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SECO Energy Spreads Holiday Cheer Through Toys for Tots Drive

SECO Energy is proud to continue its longstanding tradition of sponsoring the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program. Each year, SECO Energy holds an annual donation drive in which employees and members of the cooperative contribute toys and gifts for the Toys for Tots donation boxes located at any one of SECO Energy’s five Member Service locations. 

 

Founded over 85 years ago, SECO Energy was formed by members who banded together to bring electricity to rural areas of Central Florida, fulfilling a previously unmet need. Each year, the cooperative’s members and employees voluntarily donate gifts to support local communities across Central Florida, which serves as a reminder of this shared purpose. 

 

“SECO employees are a charitable group, and they particularly enjoy making contributions that benefit the communities we serve. The generosity of SECO Energy’s employees and members ensures that local children will have toys to unwrap and smiles on their faces on Christmas morning,” stated Curtis Wynn, SECO Energy’s Chief Executive Officer. 

 

The Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys for Tots’ purpose is to help bring the joy of Christmas and send a message of hope to children across the United States through the gift of a new toy. Since 2001, the Toys for Tots program has been ranked as one of the top-rated charities by “Philanthropy 400.”  

 

This year’s Toys for Tots donation drive resulted in hundreds of toys donated through SECO Energy’s annual campaign. The toys remain within the community where they are collected, making a tangible difference for families in need. For some children, the gift of a toy from the program may be the only present they receive this holiday season. 

   

Kathy Judkins, SECO Energy’s VP of Communications, Community and Member Experience, who oversees the cooperative’s Toys for Tots initiative, added, “I’m incredibly grateful to the hundreds of SECO employees and many members who joined us in spreading holiday cheer this year. The smallest acts of kindness—like donating a toy—can have a lasting impact and bring happiness to children throughout our service area.” 

 

Toys for Toys Photo Collection:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Like” SECO Energy on Facebook and follow @SECOEnergy on Twitter for prize drawings, news releases, and severe weather alerts affecting SECO Energy’s service territory. To learn more about SECO Energy as a not-for-profit cooperative, visit About SECO Energy.  

 

 

SECO Energy Recovers from Tropical Storm Elsa

SECO Energy employees and contractors worked overnight and will continue throughout the day restoring outages caused by Tropical Storm Elsa. The storm strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane Tuesday evening as it approached the Tampa Bay area, but lost intensity and reverted back to tropical storm strength.

 

Currently, the storm is moving north at 14 mph with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph. The 11 AM forecast from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) shows Tropical Storm Elsa making landfall in Taylor County along the North Florida Gulf Coast. Once Elsa leaves Florida, it is predicted to travel along the east coast and create storm surges in Georgia and South Carolina.

 

SECO Energy began monitoring Tropical Storm Elsa last week and was well prepared. SECO’s system fared extremely well overnight as the storm’s rain bands soaked the cooperative’s service territory. Elsa also brought tornado watches, warnings and strong winds. There were no large substation or feeder outages, and just 300 services were without power during the overnight hours. Rain will continue today as Tropical Storm Elsa leaves Central Florida.

 

CEO Jim Duncan commends the employees’ and contract crews’ restoration effort. He stated, “I am extremely grateful for the efforts of our SECO employees. We prepare for the worst and our employees are ready to respond to outages 24/7. I also want to acknowledge the contract line and vegetation crew reinforcements who answered our call to assist with Tropical Storm Elsa restoration.”

 

Duncan also reminded members that SECO Energy’s StormCenter outage reporting and communications platform offers outage alerts. “StormCenter is available for members to report outages using their smartphones or tablets 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Members should also enroll in outage notifications and alerts via email, text, voice message, or all three. An alert is sent when the system recognizes that your service has been interrupted. The alert will include crew status and an estimated restoration time. You’ll also receive a notification when the service is restored that includes the cause of the outage if it is known at that time.”

 

Members should visit StormCenter and bookmark the site on their smartphones or tablets. At StormCenter, members can view the outage map, enroll or manage notifications, check the status of an existing outage, report an area light outage and more.

 

Stay up to date on weather affecting SECO Energy’s service area, the latest news releases and cooperative updates by liking SECO’s Facebook page and following @SECOEnergy on Twitter.