nonstop, all night long, all day long,” he says. “It’s just a good time!” Barron says he’s not surprised at the festival’s early successes and hopes for a record crowd this year. “We had expectations when we started and hoped for the best, but the numbers we’ve seen have been beyond what we thought it would be. It’s been wonderful,” he says. The local economy also stands to gain from Toadlick’s successes. “When
www.wiregrass.coop
Community Event
you have 40,000-plus people coming to Dothan for three days to stay in Dothan, they’re not driving here, staying a little bit and driving home. These people are coming and spending a minimum of three days in Dothan,” says Matt Parker, president of the Dothan area chamber of Commerce. “The benefit for Dothan and really the whole state of Alabama is just huge; it’s enormous. “It’s something that people are proud of and people want to be a part of, and it’s right here in southeast Alabama,” says Parker. “It’s just good all the way around.” “We’re proud of what they’ve accomplished for this area,” says Brad Kimbro, COO at Wiregrass Electric Cooperative. This year, WEC is partnering with Toadlick to offer tickets to their members through a Facebook contest. “Bringing that many people into the Wiregrass helps everyone, and it’s something we’re glad to support.” A
Aerial view of the Toadlick Music Festival. The three-day event, held at the National Peanut Festival grounds in Dothan, brings tens of thousands to the Wiregrass annually.
toadlick Music Festival apri l 23-25, 2015
W in
LI C K T OA D TS TI C KE
Win a free ticket compliments of WEC!
Check WEC’s Facebook page for details on how you could win a ticket to the Toadlick Music Festival! If you haven’t liked WEC on Facebook, now’s a great time. Visit facebook.com/wiregrasselectric today to get the latest updates from your cooperative.
Alabama Living
MARCH 2015 7
Legislative Update
State legislators for the Wiregrass We believe that citizen involvement and public service is crucial to address the issues that face our area. Wiregrass Electric Cooperative strives to provide low-cost, reliable electricity to our members. Sometimes, laws and regulations are passed that have a direct effect on our ability to control electric costs. In those cases, we believe our members should make their voices heard.
Following is the contact information for each state legislator who represents a portion of our service area. This information will be subject to change in June with the large redistricting plan that will come into effect. In the May edition of Alabama Living magazine, we will address these issues and explain the new district maps. A
How to contact your state legislators Sen. HARRI ANNE SMITH (I)
Sen. JIMMY W. HOLLEY (R)
(Dale, Geneva, Houston) 11 South Union Street, Suite 737 Montgomery, AL 36130-4600 Phone: 334-242-7879 Email: harriannesmith@graceba.net
(Coffee, Covington, Dale, Pike) 11 South Union Street, Suite 732 Montgomery, AL 36130-4600 Phone: 334-242-7845
DISTRICT 29
Rep. DEXTER GRIMSLEY (D) DISTRICT 85
(Henry, Houston) 11 South Union Street, Suite 537-F Montgomery, AL 36130-2950 Phone: 334-242-7740 Email: wlmdex@hotmail.com
Rep. DONNIE CHESTEEN (R) DISTRICT 87
(Geneva, Houston) 11 South Union Street, Suite 427-J Montgomery, AL 36130-2950 Phone: 334-242-7742 Email: dchesteen@panhandle.rr.com
Rep. MIKE JONES (R) DISTRICT 92
(Coffee, Covington, Escambia) 11 South Union Street, Suite 421 Montgomery, AL 36130-2950 Phone: 334-242-7739 Email: mljatty@andycable.com
DISTRICT 31
Rep. PAUL LEE (R) DISTRICT 86
(Houston) 11 South Union Street, Suite 410-F Montgomery, AL 36130-2950 Phone: 334-242-7675 Email: pwlee@graceba.net
Rep. BARRY MOORE (R) DISTRICT 91
(Coffee) 11 South Union Street, Suite 422 Montgomery, AL 36130-2950 Phone: 334-242-7773 Email: barry@barrymooreindustries.com
Rep. STEVE CLOUSE (R) DISTRICT 93
(Dale, Houston) 11 South Union Street, Suite 410-D Montgomery, AL 36130-2950 Phone: 334-242-7717 Email: steve.clouse@alhouse.gov
For more information on the Alabama Legislature and how you can get involved, please visit their website at legislature.state.al.us. 32 MARCH 2015 8 MARCH 2015
www.wiregrass.coop www.wiregrass.coop
Make your home more energy efficient with Wiregrass Electric
Energy Audit Knowledge is power, and savings High electric bills are often a symptom of a deeper problem — a house that wastes energy. For absolutely no cost, WEC will send an energy-efficiency expert to your home to perform tests and tell you exactly how your home is losing energy and costing you money. At the end of the Energy Audit, you will have a concrete plan to reduce all your future electric bills.
www.wiregrass.coop/free-energy-audit
Energy Efficiency Loan Helping pay the way
Certified Contractor Work you can trust Call one of our certified contractors to make improvements to your home. WEC will provide you with a list of certified contractors who know how to make the improvements recommended by our Energy Services Department. These are trusted local companies with a reputation for doing quality work.
www.wiregrass.coop/ energy-efficiency-loanprogram
Most energy-saving improvements can be done for little or no cost. However, for the more significant changes, WEC offers access to low-interest loans to help upgrade your home.
www.wiregrass.coop/energy-efficiencyloan-program
50  MARCH 2015
www.wiregrass.coop
An energy-efficient home will keep your family comfortable while saving you money. Whether you take simple steps or make larger investments to make your home more efficient, the savings you enjoy will typically pay for the cost of improvements. WEC offers several initiatives designed to help you use less electricity and save money on your electric bill. We hope all our members will take advantage of these great programs!
Prepay for your electricity InControl is a totally different way of managing your Wiregrass Electric Cooperative account. Instead of receiving a bill for what you owe, InControl members pay for electricity before they use it. They are never surprised by an electric bill because they don’t receive a bill, period. The InControl program also allows members to put their deposits to work for them, immediately. Also, studies have shown that those who prepay for their electricity consume less energy.
www.wiregrass.coop/ pre-pay
Heat Pump Rebate Program Upgrade for less Save money on a new heat pump. WEC will give you a significant rebate if you purchase a new heat pump to increase your home’s energy efficiency. Combined with the loan program, the Heat Pump Rebate Program can help you make the investment to increase your home’s energy efficiency and save you money!
www.wiregrass.coop/energy-efficiencyloan-program
Alabama Living
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InControl
Energy Saving Trees Free sapling trees for WEC Members
WEC will be giving away FREE sapling trees through the month of April in celebration of Earth Day. These trees can be ordered through an innovative partnership with WEC and the National Arbor Day Foundation and will be available to the first 100 members who respond to a Facebook announcement from WEC in April. Shade trees planted correctly can help save energy throughout the year. If you’d like to get a tree, visit our Facebook at www.facebook.com/wiregrasselectric!
www.wiregrass.coop/ energysavingtrees
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